Temporarily beyond well and not-well (Harlem Shake)
Wrote about "Harlem Shake" at the Jukebox, but I chose writing my own dance over writing about the viral dance meme. So here are some undeveloped thoughts about the latter:
The original Australian dorm-room version: Starts with people in their individual, isolated activities. Then the bass drops, and now they're in wiggly motion. Cuts off after 15 more seconds, before it's really an issue - for me* - whether or not they're dancing well, whether or not they're dancing with each other.
The Norwegian army version: Soldiers in order, in formation. The bass drops. Formation lost, everybody in wiggly motion.
Beat as infectious agent, which I brought up in my 2011 wrap-up regarding LMFAO's vid for "Party Rock Anthem," the 28 Days takeoff: We start with one person infected with the dance. Others apparently ward this off either by not noticing or by pretending not to notice. Bass drops. They've all got the dance fever. But are they taking each other into account any better than before? (A metaphor for writing? We see something, at first we try not to let it change us, then we flail about? Repeat?)
*Obv. it's an issue for some people whether the dancers dance well, and who's dancing. I don't have any instant-pundit ideas, but see my "Dance Rock 2000" essay for where my thoughts might find their way, should I decide to think more about "Harlem Shake" (if you've got time for 5,000 words; I do think they're worth it). Also relevant is my saying at the end of my 2011 wrap-up that LMFAO pretend to be desperate dance dolts while actually dancing well, that Bom sings well while taking on a joke persona, that G-Dragon feigns clumsiness in order to let himself loose. So: trying to find a putative way out in a constricted social space, though the ways out themselves seem constricted to a limited number of options. It is important to me that LMFAO manage to dance well. I think the viral memesters in the "Harlem Shake" videos have found a temporary way out of the issue of "dance well versus not dance well" (though the Aussies I embedded do seem on beat).
The original Australian dorm-room version: Starts with people in their individual, isolated activities. Then the bass drops, and now they're in wiggly motion. Cuts off after 15 more seconds, before it's really an issue - for me* - whether or not they're dancing well, whether or not they're dancing with each other.
Click to viewThe Norwegian army version: Soldiers in order, in formation. The bass drops. Formation lost, everybody in wiggly motion.
Beat as infectious agent, which I brought up in my 2011 wrap-up regarding LMFAO's vid for "Party Rock Anthem," the 28 Days takeoff: We start with one person infected with the dance. Others apparently ward this off either by not noticing or by pretending not to notice. Bass drops. They've all got the dance fever. But are they taking each other into account any better than before? (A metaphor for writing? We see something, at first we try not to let it change us, then we flail about? Repeat?)
*Obv. it's an issue for some people whether the dancers dance well, and who's dancing. I don't have any instant-pundit ideas, but see my "Dance Rock 2000" essay for where my thoughts might find their way, should I decide to think more about "Harlem Shake" (if you've got time for 5,000 words; I do think they're worth it). Also relevant is my saying at the end of my 2011 wrap-up that LMFAO pretend to be desperate dance dolts while actually dancing well, that Bom sings well while taking on a joke persona, that G-Dragon feigns clumsiness in order to let himself loose. So: trying to find a putative way out in a constricted social space, though the ways out themselves seem constricted to a limited number of options. It is important to me that LMFAO manage to dance well. I think the viral memesters in the "Harlem Shake" videos have found a temporary way out of the issue of "dance well versus not dance well" (though the Aussies I embedded do seem on beat).