How Does a Song Become a Meme? (VIEWER REQUEST)

[@el_coco28]

"Nobody sets out to make a meme song" This did not age well. Especially in the age of tiktok...

[@soaribb32]

*Tootsie slide enters the chat*

[@KaliBeatsYoSoyAquel]

Tik tok music is this generation's ringtone music

[@maad1670]

@@KaliBeatsYoSoyAquel well said

[@MonkeyWhoWouldBeKing]

lol, i came to the comments precisely to cite LilNasX

[@idontneedaname318]

@@MonkeyWhoWouldBeKing i don't think lil nas started out trying to make a meme necessarily but he did lean into it once it became a meme

[@BTobiasJ]

Pretty sure Kanye & Lil Pump's I Love It is an exception to the "weren't originally made to become a meme" statement

[@josephgroeblinghoff4122]

]pllp0

[@Andres33AU]

I remember the first time I got Rick Rolled I didn't know what that was. Then my friend explained it was baiting someone to say click on a link, expecting something in particular, but instead having Rick Astley's song play. Joke's on him, I love that song, lol!

[@QJ89]

I feel lucky that I knew about "Never Gonna Give You Up" BEFORE the Rick Roll was a thing!

[@popland1977]

Why did you have to explain what Rick Rolling is??

[@ML-tr1hz]

The first time I was Rick rolled, I had a video on KZbin recommended to me that was somewhere along the lines of "Justin Bieber shits his pants on stage." I clicked on it and the song started playing, I was super confused and had no idea what was going on. Didn't find out what Rick roll was until like a year after that. This was probably ten years ago.

[@beckjj._.2990]

when i was 7-8 i loved never gonna give you up, never knew about rickrolling until i got into my teens lol

[@DanPurcell]

It would be cool to re-examine this topic now with the longest charting Billboard song of all time having its origins as a meme -- what does this say about where culture's going, how we communicate and the role that memes play in society at large now.

[@sofaking8646]

8:56 Ween is great, their album The Mollusk(which Ocean Man was on) partly inspired Stephen Hillenburg to make Spongebob. Also they actually wrote Loop de Loop for the show. Edit: Never Gonna Hit Those Notes killed me

[@birdie1285]

Old Town Road has entered the chat..

[@svrvphimprod]

Glad that, even though you kept thing as family friendly as possible, Neil still made it into the video.

[@ConvincingPeople]

It is also worth noting that the use of "The Sound of Silence" in The Office was in itself a reference to a very straight and somewhat subtler use of the song in the film The Graduate decades earlier; thus, the line between which use of the song is being referenced is frequently blurry, even if the intent (the evocation of existential dread in a humorous manner, often in stark tonal contrast to the context) is largely the same.

[@arturhours]

wait it was used in The Office too? i thought it became a meme because of Arrested Development

[@Preohhh]

Lowkey Adam Neely, and that's a compliment. Subscribed! Keep it up :)

[@MicTheSnare]

Thank you!!!

[@KolozII]

I feel like that Sound of Silence meme and it's apparent source (that sitcom that I haven't seen. Arrested Development, I believe?) really got it's start from the film The Graduate, because the somber look on the subjects' faces in the meme when the song starts is very reminiscent of the ending scene from that movie.

[@offmodelcartoon1042]

The running joke in AD is definitely a parody of The Graduate ending. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIWzZYCri9OGaKM I'm not even 30 yet but seeing AD cited as the source for this reference made me feel ancient! But, to be fair, the AD season 4 running gag *is* what launched the reference into a meme. I have a feeling lots of people who haven't seen AD season 4 still understood the meme, if they were already familiar with the reference to the graduate. I was just a bit surprised to see the AD joke mentioned without mentioning the source material. I called my husband into the room to re-watch that part of the video with me, and we went "oh gosh are we that old??"

[@josephcopeland5041]

isthistheplan?

