Blogs and Stories
It Must Be Stopped: Hipster Lip Dub Videos
In case there was any doubt that the chief purpose of the internet is to perpetuate narcissism, lip dub videos put that to rest.
The origin of the lip dub is a mystery. Nobody really knows who created the very first one, though “Flagpole Sitta,” filmed by the employees of a company called Connected Ventures, was one of the earliest. These videos are artifacts from the pre-economic-crisis world: gratuitious, over-the-top displays of 20-somethings jubilation. You hate them for having so much fun—damn that unbridled, financially secure joy! Here are the rules, followed by six of the worst offenders.
1) The entire song must be done in one continuous shot. No edits, no cuts.
2) It must involve “real people.” No professional actors allowed. (Beautiful, skinny hipsters, on the other hand, are more than welcome.)
3) It must seem incredibly spontaneous and whimsical, as if 20 people just “coincidentally” wound up in the same place and decided to film a video.
4) No matter what, you have to own it.
1. “Groove is In The Heart” by Deee-Lite
The employees of popular web aggregator Digg created this lip dub in their San Francisco office. They claim the purpose was to visually introduce their employees so people would know who to look for at the next Digg event.
2. “257 Weeks” by Nine Days
This lip dub is actually fairly impressive for its high production values. Created by Digital Media students at Furtwangen University in Germany, it nevertheless drives us up the wall.
3. “Tambureddu” by Domenico Modugno
Note the crowd gathered to watch this one—apparently, it’s rarer for people in Europe to make fools of themselves in public.
4. “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey
This group of twenty young tech professionals filmed this lip dub in Cyprus at precisely the moment our economy came crashing down, setting off a fire of negative commentary about how their ostentatious behavior marked “the end of Web 2.0.”
5. “Need You Tonight” by INXS
Filmed at Revision3, a professional content creation site, this lip dub is ultimate example of how these things can become a platform for two divas to overtake the show. They probably won't be recording any more lip dubs any time soon, we hear they laid off a third of their staff this week.
6. “Nine in the Afternoon” by Panic at the Disco
It’s official: lip dubbing has gone Hollywood, which means it must be on its way out. Jessica Alba and Romany Malco, with their army of partially clothed Hollywood beauties, serenade you through a sunny LA office, complete with roof deck.
The Right Dumps Carrie
Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
What's Joe's Problem?
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Geithner's Stock Plummeting
Jeff Madrick is a contributor to the New York Review of Books and a former economics columnist for the New York Times. He is editor of Challenge Magazine, visiting professor of humanities at Cooper Union, and senior fellow at the New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. He is the author of Taking America, The End of Affluence (Random House) and The Case for Big Government.
Real-Life Mario Kart and Other Crazy YouTube Stunts
Randi Zuckerberg works in marketing at Facebook, where she leads the company’s election strategy and has pioneered several large media partnerships. Included in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2008 Digital Power List, she is also a founder of The Dot Comix, an online video troupe that creates satirical videos about technology and geek culture.
Dance Your Way to a Ph.D.
Randi Zuckerberg works in marketing at Facebook, where she leads the company’s election strategy and has pioneered several large media partnerships. Included in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2008 Digital Power List, she is also a founder of The Dot Comix, an online video troupe that creates satirical videos about technology and geek culture.
My Top 5 Videos of Turkey Gone Wrong
Randi Zuckerberg works in marketing at Facebook, where she leads the company’s election strategy and has pioneered several large media partnerships. Included in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2008 Digital Power List, she is also a founder of The Dot Comix, an online video troupe that creates satirical videos about technology and geek culture.
I didn't see any hipsters.
I think I saw maybe half of one.
Gee, young folks being creative and having some fun. Sounds horrible, how dare they. You don't like it? Don't watch, 'nuff said. Oh, and take that stick out of your butt.
I thought Randy's friend, Julia Allison, ran with it after her ex-bf Jakob Lodwick came up with it - or at least the term for it.
This one is the coolest one I have ever seen. Seriously.
http://www.toastedrav.com/post/3819/trav_video
um, i don't get your (faux) outrage--i'm about as bitter about not being 25 and carefree as i can imagine a person getting, and not only do these videos not trigger any resentment, they look like fun to make. most of these people do this sort of thing for a living. okay, a less-silly variant, but i see the appeal of the challenge (the single take & how to top what's already been done).
i love the cypriot video (matching bathing suits!), despite my lack of desire to spend any time with the scions of cyprus's ruling class.
This user is no longer registered.
Um, is it just hipster lip dubs that must die or all lip dubs? I was just wondering because: Going to the Chapel Lipdub: Starring Randi Zuckerberg Tworetzky (http://www.vimeo.com/1066441) and Lip Dub! Dancing in the Streets (http://www.vimeo.com/1329384).
oh, lip sync without the drag or booze. cubedom is really that dull.
Hey, it's the antithesis of MTV: from millions of quick cuts, to no cuts at all. Filmed on location, with hand-held cameras. It's a documentary-style music video. I love it!
Wait a minute.. here you are trash talking about Lip Dubs and you did one with the queen of social narcissism and lip dubs! Julia Alison and her posse. They have been famous for making tons of lip dubs and you willingly starred in one.:
http://vimeo.com/1329384?pg=embed&sec=1329384
You should be fired.
Lip dubs have been around since video took off, but I hear Lodwick claims to have coined the term, which is maybe why your buddy J. Allison does so many of them. Didn't you do one with her also?
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.
Please log in to leave comments.