It doesn't make sense to me, and I've tried to understand. I voluntarily consumed parodies of the original - something I am normally loath to do - and I still don't get it. The original is fun, sure, but how did it generate this response? It seems disproportionate to the actual merits of the material.
Well it is quite likely disproportionate to the actual merits of the material - but that should come as no surprise as the outcry for almost everything is disproportionate to the actual merits of the material...
Well it is quite likely disproportionate to the actual merits of the material - but that should come as no surprise as the outcry for almost everything is disproportionate to the actual merits of the material...
Yeah, but this one is way out there. It's disproportionately disproportionate.
Okay, so, it'll be a long explanation and I'll leave a lot out, but I'll do my best. I know the time travel makes it hard to follow, but I've rewatched it a bunch of times so I think I have a handle on it.
So, in Korea there is this guy without arms named PSY, and the song starts on his birthday. He's chatting with his friends over his prototype Google Glasses, and they invite him to Gangnam, a district of Seoul. But what he doesn't know is that Gangnam is in fact a portal to an alternate dimension based on Kinect-style dancing games, and he finds himself in the middle of a chaotic and archetypical war between dudes without shirts, sexy ladies, and old people on buses, where he must advance through trash and snow to gain levels.
After combining various items in his house to create a variety of classy suits, PSY quickly masters a cheesy dance move which, though deceptively simple, can be performed for a high combo rating and lots of points, solidifying his mythological role as Lord of Groove. He wanders around Gangnam questing to solve the problems of the inhabitants, such as blowing up construction workers, getting the old people to party, and frightening asses into submission with screaming.
However, Yoo Jae-Seok, who has also entered Gangnam and is also leveling up, as well as having alchemized a devastating yellow suit, is hot on his trail. He challenges PSY to a dance battle, which is close fought, but eventually PSY forces him back to his car and claims victory. PSY moves on to meet Hyuna on the subway. Hyuna is actually a member of a time traveling alien race that expresses itself through dance, and who created Gangnam before accidentally transporting themselves into it and becoming a part of it's mythology. PSY proves a master conversationalist, inadvertently causing her to become intensely attracted to him in one of the aliens strange means of romance. In order to escape embarrassment and an interstellar incident, PSY escapes through a teleporter into a large bathtub.
After taking care of some unrelated business, PSY prepares for a final showdown with the unseen bosses of Gangnam, American dance legends LMFAO. He gathers an army of Gangnam residences from across stereotypes and confronts them, using his powerful horse-dancing move to great effect. So great is this offensive that PSY ascends to God-Tier, becoming the cartoon at the end of the video before travelling back in time to ensure he beats Yoo Jae-Seok in the dance off.
Well it is quite likely disproportionate to the actual merits of the material - but that should come as no surprise as the outcry for almost everything is disproportionate to the actual merits of the material...
Yeah, but this one is way out there. It's disproportionately disproportionate.
Simple.
1. It's a catchy, well-done pop song as far as pop songs go.
2. The music video had very high production values.
3. The song/video have a few key moments that are very memorable and easy to mash up with just about anything (e.g., the butt, the elevator).
4. The video has a specific dance that is able to be learned and performed, if poorly, by groups of people in public places. (See all the dance-fads both in anime fandom and in the "real" world - aka the Macarena).
5. The non-Korean people who first discovered it were fairly hardcore fans of Running Man and other Korean TV: Koreaboos and the like. These people likely heavily overlap with mashup culture in general, so a strong initial seed of mashing it up was planted.
6. The song topped the charts in Korea, providing a core staying power on fundamental aspects, independent of mashups and other related works.
7. The initial mashups and core popularity brought it to the attention of enough mainstream media outlets to spread it outside of the Internetosphere.
It was these elements combined that caused the perfect storm. If any one of them had been missing, Gangnam Style would have been little more than one Internet thing among many. But the combined power of these seven points caused an unprecedented spread.
The world was ripe for a very powerful meme to grow and spread like this. Gangnam Style just happened to be the first spark in a sea of dry kindling.
1. It's a catchy, well-done pop song as far as pop songs go.
2. The music video had very high production values.
3. The song/video have a few key moments that are very memorable and easy to mash up with just about anything (e.g., the butt, the elevator).
These first 3 are what throw me. The rest I find agreeable, but these...
I found the song to be extremely average as far as pop goes. Nothing noteworthy there.
