1 Sex Sex 0.132%
2 Lil Wayne Music (Artist) 0.109%
3 Low Music (Artist) 0.100%
4 Chris Brown Music (Artist) 0.091%
5 No Air Music (Song Title) 0.081%
6 Porn Sex 0.078%
7 Family Guy TV 0.077%
8 Soulja Boy Music (Artist) 0.065%
9 Naruto Anime 0.065%
10 Funny Comedy 0.063%
11 Jonas Brothers Music (Artist) 0.063%
12 Usher Music (Artist) 0.053%
13 Hannah Montana Music (Artist) 0.050%
14 Jeff Dunham Comedy 0.050%
15 Miley Cyrus Music (Artist) 0.048%
16 Jabbawockeez TV (Dance Group) 0.047%
17 Touch My Body Music (Song Title) 0.047%
18 Love Song Music (Song Title) 0.045%
19 Fights Sports 0.044%
20 American Idol TV 0.043%
21 Bleeding Love Music (Song Title) 0.042%
22 Mariah Carey Music (Artist) 0.042%
23 With You Music (Song Title) 0.041%
24 Sexy Can I Music (Song Title) 0.039%
25 WWE Sports 0.038%

I'm pretty sure that the "Low" coming in at No. 3 is the unkillable T-Pain assisted Flo Rida track and not the Minnesota indie-rock stalwarts, but man would I love to be wrong.

Top 25 YouTube Search Terms: March 2008 [Compete.com, via mediaeater]

(Note: this is the same exact video from the last installment (lazy!), so I won't even bother to comment on it.)

Miley:AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Nick: Huh? What happened? Miley: Its Emily! Emily: *looks at MIley* Miley: Em, why are you kissing mr. Cody fancypants over there? *note: its Cody Linley* *angry* you told me none of us are going to kiss him or like him Emily: *angry* lets go CODY! Kevin: WOAH! i never knew she could be THAT evil. Lorelai: Me neither, i thought she was a nice, sweet girl Alexis: Well...people change... Ada: Hey MIley, want to hang out with us today MIley: OH SURE! why dont you guys come to the park with me today... Joe: thats okay... Hailey: not okay...ITS GREAT! Ada: yeah! Nick: AWESOME! Alexis: SUPER! Lorelai: that would be nice... ___________________

*AT THE PARK*
Nick:*whispers to Ada* Hey, lets make the plan now...
Ada: SUre... *they split up, miley and hailey, kevin and lorelai , joe and alexis* *with miley and hailey*
Hailey: Aww...look at the lovebirds... Miley: Yeah...lets get them together? Hailey: YEAH...first Joe and Alexis.... *Hailey put a rock on front of Alexis, Alexis tripped and Joe caught her*
*with Joe and Alexis*
Alexis: Thanks for catching me Joe.... Joe: *blushes* so...um...are you and your sisters related with Ada?...
Alexis: yeah...*giggles* didnt Hailey tell us that she's getting our cousin? *giggles*
Joe: *laughs* Oh yeah...hehe...i forgot...
Alexis:*laughs*
Joe: *tries to act angry* no one laughs at DJ DANGER! im gonna tickle you! *laughs and tickles Alexis*
Alexis: AH!! *laughs* stop! *laughs* *runs away*
*with Miley and Hailey*
Miley: Mission Accomplished!
Hailey: High 5!
Miley:*they high 5*
Hailey: Now...Kevin and Lorelai...but i know how shy Lorelai can be...
Miley: hm...I'll lead them to the swings...and you break the other swing...got it?
Hailey: Got it!
*Miley goes to Kevin and Lorelai*
Miley: oops, sorry to barge in but this is my place...but there's the swing over there
Lorelai:oh...its okay...come on Kev. Kevin: o-kay...
*with Kevin, Lorelai and Hailey*
Hailey: oops, sorry guys, i broke the other swing...
Kevin: its okay, Lorelai, you sit and i push....okay?
Lorelai: okay...*Lorelai fell of the swing*
Kevin: O my gosh! Lorelai, are you alright?
Lorelai: its okay...just help me up...please?
kevin: *helps her up and accidentally kisses her* OOPS! sorry...*blushes* Lorelai:*blushes* oh...um...hehe...its fine...
*With Miley and Hailey*
Hailey: its a success!
Miley: YAY! now...Nick and Ada...this is gonna be a little hard because Nick has a HUGE crush on Alexis...
Hailey: and Ada has a HUGE crush on Joe...
Miley: Lets make them realize they're perfect 4 each other...
*Nick and Ada were sitting on a tree* Ada: so...what to do?
Nick: WAIT...i'll go down first...
Ada: wait! Nick...I have to tell you something...
Nick: WHAT?!
Ada: I...
WHAT IS ADA SUPPOSED TO SAY? WILL IT INVOLVE THE OTHERS? NICK? JOE? WHO?
note: i just love leaving you guys clueless...im so EVIL..mwahhahaha...
~emogurl810~

Kevin: WOAH! i never knew she could be THAT evil.
Lorelai: Me neither, i thought she was a nice, sweet girl
Alexis: Well...people change...
Ada: Hey MIley, want to hang out with us today
MIley: OH SURE! why dont you guys come to the park with me today...

