In That Weird Part
[DE]
Collection of videos from YouTube, curated by CTM, 2012–2013.
"In That Weird Part" is a work in progress, a collection of videos found on YouTube, and selected by CTM, that is concerned with the interpretation and editing of pop music in internet user culture. With Misheard Lyrics (incorrectly transcribed lyrics), Shreds (videos set to alternative, incongruent audio tracks), Literal Videos (re-dubbed lyrics that describe the video’s action in a self-referential way), Hardware Music (music made with non-musical devices), Mash-ups, and Video Re-enactments, social media platforms such as YouTube have spawned their own genres based on remakes of user videos, digitally distributed pop music, and adaptations of famous songs. This collective output leads to an independent aesthetic, a kind of new musical vernacular, that raises questions about the political economy of user rights, copyright issues, the exploitation of immaterial labour, the sociological and anthropological aspects of user interaction, and the psychology of online narcissism.