Big Fat Story
Just when you thought she had no more surprises, this classic(al) video hit the Internet.
What do you do for an encore after you have rocketed to fame at a political convention, participated in some of the most laughable interviews in TV history, and confessed that you enjoying shooting moose from a helicopter? Simple—appear in a grainy video from the 1983 Miss Alaska pageant in which you parade around in a one-piece then, for the talent competition, play the theme of a 1972 Salada Tea commercial on the flute. We’ll never know how many millions of people have seen this video; for weeks copies of it were removed from YouTube as quickly as they were posted. But the ability of the Internet to embarrass prevailed—it always does—and now you can watch Governor Palin show off her embouchure whenever you want.
The beloved Sesame Street duo Bert and Ernie become hardcore rappers.
You don’t have be familiar with the rap group’s M.O.P.’s popular song Ante Up to enjoy this far more popular video. The person who created it did something fairly common on YouTube—use snippets from one source to make it look like the people in it are singing/rapping/yodeling to music from another—but this video takes it to a new joyful level. Not only are the mouth movements and dancing synced perfectly with the original, but Bert and Ernie keep their crowd of Muppet pals (and sheep) grooving just like the rappers do. A rizzeal mizzasterpiece.
To the tune of T.I.’s “Whatever You Like,” students explain the presidential race.
One of the more pleasant surprises of the 2008 campaign arrived in late October with a video of school kids extolling the virtues of both candidates—to music. Never mind that the originator of the tune—rapper T.I.—was heading to prison on weapons charges; the kids were great! It turned out they were students at Ron Clarke academy in Atlanta, and that when you looked closely at their lyrics, they were doing a better job of boiling down the candidates' messages than most of the talking heads on TV. But what will probably endure for most people is the chorus. All together now…
Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah…
The Best Viral Videos of 2008
From Sarah Palin’s flutin’ to Bert and Ernie’s rapping, The Daily Beast celebrates the videos of the year. Come on, you know you like to watch.
He said he’ll do it live. He meant it.
Some talk show hosts pull off the tough guy act so well they seem invulnerable to ridicule. Take Bill O’Reilly. The 2004 “falafel” incident seemed to rattle him a bit, and Keith Olbermann clearly bugs him somewhat, but this video is something even O’Reilly will never live down: footage of the pundit, circa 1985, spinning out of control while hosting Inside Edition. It was like an early Christmas present for O’Reilly’s detractors when this surfaced in May—and forever united Wild Bill with the phrase “We’ll do it live!”
Proving that we’ll always love animals—and Whitney Houston.
It’s been called the top-rated YouTube video of all time and no wonder: it depicts the heartwarming story of a loveable lion reunited after years apart with its owners—yes, owners—and features the soaring vocals of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” Generally the union of a homemade video and copyrighted music leads to the both being yanked off the Internet, but not in this case. The story of Christian has already been turned into a book and a documentary, and now there are reports that it will be the basis of a feature film. One hopes from MGM.
Jack Black stars as Ben Franklin in this 100-proof lesson on electricity.
Benjamin Franklin was certainly known to enjoy a bottle of wine now and then so why not reimagine the story of electricity while tossing back a few—okay, eight—vodka cranberries? That’s just what Drunk History, Vol. 2 (produced by FunnyorDie.com) does in this hysterical interview/re-enactment of the tale of the kite and key, according to some drunk dude—starring Jack Black as Big Ben. The vomiting scenes are also a nice touch of cinema verite. We present the first 90 seconds; click here for the full five-minute video.
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typical, the only kid in the class rap that had no rhythm is a chubby white kid.
In regards to doing it live, this is better than the real thing: http://tinyurl.com/4aokkb
Were these really the best viral vids of the year? I must be out of touch with the current meme cycle. Other than O'Reily, these registered a "meh."
O'Reilly was funny. I've seen the lion piece so many times I just can't watch it anymore. The other stuff-boring.
Geesh...Those kids made me teary. And Drunk History is just brilliant.
Whoever thought to pair the lion reunion with that Whitney Houston song deserves an award.
Haven't seen my favorite video listed anywhere...it's the one of the dog pulling the injured dog off the freeway, risking his own life by dodging dozens of cars. I felt that was one of the most compassionate acts ever caught on film. Made me hopeful.
You missed this viral wonder, I HAVE A CAR... because in the end it's all about driving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqAcIpGY8Nw
Happy New Year.
Thank you.
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