Despite the emotional depth of the fist scene, the park is where this episode really kicks into high gear. Between Hailey and Miley's matchmaking rampage, and Nick and Ada's scheming to win the hearts of Alexis and Joe, it's a veritable drama cocktail, not to mention the perfect sequence for a montage. Unfortunately that level of editing is far beyond the capabilities of emogurl810, but if it were possible, which song would she use? What with Hailey and Miley's particularly aggressive techniques (forcing Alexis to trip, breaking playground equipment), the first thing that came to mind was the goofy and yet somehow vaguely malicious Benny Hill theme. But then that just seemed a tad too frantic in tone. So I considered how the sequence would look, to steal a joke from some friends, set to Steely Dan's "Reelin' In the Years." A pretty nice fit, though a little too introspective for a light-hearted matchmaking montage. But I was liking the '70s theme, so finally I landed on Fleetwood Mac's excellent, bouncy ode to the mysteries of love, "I Don't Want to Know." One day when this series is made into a Disney movie, that sequence will have to become a reality. Of course it'll have to be Miley Cyrus's cover of the song instead of the original.

Goodness this has gotten off track. Where were we? Oh yes, Miley and Hailey break the swing so that Lorelei will fall off, and Kevin will in turn be forced to help her up off the ground and "accidentally kiss her." I don't know where emogurl810 is from, how old she is, etc., but if she's prone to thinking that kisses happen by accident, I'm afraid she's got a long, disappointing road ahead of her. But that's not even the most endearingly naive statement of the episode. No, that distinction belongs to this unfortunate bit of dialog between Nick and Ada as they sit in a tree trying to figure out how to win Alexis and Joe...or are they exploring another aspect of young love?

*Nick and Ada were sitting on a tree* Ada: so...what to do? Nick: WAIT...i'll go down first... Ada: wait! Nick...I have to tell you something... Nick: WHAT?! Ada: I...

I always knew Nick was was the most generous of the three.

So it seems as if the JoBromance is beginning to tie up its loose ends. Two couples were made in this episode, and if the ending is any indication, a third is on its way. But what of Miley and Hailey? And who's Emily? Is she that girl at the end of the video holding the dog? Answers to these questions and more in Episode 5.

Nick: Its Miley! (authors note: In this series Miley doesnt like Nick, she is just their..lets say, bridge to love, they all become bffs but lets continue the story first )
Kevin: And her back-up dancer!
Joe: She must have done something wrong!
Miley:But babe! I'm just friends with Cody, that was just the kissing scene in Hannah Montana.
Dancer:I cant bare to hear anymore excuses, Miley!
Miley:Ugh! I cant take it anymore!*storms off and sees the JB and the girls*
Nick:Back off, woman!
Miley: But as you can see Nick, i dont like you anymore.
Nick: Oh..sorry...
Joe:Maybe she's after me...*in a karate position*
the girls(except Miley):Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhh....
Miley:course not!
Joe: Oops sorry Miley...
Miley: Its okay..im just so mad! So..you guys are these beautiful girls your girlfriends?
JB:(all at the same time)noooooooooooo....hehe....*they laugh*
Alexis: We didnt introduce ourselves yet..Im Alexis...nice to meet you..
Ada: I'm Ada...
Lorelai: Sup...I'm Lorelai...u can call me Lory
Hailey: Hi I'm Hailey...
Miley: You girls are so pretty!
Girls: thanks you too!
Miley:Thank you!
Girls: ur very nice too...
MIley: you too...
JB: i can see ur getting along...
*they hear a scream from one of the girls*

LOL Who screamed? Is it Miley again? You'll have to find out... Sorry its uber short... ~emogurl810~

Now that we know that Miley is but a mere "bridge to love," and that in the end everyone is BFFs, what incentive do we have to keep reading? It seems emogurl810 had jumped the narrative gun, but perhaps she's just working on a level that transcends traditional story structure. The more puzzling matter at hand is actually the introduction of the Miley Cyrus character. As you may recall, Miley—or at least a picture of Miley—played the role of Hailey in the first episode. So are we to presume that there's actually another actress playing the part of Miley Cyrus? While Miley continues her role as Hailey? Or does the actress playing Hailey just look like Miley Cyrus? The mind boggles.

The only thing I can work out here is that Miley, in a chillingly Britney Spearsesque fashion, is dating her backup dancer, who's none too pleased about her kissing scene with Cody in the Hannah Montana movie. Miley rightly rejects this immature unprofessionalism and storms off into an encounter with the Jo. Bros. and the triplets. From there the story devolves into a series of introductions and face-affirming compliments. This installment is by far the weakest, ending on yet another "who's screaming?" cliffhanger that's neither as exciting or original as last episode's pizza questions.

The video is no improvement, either. This time emogurl810 didn't even bother with the seemingly random text animations ("Good Job!" "Whoa!" etc.). There is a picture of the middle Jonas in a popped-collar purple polo shirt, but it's just not enough to carry the entire video. Plus, who's that girl with the dog at the end? A disappointing turn for the JoBromance. Let's hope episode 4 gets things back on track.

This one definitely makes the best use of the preexisting footage, adding animation to most of the images and screwing around with the colors. The iridescent sheep standing amid a swarm of fireflies provide a particularly striking image.

Someone's an art student! Luckily stop-motion couldn't be a more perfect fit for Sigur Ròs' jerky, yet peculiarly fluid sound. I think this one might be my favorite. Not only is the stop-motion well done and very appropriate for for the song, a few of the Heima clips in there have been put through the experimental cycle on an editing program and come out all backwards and color-confused. It's out-there without being pretentious, much like Sigur Ròs (though I assume some would beg to differ on that one).

This video, like the worst of Sigur Ròs, is just plain boring. The concept appears to be that the footage is some sort of old photograph, as it's drenched in sepia tones and framed to look like a very old photo. It just comes off looking like a page of the most oblique scrapbook in the world. But on the plus side, at the very end the horses run backwards just like in Enigma's "Return to Innocence" video.