[@HectorGonzalez-qx9nk]

It is now that Melon Man killed it

[@animerocksautistic]

Me, hearing Johnny Johnny for the first time in 2020: BABY SHARK?

[@megano2000]

I love Neil Cicierega's Mouth albums

[@leticiadornelas4555]

still a great video many years later!!! and i remembered that roundabout by yes became a meme in brazil but because of the sitcom a grande família (lineu, the dad, gets high by accident and spends a long time vibing to the song and annoying the rest of the family)

[@gjones9282]

_shawty’s like a melody in my head that i can’t keep out_

[@almathomassen6447]

No a thousand miles? You Said piano.

[@QJ89]

I never thought of 'A Thousand Miles' as a meme song. Vanessa's one big hit is more a semi-forgotten Power pop piece that's good for cruising to.

[@soaribb32]

Jar of hearts is more a meme than This one

[@picanigeorgello2847]

@@QJ89 it definitely was a meme song for a while back in the day lol but not one that's instantly recognised as one

[@RiverOfWetness468]

LOOK AT THIS GRAAaaaaaph...

[@angel-gu8co]

my main memory of all star is everyone in elementary school singing the parody about macaroni, which i guess was a meme before the meme

[@soapybeats4111]

am I the only one who unironically likes shooting stars by the bag raiders? that lead synth is fire

[@trombonemain]

I cannot describe the visceral reaction I had to hearing the lick.

[@sanswelt8746]

You genuinely deserve a PhD degree for this video

[@shirelzamir6799]

Basically its viral because it takes something people get very easily: wether its visual, memorable or a componant they already know. Its psychologicly easy to get. I wish you would have talked more about what components of the music itself makes it easier like a string of notes you know or easy harmony or tempo. If it matters at all.. Thx for the research! (and the laughs)

[@alexjeffrey4093]

This makes me nostalgic for the great era of memes. It also makes me nostalgic for an app that I never experienced. Vine.

[@abbie_joan]

I knew this was gonna be good when I heard Shooting Star

[@ThatW3lshGuy]

Wonderwall, don’t get straighter than that

[@ethanhoefler181]

5:52 he got us good

[@ringo1805]

The prove that there is still faith in KZbin is that it recommended me this beautiful channel

[@nicolenovi4619]

Do more videos on songs from movie soundtracks like the best and the worst ones or your faves that would be a great idea !!

[@anxietyprimev6983]

Here’s a link to that song at the end, if you want to listen to the rest of it. And no, it’s not just the official video for Never Gonna Give You Up. kzbin.info/www/bejne/raG5Xpp9dpmDic0

[@ilexdiapason]

can confirm this does in fact lead to never gonna hit those notes

[@AaronFitzgerald]

BRO THE FEARLESS FLYERS!!! That MADE my day! If you're a fan, you HAVE TO MAKE A VULF VIDEO!!! IM BEGGING YOU PUT YOUR BASE ONTO LOW VOLUME FUNK

[@themandownstairs4765]

I saw that Adam Neely reference, Mic. You can't sneak it past me

[@diegocontreras141]

oh! the licc is too niche to be explained, but not that niche to not be used?

[@rateeightx]

I'd Say It Makes Sense To Divide Meme Songs Into Two Broad Categories: "Meme Soundtracks", Basically What It Says On The Tin, Songs That Act As The Soundtrack To A Meme, While Perhaps Not Having An Integral Role To The Meme Itself; And "True Meme Songs", Those Where The Song Itself Acts As A Meme. The Latter Can Be Subdivided Greatly, And I Believe Is Largely What's Discussed In This Video, But The Former Is Quite Interesting Too. They've Definitely Become More Common In Recent Times, With The Popularity Of Video-Memes, Which Allow For A Greater Deal Of Freedom, Such As Adding Audio. A Few Examples Of This Could Be The Songs "Little Dark Age" By MGMT Or "What's New Scooby-Doo?" By Simple Plan, Both Of Which Came Out A While Ago, But Have Seen A Resurgence In Modern Times Due Their Use In Memes. While It May Seem At First That The Songs Are Not An Integral Part Of These Memes, They Do Actually Play An Important Role: Tying The Memes Together, The Song Is One Of The First Things You'll Notice When Seeing One Of These Memes, And Due To It Helps You To Realise That It Is A Variation On The Same Meme, Something You Might Not Realise, As Quickly Atleast, Without The Music. Thank You For Coming To My Meme-Rant, Apologies If It Was Hard To Read, And Have A Nice Day!

