It’s Fun Friday at the InterSect. I’ve rounded up a few interesting videos from around the internet. Keeping in line with our theme, most of these have a cultural angle.
In my former life, before kids, I worked in radio and television. In exploring Chinese teen culture this past week, I felt a bit nostalgic as I played the role of a VJ, posting hip, global music videos. On Wednesday, we grooved boy band style to Korean band, Super Junior’s, addictive “Sorry, Sorry” video, which has racked up an impressive 10 million views on YouTube.
Now, I’ve got another super group, The Wonder Girls. They, too, are viral, with 10 million views.
I love The Wonder Girls video because their music is a great example of culture fusion. The Wonder Girls infuse Black American R & B cool with sassy energy. If you’re a fan of culture fusion, you’ll love them.
Also on Fun Friday, another Korean boy band, are you sensing a theme here? Tong Vfang Xien Qi, also known as TVXQ. TVXQ “don’t play.” They’re very stylized, and marry boy band dance moves with socially conscious lyrics (at least, I would like to believe the lyrics are socially conscious. I don’t know Korean). It doesn’t matter though. TVXQ proves that Music and Movement are truly universal languages.
Now, where would we be without a nod to old school R& B, Rap, and the black American artists who introduced them to both America and the world?
Back in the day, (the 80’s) black kids were studying the moves of Michael Jackson, New Edition, Bobby Brown, and many, many others, but it wasn’t until M.C. Hammer started tearing up stages with dance moves so incredible, that the Godfather of Soul, himself, appeared in the following video, and placed his anointing on Hammer. When I worked in television, I was lucky enough to produce an interview with M.C. Hammer. He was truly a kind individual. The song, Too Legit To Quit, was his response to gangsta rap, and the claim that Hammer wasn’t “black” enough because his music was accessible to ALL people, no matter what their color. There were some who felt that black music was for black people, and black artists should reflect the poverty and grit of black life in say, Oakwood, in L.A. Although legit, Hammer did eventually quit the industry, pushed out by gangsta rap, low sales, and a changing music industry. Nevertheless, we should never forget the impact that he had on music, and on American culture. Be warned, whoever uploaded this to YouTube, also got part of an Alf episode.
Intersect : Writing Culture 