The rest of the videos, which are up on YouTube's front page, tread along similar lines: lots of Icelandic landscapes altered with experimental editing and varying levels of pretentiousness. But despite the clips' (somewhat inevitable) artsy earnestness, it's comforting to know that YouTube will cater to a slightly higher-brow sensibility every once in a while; with any luck the site will make this 24-hour-takeover concept a regular feature. My only complaint is that this guy didn't submit.

YouTube [Official site]

Baio decided to look at the ratio of views to comments on the video-sharing site's top 10 clips, and he found a surprising anomaly: "[The] CSS video has a very unusual 21,487-to-1 ratio. In other words, for every 21,487 views, someone leaves one rating. To compare, the average ratio for every other video in the top 10 is a more reasonable 590-to-1." The video's play count has grown exponentially over the past month, too; since February 25 it's racked up about 25 million pageviews. (To compare, YouTube's most popular video of the last week—the one of the Lufthansa plane bobbing from side to side—has only been played 1,662,543 times.) So it's not hard to wonder how likely it is that those views came not from people, but YouTube-hitting bots—even if the clip's title does have the always-popular search term "sex" smack in the middle.

Since this is an unofficial video, one can assume that if there was cheating going on, it wasn't at the behest of the band. I'm just hoping that it was some hacker who was just sick of getting sent "Evolution Of Dance" by every one of his extended family members—at least the motivation of kicking something that really isn't funny down the list would make this whole scam a little less silly. (But only a little.)

New Video Overtakes "Evolution Of Dance" For #1 Spot On YouTube [waxy.org]
CANSEI DE SER SEXY Music is My Hot Hot Sex [YouTube]

Videos consisting solely of live performance and publicity clips are on thin ice to begin with, as they basically have only editing to save them from total banality. And unfortunately, it seems that nobody at KC Express HQ read the Windows Media Maker help guide. There are a few meek dissolves toward the beginning of the video, but other than that the clip is an uninspired series of nondescript clips (Kelly posing for a photo shoot, doing a touchdown dance, etc.), most of which are inexplicably in black and white. Not even the classic tribute video sepia treatment! It's disheartening, to say the least.

All that being said, this is not by any means an assault on the Kelly Clarkson Express, who obviously have their hearts in the right place, but simply lack the resources to edit together a decent video. The real culprit in this tragedy is Clive Davis and his refusal to promote a song with as much potential as "How I Feel." While My December may not have been the hit machine that Davis was hoping for, he could have, at the very least, given this song a try on the radio. It's not stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks pop gold like "Since U Been Gone"—so few things are, really—but it's a better-than-decent song, and it's got something that so many other songs of its ilk lack: lyrics.

Obviously, most pop songs have articulations that form words, but "How I Feel" is like a good old-fashioned song where the singer actually says something of personal importance to him or her. I like that grating Colbie Caillat song as much as the next sucker, but the lyrics—despite their ostensibly very personal nature—are still high-sheen and empty. Not that Kelly Clarkson is all of a sudden Joni Mitchell these days, but there's certainly a heftier element to "How I Feel," and that comes in part from its less conventional, more specific lyrics. It's a solid pop song with just the slightest hint of integrity, and it's a real shame that its marketing has been left to enthusiastic but ultimately powerless fan clubs.

Maybe the solution here is a call to the tribute-video community, who tend to be unfailingly strange, yet occasionally successful in their music video adventures. After all, look what they did for "Breakaway."

Apparently the Swedish prosecutors have unearthed documents linking the Pirate Bay's proprietors to offshore banking accounts and other large sums of money, and those funds were allegedly acquired through the hoarding of ad revenue from the site. The fact that the Russia Today report mentioned this, and didn't say that the Pirate Bay's founders were actually heroes worthy of parades down the main street of Stockholm and any other Swedish city with a main street, inspired cries of "bias" and some all-too-predictable outrage from the YouTube hordes:

spaz102
That's not news, it's a media attack. It was all about giving the creator a bad image, making it look like they were profiting, and making it look like they are stealing. Musicians make something like 5c per sing they sell. The money in in live performing. Therefore, we are only taking profit from greedy music companies.

Don't you love when people who obviously don't know what they're talking about fling numbers around? And there's a lot more like that. Trust me.

But wait, what's this? A lone voice of dissent wondering if everyone is actually being screwed by a bunch of too-smart-for-their-own-good thieves?

lockie84
TPB somehow has to prove to the community that they didn't make money out of it instead just funding their management cost

sandbags80
why? no-ones asking them to be saints. Just to come up with a financial model that actually works in the face of the internet. They have done that, the major record labels arent, so they win. Thats capitalism.

Finally, a call to reason:

oleguinho
I can't believe so many people have commented on this story. There is so many crimes, wars, injustice comitted in the world and the only things that is important for you guys is the fate of a couple of no life adolescents. Stop downloading and have some life you idiots. Try going out, having friends, having sex for a change....

sagephil
Well aren't you a prejudgemental bigot? Is that an advice or an attempt to belittle others for your own satisfaction? What are YOU doing then for the sake of the world? People dont need do justify themselves just because they devote themselves to something you dont put much value in. Besides, the "war" these guys are waging is one of principles.

Ah, the good old free-music-for-me-at-all-times crowd. They're still flogging that whole "hate crime" thing!