[@praazlwurm]

an episode of Fringe opens with Roundabout by Yes and i can't tell you how jarring it was to watch it 11 years after it aired

[@QuiteTheGentleman]

THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING NEIL CIC. i showed those albums to like 30 people and no one appreciated them

[@milesaph]

Your channel is great

[@milospetrovic6389]

love the video, keep it up. But how do you do that with your thumb? i tried and it doesn't go that far back.

[@oliveoil8799]

only 2k views and 7k subs my dude you deserve way more

[@hannah-6080]

No one is immune from Niel

[@RedLygr]

Thank you, dad, for using Breakbot and not ripoff mcripoff *salute*

[@madvlasters2836]

how did I just find you? Love this. Subbed

[@SOAD_Enjoyer69]

rest in peace steve harwell. your legendary meme status will forever live on🫡

[@coltz-pun7871]

Excuse me? The lick? I might just have to stop not watching this channel

[@robbierotten2975]

Shawtys like a memory in my head

[@RicardoAlmeidatm]

Watch "All Star but the LYRICS are backwards while the SONG is fine", it is legit better than the original song. Also "Stayin' Alive but beats 2 and 4 are swapped" is fire.

[@twlguitarsitBA]

Looooove the Fearless Flyers peaking their heads out 👀

[@reneholly7994]

13:20 It is the the law that Neil must invade every community on the internet, no matter how nieche.

[@dylandarcy1150]

just found out Smash Mouth didn't make All Star originally for Shrek. Really can't tell how I'm feeling about this

[@freakyfro99]

Wow I didn't expect to be attacked for my age in the comment section XD My teachers loved making us sing this song for no damn reason all the time so my grade already loved it. Then Shrek came out and really solidified it as one *the* songs of our generation lol.

[@rowandawson9750]

To distract a small group that was taking a test I was in, they played the outro song of the video and it was incredibly distracting

[@Soul2spin]

Starting to think Logic wanted to capitalize on meme culture the whole time with that line.... 🤔

[@QJ89]

Poor choice of track, dude!

[@TheTortuga58]

The flying dutchman pulling the loop rope fucking KILLED me

[@wesleyhunt7599]

"Frontier Psychiatrist" is the meme-iest song ever made. If you want a meme song, you look to The Avalanches.

[@Ledezma1996]

And that music video is like 20 years old now

[@zackmaster79]

Analysis of green jelly cereal killer

[@TwilightLanayru]

That ending, I can’t

[@davidbanan.]

that ending is litterally what i probably sound like when i sing

[@groovy4451]

I think Ocean Man is a bit different because Ween has a very dedicated following.

[@MissLiss1215]

I still get Friday stuck in my head on a regular basis

[@jenniferlee4506]

"I try to keep this as family-friendly as possible." Well, that explains why the meme song of all meme songs, iLOVEFRiDAY - MiA KHALiFA, didn't get a special mention. 🤣

[@blob9638]

Neil cicieraga or how ymca made me cry

[@hunterthekitsune9536]

Richard Dawkins made the term meme? As an Atheist, this simple fact made me laugh harder than I should.

[@sagecolvard9644]

It gets better, he invented the term to describe how religion spread when it was first formed.

[@popland1977]

@@sagecolvard9644 Seems like an odd metaphor

[@LAkadian]

@@popland1977 Not a metaphor.

