By ANNE COUTURE
WEB EDITOR
Before January 30, 2013, no one had ever heard of Baauer’s, “Harlem Shake.” Now, it is the number one iTunes song in Australia, only ousted from the number one position in the United States and the United Kingdom by a new One Direction song.
A 30-second snippet from “Harlem Shake” is used to create a video that usually consists of a single dancer wearing a headpiece or helmet. This lone dancer is surrounded by a group of people oblivious to his awkward dance moves. Then, the bass drops and all hell breaks loose. The people who were once minding their own business are now joined by even more people and all of them are dancing convulsively. These people are typically clad in skimpy outfits, and a few of them wave around strange and random props.
According to statistics provided by YouTube, this video sharing site has over 4,000 Harlem Shake videos a day and that number is predicted to continue rising. On Valentine’s Day, an estimated 40,000 Harlem Shake videos were posted.
Perhaps the reason that Harlem Shake is so popular on iTunes is because people are buying the track simply to compose their own 30-second videos.
The Washington Post has even noticed the meme and claims that the reason behind its success is due to its simplicity and its short time frame. Anyone who has a camera, tripod and a decent amount of friends can produce this video. That’s not to say that those are the most popular though, as creativity is the driving force behind Harlem Shake, which is proven by Harlem Shake videos even being filmed underwater.
One such video recreation has even been done by Fordham University by Mike Rubacky, Daniel Stein, Ansel Hoang, Dan Snyder, Albert Dalipi, Zach Olah, Kris Thompson, Billy Fitzpatrickal, Adriano Pierroz and Connor Regan seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7ZKiHKf1X4
Ironically, the “Fordham Shake” members did not plan on filming their video. As one of the members, Daniel Stein, puts it, “We didn’t know how to act so we took our clothes off, then families started to yell. We got scared so we started dancing.” He did note that without the snow, this video would “probably include Father McSchane with a lot of bacon and probably people complaining about the cafeteria.”
The population of Fordham seems to be divided on if Harlem Shake is something that will have the same impact as the YouTube dance fad, Gangnam Style. Jackie Gawne, FCRH ’15, said she does not think the two are comparable, but “What are we going to play at our weddings? Gangnam Style and Harlem Shake.” She also noted that she was first introduced to Harlem Shake by seeing Fordham Shake.
In contrast, Michael Cavanaugh, FCRH ’13, does not think it will last long and says that he will, “give it a week.” He has yet to see Fordham Shake, but he agrees that renditions of it are entertaining but he has yet to “laugh out loud”.
It seems like everyone is getting in on the Harlem Shake Bandwagon but is that necessarily a good thing? The feeling you got when your parents joined Facebook resurfaces when you watch a Harlem Shake video featuring old people at a retirement home.
For now, Harlem Shake is here to say. Only the Internet will tell how long it is here to last. In the meantime, watch this video of the top ten Harlem Shakes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R8HGsbI4QY. But if you only watch one Harlem Shake Video, please make it this adorable Puppy Harlem Shake: http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/animal-house/201302/puppies-get-harlem-shake-craze.
*It is worth noting that “the Harlem Shake” a dance move in the 1980s, does not seem to be present in any of the videos.