Pirate Bay Captain Speaks Out On TV (Comments) [YouTube]

ok.
1. you have no fuking life whatsoever.
2.wanting nick to die from diabetes is the WORST thing anyone can say toward anyone. thats just horrible. He didnt do anything wrong to get it, it happens and hes living with it and making it easier for people who have it to cope with it knowing NOT every celebrity is perfect.
3. if you think the jonas brothers' music sucks and you think the background music you put on here is good, you seriously need a hearing aid. The Jonas Brothers actually sing their songs,not scream into the microphone and call it music.
4. The mosh pits probably turn into a riot because want to die after hearing that so called music.
5. its called a backup band for a reason there are 3 people in the backup band not just the drummer and they get their credit.
6. Thier hair is fine. Just because it isnt spiked or have fades in it doesnt mean its bad.
7.STOP FUCKING HATING ON NICK.
8. They all play instruments, not just guitars. Nick can play guitar, drums, and piano/keyboard. Kevin can play guitar. Joseph plays the tambourine and keyboard and guitar.
9. yeah they have 10 year old fans, but they have older ones too. the age range of fans differs for every celebrity, just because jonas fans are more upfront about it doesnt mean anything.
10. jonas fans dont think we're tuff or mean or whatever you were tryin to portray in that picture of what we "think" we look like.
11. the fans or think they are just "hawt" as you put it, arent really fans of the music they just like their face, cant say i blame them, but there is wayy much more to them then their looks.
12. the childish comments come from the young fans who havent yet learned to be a sick asshole.
13. How can you say they dont have talent. Nicholas Jonas was on broadway when he was fucking 6 years old. explain that.
14. while you're explaining things to me, explain how they look like girls?
15. no jonas concert breaks into a mosh pit so i have no clue what you're saying. the closest thing to a mosh pit may be when they are trying to reach the front because they have jumped down in front of the crowd.
16.if you hate them so much stop talking about and live your own life. stop obsessing over them
17. send me hate mail whatever i really dont care. you dont understand how much the jonas brothers do for their fans because they actually care, they didnt jus come out of no where and go platinum (which they did). they worked there way to the top, so they are actually appreciative of what they have
18. what other group/band/singer do you know of that makes youtube videos for their fans, responds back on myspace, does meet and greets whenever possible, sells tickets at a reasonably low price so everyone can get a show? No one does because no one else cares, they know what its like to be on the bottom and what its like to be on the top.

OK, it's not exactly Luther's 95 Theses, but I am hoping for a follow-up video in which this clip's auteur lays out just what, exactly, makes the brothers Jonas look like girls. Or, barring that, maybe some remedial English lessons for everyone?

The Jonas Brothers suck [YouTube]

Grayzone regrets that it erroneously issued takedown notices to YouTube regarding footage of Led Zeppelin's December 10th concert. The error is ours alone. We acted without authorization from the band or Warner Music Group. Unfortunately, an automated system mistakenly attributed the removal of the content to a copyright claim by Warner Music Group. That was inaccurate. We have informed YouTube of the error and we regret any inconvenience this may have caused.

"Inconvenience"? Hey, guys, you helped news-thirsty bloggers like me get a bunch of posts out of this "mystery" during one of the slowest times of the year! I'm actually kind of grateful, even if I'm a little hurt that I didn't get an explanatory e-mail as well. Maybe next time?

Led Zeppelin YouTube Culprit: Overeager "Bootbusters" [Silicon Alley Insider]
GrayZone [Official site]

Though all involved say that Hollywood Records' role in her online rise has been limited, label executives say they did nothing to discourage Ms. Digby from conveying the impression that she had stumbled into the spotlight. Ms. Digby says she chose the songs. Hollywood Records bought the Apple Inc. laptop computer and software that Ms. Digby — who lives with her parents in Los Angeles's upscale Brentwood neighborhood — used to post her YouTube videos. Her version of "Umbrella" that is being sold at Apple's iTunes Store is a high-quality studio recording made in June by Hollywood Records, which also made it available to radio stations.

Ms. Digby, whose exotic looks reflect her Japanese and Irish heritage, began writing songs as a high-school student and set off in search of a music career during her freshman year at the University of California, Berkeley. She says she found herself flying back to Los Angeles almost every week to play solo gigs at open-microphone nights at clubs. At age 19, she left Berkeley and concentrated full-time on music.

While Ms. Digby won regular bookings at nightclubs, things didn't begin to click until a chance encounter with Barry Krost, a music manager whose past clients have included Cat Stevens. He took her on as a client and in early 2005 secured her a publishing deal with Rondor Music, a publisher that is part of Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group.

In late 2005, Ron Moss, Rondor's executive vice president, connected Ms. Digby to a Hollywood Records executive named Allison Hamamura, who was immediately taken with the singer. Before the year was out, Hollywood Records had signed Ms. Digby. Since then, the label has worked with the singer on her debut album of original songs. The album was produced by Tom Rothrock, who also recorded a recent hit record by British singer James Blunt.

Once the album was completed late last year, Ms. Digby and her label began looking for ways to gain visibility. "I was coming out of nowhere," Ms. Digby says. "I wanted to find a way to get some exposure."

That's when the idea of posting simple videos of cover songs came up. "No one's going to be searching for Marié Digby, because no one knows who she is," Mr. Bunt, the Hollywood Records senior vice president, reasoned. So she posted covers of hits by Nelly Furtado and Maroon 5, among others, so that users searching for those artists' songs would stumble on hers instead. Her version of Rihanna's "Umbrella" proved a nearly instant hit.

And from there, she became a YouTube "star"—although I'll bet you a Tila Tequila-branded thong that her eventual record sales will be a number that's less than 1% of her YouTube channel's 2.3 million pageviews.

But honestly—the one thing about the YouTube era is that it's been hard to not be suspicious of just who was backing a lot of these young-women-with-guitars-and-popular-songs, if only because of the recent tussles between YouTube posters and really aggressive music publishers; surely one of these ingenues, who probably don't know thing one about the details of music publishing, would have been slapped with a terms-of-service violation (or even a lawsuit!) once their popularity grew big enough for people to take notice? Anyway, this whole song is yet another lesson that you shouldn't believe most of what you read on the Internet, especially when it comes to curiously overhyped singers' backstories. (Rick Rubin, you may want to take note.)

