OR/UR YouTube videos

Underrated YouTube video of the week:
Keyboard Cat

I really thought I had missed the boat when it came to Keyboard Cat, as I only saw it a few weeks ago and it has over 2 million views. After adding another 100,000 or so to Keyboard Cat's view count, I have meticulously analyzed the feline-based meme and believe there is much more to it than meets the eye. To a casual observer, Keyboard Cat is a silly lark on the level of Dramatic Hamster - a chuckler because it lacks sensible context and is unconventionally cute. However, I have found that Keyboard Cat, truly, is art. It belongs in a MoMA gallery.

How? It's a morality play. It's a comment on the YouTube generation, on the I Can Haz Cheezburger manipulation of animals for our amusement, and the nonsensical Family Guy generation of comedy. Fatso, the titular Keyboard Cat, stares at us with soulless eyes while he "performs" his masterpiece, knowing all along that he, or anything tangible is not really the source of our laughter. We laugh because we fail to understand, and we fail to understand because we fail to recognize true art and true beauty. God help us all, Keyboard Cat, and play on.

Overrated YouTube video of the week:
Jill and Kevin's wedding entrance

I watched this video somewhat early on in it's rise to fame, and I have to admit I simply thought to myself "How embarrassing," and moved on to look up funny pictures of emus. A few days later, I found out that the couple had rocketed to stardom, made several appearances on television, and had apparently inspired multitudes of lovebirds to have their wedding party performed choreographed dances down the aisle, set to the sweet music of girlfriend-beaters.

I don't begrudge Jill and Kevin. They seem like nice people. From what I can gather, the video is getting praise because the idea seems creative and daring. Creative is hard to defend, because I can easily assume that many couples have sat around and bandied about such an idea for their wedding party's entrance, but simply found it too outrageous. Nor can J & K's song choice be considered particularly ingenious (Come on - that song is terrible.) What about daring? Sadly, no. "Daring" for a wedding can only be doing something that is either: A) offensive or B) avant-garde and confusing. The dance is neither - the entire wedding party knows how much the crowd is going to love it. "Daring" would be doing something uncivil (like the bride making her entrance to Nine Inch Nails' "Closer"), or a non-sequitur (like replacing the bridesmaids' bouquets with giant stuffed trout.) Now that would tell me a bride and groom aren't taking themselves too seriously. As it is, J & K appear to be trying far too seriously to not take their wedding too seriously.

Essentially, I think that most people watch the video and assume Jill and Kevin are outrageously fun and interesting people. That's fine. I don't mind the video - I just don't particularly get the impression from it that the happy couple is particularly more fun than any other.