The video did have high production values, but so do most videos from professional pop artists. Popular music is partially a visual art, so it's an important component. This isn't really special.
It does have some moments that stand out more than others, but I stopped caring about them when the video was over. I found some of them to be a bit ham-fisted, and the escalation of the dancing felt too gradual compared to the general over-the-topness of the rest.
I dunno, I just thought the song and video weren't terribly noteworthy. I'm not sure why it was so popular in Korea in the first place.
Comments
http://www.f1db.ru/q7457
And also correct.
It doesn't make sense to me, and I've tried to understand. I voluntarily consumed parodies of the original - something I am normally loath to do - and I still don't get it. The original is fun, sure, but how did it generate this response? It seems disproportionate to the actual merits of the material.
Can someone explain this to me?
So, in Korea there is this guy without arms named PSY, and the song starts on his birthday. He's chatting with his friends over his prototype Google Glasses, and they invite him to Gangnam, a district of Seoul. But what he doesn't know is that Gangnam is in fact a portal to an alternate dimension based on Kinect-style dancing games, and he finds himself in the middle of a chaotic and archetypical war between dudes without shirts, sexy ladies, and old people on buses, where he must advance through trash and snow to gain levels.
After combining various items in his house to create a variety of classy suits, PSY quickly masters a cheesy dance move which, though deceptively simple, can be performed for a high combo rating and lots of points, solidifying his mythological role as Lord of Groove. He wanders around Gangnam questing to solve the problems of the inhabitants, such as blowing up construction workers, getting the old people to party, and frightening asses into submission with screaming.
However, Yoo Jae-Seok, who has also entered Gangnam and is also leveling up, as well as having alchemized a devastating yellow suit, is hot on his trail. He challenges PSY to a dance battle, which is close fought, but eventually PSY forces him back to his car and claims victory. PSY moves on to meet Hyuna on the subway. Hyuna is actually a member of a time traveling alien race that expresses itself through dance, and who created Gangnam before accidentally transporting themselves into it and becoming a part of it's mythology. PSY proves a master conversationalist, inadvertently causing her to become intensely attracted to him in one of the aliens strange means of romance. In order to escape embarrassment and an interstellar incident, PSY escapes through a teleporter into a large bathtub.
After taking care of some unrelated business, PSY prepares for a final showdown with the unseen bosses of Gangnam, American dance legends LMFAO. He gathers an army of Gangnam residences from across stereotypes and confronts them, using his powerful horse-dancing move to great effect. So great is this offensive that PSY ascends to God-Tier, becoming the cartoon at the end of the video before travelling back in time to ensure he beats Yoo Jae-Seok in the dance off.
And that's Gangnam Style so far!
1. It's a catchy, well-done pop song as far as pop songs go.
2. The music video had very high production values.
3. The song/video have a few key moments that are very memorable and easy to mash up with just about anything (e.g., the butt, the elevator).
4. The video has a specific dance that is able to be learned and performed, if poorly, by groups of people in public places. (See all the dance-fads both in anime fandom and in the "real" world - aka the Macarena).
5. The non-Korean people who first discovered it were fairly hardcore fans of Running Man and other Korean TV: Koreaboos and the like. These people likely heavily overlap with mashup culture in general, so a strong initial seed of mashing it up was planted.
6. The song topped the charts in Korea, providing a core staying power on fundamental aspects, independent of mashups and other related works.
7. The initial mashups and core popularity brought it to the attention of enough mainstream media outlets to spread it outside of the Internetosphere.
It was these elements combined that caused the perfect storm. If any one of them had been missing, Gangnam Style would have been little more than one Internet thing among many. But the combined power of these seven points caused an unprecedented spread.
The world was ripe for a very powerful meme to grow and spread like this. Gangnam Style just happened to be the first spark in a sea of dry kindling.
I found the song to be extremely average as far as pop goes. Nothing noteworthy there.
The video did have high production values, but so do most videos from professional pop artists. Popular music is partially a visual art, so it's an important component. This isn't really special.
It does have some moments that stand out more than others, but I stopped caring about them when the video was over. I found some of them to be a bit ham-fisted, and the escalation of the dancing felt too gradual compared to the general over-the-topness of the rest.
I dunno, I just thought the song and video weren't terribly noteworthy. I'm not sure why it was so popular in Korea in the first place.
I do enjoy the term "Koreaboo," though. Good one.