Download This: YouTube Phenom Has a Big Secret [WSJ]

Flipping through the site's back pages offers no shortage of geeky thrills — Oh my gosh, it's Velocity Girl! Wow, I didn't even know there was a video for that Ned's Atomic Dustbin song! WTF, how did Ween ever get so much money to produce that mini-movie for "Freedom Of 76"? — but the apex thus far is most certainly this page, which has clips from the Stone Roses, Cracker, Frank Black, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Sonic Youth.

120 Minutes [120minutes.tumblr.com]

Stephanie Lenz's 29-second recording shows her son bouncing along to the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy," which is heard playing in the background. Lenz uploaded the home video to YouTube in February to share it with her family and friends.

But last month, YouTube informed Lenz that it had removed the video from its website after Universal claimed that the recording infringed a copyright controlled by the music company. Under federal copyright law, a mere allegation of copyright infringement can result in the removal of content from the Internet.

"I was really surprised and angry when I learned my video was removed," said Lenz. "Universal should not be using legal threats to try to prevent people from sharing home videos of their kids with family and friends."

"Universal's takedown notice doesn't even pass the laugh test," said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. "Copyright holders should be held accountable when they undermine non-infringing, fair uses like this video."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing Universal on Lenz's behalf; the suit is asking for "a declaratory judgment that Lenz's home video does not infringe any Universal copyright, as well as damages and injunctive relief restraining Universal from bringing further copyright claims in connection with the video." No word on whether people who had their Beyonce-falling clips taken down yesterday are going to go this route as well, but in the new realm of "innovative lawsuits" anything's possible, we suppose.

Mom Sues Universal Music for DMCA Abuse [EFF]

Sony BMG has since started the long process of making "copyright claims" on all the videos, apparently since most of them contain two minutes of "Ring"; of course, that hasn't stopped videos from popping up in place of the ones that have gone away. If you haven't seen the clip yet, searching on "beyonce fall orlando," or "Ring The Alarm gone wrong," will get you a few results; just don't click on the one by this guy, who apparently thought the dearth of B-falling videos would be a perfect opportunity to put up a video personal of sorts. The entire two-minute clip is a "sensitive" photo of him, interspersed with a still shot like the one above. He's so far received about 80,000 views on the clip, although he disabled comments, so no ladies have come a-callin' yet.

Falling Down On The Job [Gatecrasher, third item]
Earlier: Beyonce A Survivor, Even When Her Stage's Setup Turns Against Her

Cher vs. Portishead [Funk That Shit Productions, via Brooklynvegan]

The Concert for Bangladesh (1971)
George Harrison and Ravi Shankar's Madison Square Garden concert was essential—the first benefit concert event of our time. While only one other Beatle attended (thanks, Ringo!), George's first live performance following his former band's breakup featured an excellent rendition of "Here Comes the Sun":

The Concerts for Kampuchea (1979)
Notable for the final live performance by Wings, the Concerts for Kampuchea included a set by the Clash at top form. Although the quality is a bit lousy, this clip of "Armagideon Time" gives some idea of the band's outing:

Live Aid (1985)
Live Aid will probably always be the benchmark by which these types of shows are judged, but it's easy to overlook the number of forgettable or awful performances that day. The Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath reunions were disappointing at best, and Simon Le Bon provided one of the best-remembered off-key vocal notes in concert history during Duran Duran's set. However, three performances are worth remembering: Queen, with Freddie Mercury at his showman best; U2, who played the set that established them as superstars; and Teddy Pendergrass, making first public appearance following his paralyzing car accident three years earlier.

Pulp - "Bad Cover Version" Recording Session (2002)
Although not actually from a benefit festival, the artist lineup for the recording of this Pulp cover merits another look:

One would think $1000 might inspire someone to grab his parents' video camera and make a video for "Watch My Feet" But yesterday was the contest's submission deadline, and the YouTube group set up to feature contest submissions lists only ten videos. he news gets worse from there...of the ten videos, one is the contest announcement, one a video from TVT artist Lumidee, and four are ineligible for being over the time limit. One suggestion, TVT: Next time your label sets up a contest Web site, make sure the graphics dbring web browsers to a crashing halt.

That being said, the song is great, and the "juking" trend will give music bloggers a style of music to name-drop in front of confused fellow partygoers all summer long. Cross your fingers that YouTube user "probro34" picks up the cash prize for his ketchup-propped, face-kicking tribute:

Dude N' Em [MySpace]
Watch My Feet! [Mad Decent Blog]

According to its maker, this bedroom-centric video for The E.L.F.'s "Cockroaches" had production costs totaling about AUS$12, which comes out to $10.12 at the current exchange rates. We can't watch the video without feeling vaguely nauseated by around the one-minute mark, but thanks to the wonders of tabbed browsing, we can put the clip behind our "work windows" (cough cough) and focus instead on the glitchy, hooky track:

cockroaches E.L.F. [YouTube, via Indie Music Filter]
The E.L.F. [MySpace]

It was bound to happen sooner or later: Anne Boleyn, second doomed wife of Henry VIII, has finally been immortalized in YouTube form, complete with anachronistic musical accompaniment. Let's examine two pieces—both of which draw upon the 1969 movie Anne of the Thousand Days as source material—and decide which one, by virtue of song choice and editing, more perfectly captures the essence of this embattled home-wrecker.