[@mauricioflv]

Shittyflute wasn't even mentioned, I'm baffled

[@Lionfrog13]

Dorian Electra’s edgelord has forgiven all of Rebecca Black’s sins

[@violets.and.violets]

5:27 don’t you mean....MEMEorable?!

[@soaribb32]

This pitch shifting in Mariah Carey songs is quite funny

[@nnnn1285]

MY MAN REALLY NEVER SEEN DA ENDING OF THE GRADUATE LMAO

[@Soul2spin]

Who can RELATE WOOOOOO

[@QJ89]

Relate to the most Fucking Depressing Rap Song of the 2010's? Yep.

[@perennials118]

Is that Johnny Johnny song another version of Baby Shark?

[@typicalfurry2747]

0:26 THE LICC

[@notafamousperson95]

I hate they ruined Breakbot's song, I loved it...now I'm fearful of playing it 🤣

[@ewa1680]

someBODY once told me..

[@Jahu-qs2us]

9:40 "years ago" in this contect means 1971 btw :)

[@aflhabalafhabab]

I'm afraid you may've forgotten Ojamajo Carnival!

[@jcmurie]

My wife carpooled for a group of freshmen in highschool, and for months she had them convinced that Rebecca Black's Friday was about JFK's assassination, so whenever I hear that song, that's what I think about

[@breakingawesome4888]

how did he go this whole video without referencing megalovania even once

[@danielg.w5733]

Digimon movie.. nuff said

[@jonathansendker7871]

is he goNNA mEnTION THE GOATS

[@allynfornow]

Where can I listen to the backing tracks in these videos?

[@laurenforster9264]

this is so clever

[@bencrowe8823]

WEEN MENTIONED

[@DisintegrationZerfall]

Tha licc

[@abrax.98]

why does your room look like an early bo burnham video?

[@afterdinnercreations936]

It's largely on-part of the audience. Corporations can't make memes without turning off their audience. Remember "puppy monkey baby?" It's like your parents trying to be "hip."

[@almathomassen6447]

Don’t forget the lorax let it grow!

[@Karmy.]

Surprised you didn't mention the Darude - Sandstorm joke for when you ask what the song name is

[@Ahex75]

Yes, it must be local meme then. I recognised only rickrolled meme. Friday is just a bad song, but not necessarily a meme. One popular meme here in Finland is Black Sabbath's Paranoid. If band ask from the audience if they have any wishes Paranoid is very often mentioned. It happens in any concert, weddings etc. And quite often band plays a bit of it, because it is song that every quitarist know.

[@notsyzagts7967]

@@Ahex75 Don't know what part of the internet you were on but Friday was totally a meme during its prime. I saw too much of it.

[@SlyHikari03]

Was this pro produced by Adam Neely?

[@IlloyedKater]

Old town road was a meme in its beginning and almost entirety...

[@lordcoe5577]

Wtf is going on with his thumb at 5:35

[@SCWood]

speaking of meme songs, are you gonna do a video on Neil Cicirega's "mouth" trilogy?

[@JD3Gamer]

Mmmmm whatchu saaaay. Mmmm that you only did well

[@kevinalford]

What the hell is a lightbulb joke?

[@longmeaderulez]

I can't tell if you mis-sourcing the use of "The Sound of Silence" is bait or...

[@ChocoGarfind]

The fact that he didn't include Mooo! by Doja Cat

[@Wildcard71]

Toujours le meme.

[@danybf99]

Would be interesting to see a case study of how TiKTok is now responsible of making so many song viral hits and what it takes to make one.

[@pierrekiwiz]

how did you manage to stay so serious?

[@pablobratcat]

You forgot Krazy Frog 😂

[@tristan5494]

Your transition is a ripoff of adam neely and i love you for it. I get its a common thing in jazz but still

[@Cohemotgus]

Wooooooaaaah. Flamingos a meme?!?!

[@KlaytonsStory]

why your thumb bend so much

[@picanigeorgello2847]

Double jointed innit

[@ratstickricky2651]

Summary: i just think its funny