The Next Big Thing... Viral Videos

Everyone loves discovering the next big thing. Whether it's being that dude who listened to Kid Cudi 6 months before anyone had ever heard Day 'N Nite for the first time ("Dude, this is so old."), or the guy who gathered everyone around his laptop to share with everyone their first Cup Chicks experience, (That was definitely me) everyone loves being first. That's why I'm starting The Next Big Thing. For it's debut, I'm doing viral videos. I will choose videos that have under 1,000 views, and predict their future glory of the million view mark. Enjoy.

1. "Microwave Explosion"

Title says it all, and it's awesome. Try this at home.

MICROWAVE EXPLOSION!!!

2. "The Greatest Sarah Palin Impression... Period."

Move aside Tina Fey, you've met your match.

THE GREATEST SARAH PALIN IMPRESSION EVER!!!

3. "Don't You Wish Your Neighbor Was Hot Like Me"

Don't mess with this guy's fence. (Check out the Captain pose at the end)

CRAZY NEIGHBOR

4. "Yes Officer, That's My Kid..."

This is why Ritalin is necessary.

HYPER KID

5. "Lewis & Clark"

Two of the greatest and noble men of our time.

TWO WISE MEN


Peace,

Evan

Let's Start Over

The Heligoats box 2 from Snap FM on Vimeo.

We all know how it works, we get a new band to listen to for a week or so and then get tired of them. They become recycled to the bottom of your "most played" list on your iTunes, only to be brought out again at random points of desperation for something new. Occasionally, though we find something special- a band that can keep you riding a high for weeks. I guess you could call it love.

And there's nothing like falling in love with a new band, right? Well, it's happened to me once again, and it was exactly the lift I needed. Something fresh, something that spoke to me in a way that I'd never heard, from a band I'd never heard of. They're called The Heligoats, which is mainly a product of Chris Otepka work. Reading the clever lyrics and listening to his slanted rhymes in songs like "Dark," "The Great Outdoors," and "Fish Sticks" (featured above) left me feeling like I couldn't get enough. I wanted more. The voice and the approach are just so well versed with each other that I had to tell someone about what I'd found. The video above shows how simple, yet beautiful his music is. I love that. I don't know if in a week's time whether the Heligoats will still have my full attention, but at the moment they are THE BEST EVER (caps for emphasis, not fury). We'll see how long that lasts, though, and then I suppose I'll know if this love was "true."

-Eric Hawkinson

Glitter Gone Wild

Over winter break I spent many days lazily hanging out with my friends and relaxing. One of the many things I did over break that I don't have time to when school is in session is watch YouTube music videos.
My friends and I spent hours browsing the video site for the funniest, weirdest and most pointless videos. My friends especially enjoyed repeatedly watching Ke$ha, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus's new clips.
I was appalled by Ke$ha's ridiculous attire in "We R Who We R", which include her black blush, trashy ripped American flag t-shirt, not to mention her gold studded eyebrows.
If that wasn’t enough, Cyrus’s “Can’t Be Tamed” video was a disturbing cry for the Disney pop-star to break free from her pre-teen audience and get a different kind of attention. Cyrus tries too hard to be edgy in this video with her bird transformation and intimate dances. This clip seems like Cyrus's poor attempt at mounting to the intensity of Lady Gaga's famed videos.
Katy Perry is the pop princess making the right moves in her new videos, particularly in the free-spirited “Teenage Dream” and the inspiring “Firework.” The “Firework” video touches on issues of, love, death, and self-esteem beautifully with vivid images and strong message of acceptance.

In a few months Spring break will come and I will take my usual seat in front of my laptop, ready to watch the newest YouTube music videos. I can only hope that they will contain much less glitter.