Song: "Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence.
Concept: Anne Boleyn as brooding, goth-pop-rock heroine.
Finally, Evanescence comes in handy: While the band's leaden drone still weighs down the ears, at least this song about treachery corresponds to the clip's images of court intrigue—not to mention its repeated shots of an alternately pouty and diabolical-looking Anne Boleyn. The music becomes increasingly more appropriate as we begin to see the relationship between Anne and Henry sour, lending a surprisingly interesting dimension to the visuals; the fluid editing, meanwhile, provides a loose narrative structure. The whole thing is a bit like a more amateur, less music-snobbish attempt at a Sofia Coppola trailer.
Best music-to-image sync-up moment: While Amy Lee sings "Look here she comes now/Bow down and stare in wonder," a carpet is rolled out for Anne and Henry as they strut out of the castle in full regalia into a crowd of on-looking courtiers. There's also the ever-so-subtle masquerade-ball clip, which coincides with the song's lyric query: "Without the mask, where will you hide?"
Silliest music-to-image sync-up moment: At the 38-second mark, Henry and Anne engage in the obligatory court dance. It appears to be some sort of jaunty, twirly routine that is probably funny-looking no matter what, but it's downright comic when set to Evanescence.

Song: "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5.
Characterization: Anne Boleyn as battered wife.
This song casts Anne in a moodier, more victimizing light, which is certainly apropos to her situation. Interestingly, it seems to position Anne's pre-Henry VIII flame, Henry Percy, as the hero of the song, pining to love an unhappy woman; unfortunately, Percy is a minor enough figure in Thousand Days, and there's no footage available of him saving Anne from the abusive king. The editing is a real problem in this one; it's a bit clunky, at times letting shots go on too long. Plus, Maroon 5 just seems plain inappropriate for a beheading.
Best music-to-image sync-up moment: Anne with Henry Percy, as Adam Levine sings "He was always there to help her/She always belonged to someone else."
Silliest music-to-image sync-up moment: When the chorus reprise comes in after 13 seconds of silence. Poor form, to say the least.

Verdict: It's neck-and-neck, but the Evanescence video maintains a
clear narrative line, sharp editing and a superior song choice, making it the winner in this match-up.

Our inbox gets at least one press release touting a "fan-made video" contest a day, so the piece in today's Los Angeles Times that examined the phenomenon, pegged around the success of the "fans only" version of Shakira's video for "Hips Don't Lie", piqued our interest:

It's an equation that the labels can't help but love — fans pump in labor, attention and enthusiasm, and artists reap sales. And at least at this point in the cycle, when we've yet to see any significant contest backlash, scandal or cynicism, many fans seem energized by the proliferating attempts to pull them into the marketing loop. For Epic's senior vice president of marketing Lee Stimmel, who was one of the minds behind "Hips Don't Lie (Fans-Only Version)," enabling Shakira's music to galvanize a worshipful fan populace meant more than the song's pop-chart ranking or radio airplay.

"It's very hard in the media matrix world that we live in to see how a song actually resonates with a fan base and makes that fan base grow," Stimmel said. "We showed that it can virally and organically grow. That's something you can't necessarily buy with traditional media. That one-to-one relationship with customers became the most powerful part of the promotion."

The article runs down all the recent attempts to get fans involved in the video-making process, and it's a long one—it includes green-screen competitions like The Decemberists', and Good Charlotte's call for photos for its "The River" video. Sure, the idea that fans are more involved in the process of promoting music seems nice in theory, but the sheer amount of artists that are calling upon their fans to help them out, video-wise, (really, you should see the number of press releases we get about "contests" like this very day) makes this process seem like it's rapidly becoming an extension of the "street team" concept—i.e. a way to extend the promotional budget through hiring cheap, or free, labor. Most telling about this whole idea, and how executives really view it as a large-scale promotional tool: What's hailed as the most succesful example of this phenomenon—the Shakira one—was supplemented by a traditional big-budget clip directed by Sophie Muller.

(Also, we know it was before the Web 2.0 era, but no article on fan-produced clips should omit at least a passing reference to Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine"—a pioneer of the genre that, thanks to the presence of the late Sam Kinison, looks like the band merely ran out of ideas, and not money.)

How Shakira's 'Hips' shook the music industry [LAT]

Germans Under Cover, the fine blog devoted to cataloging German-language tunes of popular songs, seems to have disappeared (what happened?), so we figured we'd post this Deustchy take on Peter, Bjorn & John's "Young Folks." The whistling is still intact, and singing the still-infectious melody is none other than "99 Luftballoons" chanteuse Nena, who knows a bit about swapping out English lyrics for their German counterparts. Is it too much to ask that Peter, Bjorn & John pay tribute with a Swedish-language cover of Nena's nuclear-grade hit?

NENA, OLLI & REMMLER - Ich kann nix dafür [YouTube, via The Rock N' Roll Star]

"YouTube is a significant, for-profit organization that has built a lucrative business out of exploiting the devotion of fans to others' creative works in order to enrich itself and its corporate parent Google. Their business model, which is based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws. In fact, YouTube's strategy has been to avoid taking proactive steps to curtail the infringement on its site, thus generating significant traffic and revenues for itself while shifting the entire burden - and high cost - of monitoring YouTube onto the victims of its infringement.

This behavior stands in stark contrast to the actions of other significant distributors, who have recognized the fair value of entertainment content and have concluded agreements to make content legally available to their customers around the world.

There is no question that YouTube and Google are continuing to take the fruit of our efforts without permission and destroying enormous value in the process. This is value that rightfully belongs to the writers, directors and talent who create it and companies like Viacom that have invested to make possible this innovation and creativity.

After a great deal of unproductive negotiation, and remedial efforts by ourselves and other copyright holders, YouTube continues in its unlawful business model. Therefore, we must turn to the courts to prevent Google and YouTube from continuing to steal value from artists and to obtain compensation for the significant damage they have caused."

We're guessing that most of the clips Viacom is suing over are from The Daily Show and Letterman, although we're curious if reposting videos with the MTV or VH1 Classic bugs counts as "infringement" (if so, that explains the inflated watch-count). But even if it's not dealing directly with music, this case is worth keeping an eye on because of its precedent-setting possibilities—if it ends with Google forking over money to Viacom, expect the major labels to rush in with lawsuits of their own. (Hey, it's a revenue stream, right?)

Viacom Files Federal Copyright Infringement Complaint Against YouTube and Google [Yahoo! Finance]

Google Inc.'s YouTube is broadening its efforts to legitimize music and videos posted on its video-sharing site through a deal that will authorize the use of hit music by several acts signed to a prominent independent label. The deal, with Wind-up Entertainment Inc. covers more than 225 songs. Each time one of the songs licensed in the agreement is played, either in a promotional music video or as the background for a video created by a user, Wind-up is to receive an undisclosed share of revenue from advertising that runs on the same page.

Reading this made us wonder two things: Does this mean that videos using Wind-Up songs will be unembeddable? And will this new revenue stream will inspire Scott Stapp to start vlogging his everyday goings-on, with songs from The Great Divide playing softly in the background? Because we figure his ramblings will be excellent Internet trainwreck fodder, and now that it can make him money, everybody wins.

YouTube Sets Music Pact With Independent Label [WSJ]

Today is the 19th birthday of Mia Rose, a blandly pretty U.K. singer whose karaoke versions of hits like "Breakaway" have caused quite the YouTube stir; her channel has reached No. 4 on the site's all-time musicians' chart (she's right behind OK Go, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and a Wisconsin record label) a mere four weeks after its debut. Pretty impressive, right?

Well, maybe not.

We first heard about Mia earlier this week, when a post calling her "YouTube's next diva" showed up on the popularity wire Digg. It was written in a particularly noxious press-release style that set off a red flag, particularly because it went to great pains to praise Mia's "authenticity." As it turns out, we weren't the only ones unconvinced by the guitar-wielding singer's ability to draw fans from all over the YouTube universe. The video linked above is from a user who went through some of Mia's 34,316 subscribers and found a common thread among many of them: They hadn't watched a single video on the site—not even one of Mia's, even though their subscription to her channel would suggest at least a vague interest in checking at least one clip out.

So what is behind Mia's sudden rise to popularity? Are people just going to YouTube to give her blind support, or did her managers hire a popularity-inflation company like FakeYourSpace, which supplies friend-starved users of MySpace and Friendster with readymade pals? And if her popularity was a creation of some management company, don't you think they'd be savvy enough to pick a name that hadn't already been used by a porn star (very NSFW) and an air freshener.

Mia Rose aka Lonelygirl15 EXPOSED! [YouTube]

The final entry in the year-end-review sweepstakes (we think) comes from Oh Word, who, as part of their 2006 run-down, put a big, rusty nail in the "user-generated content" bubble with their list of the Top 5 Hilariously Bad YouTube Freestyles. Solja, the aspiring hip-hop artist you see above, nabs a spot on their list, thanks to what the Oh Word guys call his "excessive use of bizarre onomatopoeia"; be sure to stick with it until about 45 seconds in, when he starts to—no kidding—drop "yodel-ay-hee-hee"s into his rhymes. Somewhere, Jewel is watching this clip intently and plotting her next career move.

solja freestyle [YouTube]
2006: Another One Bites The Dust [Oh Word]

The two Hungarian police officers that were recorded dancing and making lewd gestures have reportedly been cleared of wrong doing and will not suffer punishment for their shenanigans.

The :55 second clip titled "Bajai Hip-Hop" was recorded using a mobile phone and features the officers in police uniform, dancing to Marky Mark Wahlberg's 1991 hit, "Good Vibrations."

The officers attempt several outdated Hip-Hop dances, including the "Running Man," which was popularized by MC Hammer and the "Kid-N-Play Kickstep," which was made famous by rap group Kid-N-Play.

We look forward to next week's novelty YouTube clip, in which a trio of Austrian construction workers walk down the street to double-M's overlooked gem "Bout Time I Funked You."

Dancing Hungarian Police Cleared Of Wrongdoing [AllHipHop.com]

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that EMI's copyright concerns were holding the label back from signing up with YouTube; there was talk that they could be assuaged by an equity/revenue-sharing deal. But we're a little surprised that EMI is taking a chance with this somewhat underwhelming site—after all, wasn't one of its big Internet success stories this year OK Go, which made a splash because of YouTube's viral-friendly features? Gotuit's confusing navigation and nearly hidden search function make any equity-sharing seem like it would have negligible results—especially for a company that's banking on Robbie Williams to save its 2006 bottom line.

EMI Music and Gotuit Media Announce Content Licensing Partnership [BusinessWire]

What do you get when you combine obsessive superfans, the ever-slippery concept of "fair use," and way too much free time? The YouTube search-clogging phenomenon known as the fanvid. Juxtaposing movie and TV scenes with popular songs, these clips are filled with literal translations of lyrics, out-of-context romantic scenes, and on-screen bugs. But there's a certain charm in their creators' dedication; we can't imagine how many times people have watched, say, the entire Office oeuvre in order to get the perfect shot of Pam and Jim making googly eyes at each other.

After the jump, we present a few outstanding examples of these YouTube-enabled tributes. Be sure to watch them now, as they may not survive the copyright crackdown that's bound to happen sooner or later.

Evanescence/The Office: One of the approximately 9,542,120 Pam/Jim clips floating around YouTube, this clip underscores the importance of picking the right music, as evidenced by the first comment: "when I heard this song played with these clips it looks as if one of them died, just my point of view." (The black-and-white misty memories didn't help much, either.)

Elton John/The Cutting Edge: A musty song combined with bits from a movie that we haven't watched since our slumber-party days? Yeah, this clip pretty much defines the fan-video genre. We have to ask, though: Is D.B. Sweeney's tumble on the line about Jesus freaks supposed to evoke The Passion Of The Christ?

Green Day/Arrested Development: We watched this all the way through, waiting for some sort of comedic payoff, but then ... nothing. Hello? Did someone decide to turn this show into ER while we weren't looking?

"Weird Al" Yankovic/Star Wars: Sure, this video set to "Weird Al"'s Yoda tribute is astonishingly literal even for a fan-generated clip, but hey—at least the song isn't by Coldplay.

Nickelback/Gilmore Girls: Those Gilmore fans who, like us, believe that the Lorelai/Christopher relationship is a horrible, horrible thing will likely have their opinion bolstered by this simpering montage, which is set to the yarl-tastic strains of—ugh—Nickelback. Come back, Yo La Tengo! All is forgiven!

Eazy-E/Troll 2: No quick-edits here—this sync of Eazy-E's "Eazy Street" is straight-up synced with a party scene from Troll 2. The end result isn't unlike Leprechaun N The Hood, except it's set at a barn dance, and the leprechaun is actually a gang-sign throwing goblin who lives behind a mirror.

A look at "Smack That" illustrates the complexities. Securing the online rights to the song by rappers Akon and Eminem — No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — would involve permission from Akon's record label, Universal Motown. Most of the time, a label alone can grant a license for the use of a music video, but when it comes to videos involving YouTube users lip-syncing to the song, or any other use of it as background music, it also would take permission of publishers representing the four people listed as the song's writers: Akon (real name: Aliaune Thiam), Eminem (Marshall Mathers) and two colleagues of Eminem's from the Detroit rap scene, Swift (Luis Edgardo Resto) and Mike Strange.

Music publishing is a highly fragmented business, in which hundreds of tiny players have various kinds of relationships with larger publishers, who administer catalogs and collect royalties for them. Mr. Mathers's publishing is handled by Eight Mile Style LLC, run by a longtime business associate named Jeffrey Bass. Mr. Thiam's publishing is handled by a company called Byefall Productions Inc., and administered by Famous Music Publishing Cos., a division of Viacom. Mr. Resto's publishing is handled by an outfit called Swifty McVay Publishing, and administered by EMI Group PLC's EMI Music Publishing. Mr. Strange's publishing is controlled by an operation called Slick Jesus. Under common industry practice, each publisher needs to grant permission for "Smack That" to appear alongside any imagery other than the official music video.

Tee-hee! Music-publishing company names are so LOL! Anyway, we highly recommend reading the story, which lays out the complexities of reigning in the once-lawless YouTube, and of digital-age music headaches in general. We also recommend raiding the site as much as you can in the next few weeks, because the good times can't last much longer.

YouTube Finds Signing Rights Deals Complex, Frustrating [WSJ]
Earlier: Idolator's coverage of YouTube

"The CD as it is right now is dead," Levy said, adding that 60% of consumers put CDs into home computers in order to transfer material to digital music players. But there remains a place for physical media, Levy said.

"You're not going to offer your mother-in-law iTunes downloads for Christmas," he said. "But we have to be much more innovative in the way we sell physical content"..."By the beginning of next year, none of our content will come without any additional material," Levy said.

Oooh, can't wait for that behind-the-scenes Joss Stone DVD! As if Levy's five-years-late pronouncement didn't already prove how out of touch he is with the real world, he also said that EMI is hesitant to get in bed with YouTube. Tomorrow, look for his groundbreaking remarks on how the telegram industry "might be in for a struggle next year," and how unicycles "just seem to have fallen out of favor with the youngsters."

EMI Music CEO says the CD is 'dead' [Marketwatch]

Somebody tell Nas!

Kelis [Official U.K. Site]

Thanks to Cuckoo For Coconuts for sending us in the direction of this bizarre 1970 clip, in which the Bedazzled star covers "California Dreamin'" while inexplicably traipsing around Paris. Make sure you stay until the 3-minute mark, at which the clip turns into a bikini-clad outer-space hoedown.

Raquel Welch - California Dreaming [YouTube]

You can remain in denial as long as you want, but we at Idolator have finally come to grips with the fact that more than a week after the being bought out by Google, the joyous, copyright-free playground that was YouTube is now dead. The music labels are stepping up their threats, videos are being plucked like woah, and the site's charts look like they've been hijacked by the man.

In order to reach some sort of closure, we had our friend Richard Blakeley prepare a commemorative montage of some of our favorite YouTube clips—the megalomaniacal rappers, the emotive Chinese boy-band devotees, and the fighting kitties who helped cut down our on-the-job productivity by half. Enjoy, and remember to send the widow a ham.

Idolator Remembers YouTube: 2005-2006 [YouTube]
Idolator's previous YouTube coverage

And so it begins: Last night, at the request of a Japanese entertainment-industry consortium, YouTube pulled 29,549 videos from its site. This includes music videos, TV shows, and presumably, lots of footage of adorably fuzzy little animals. We checked at one of our favorite sites, TV In Japan, and indeed, a few of their music-video clips have already been pulled—though this footage of a big-band tribute to the Mario Brothers is, thankfully, still intact.

So don't just sit there! The end is nigh, and if you want to preserve your favorite YouTube clips, you'd better get PodTube TubeSock and start ripping. Though actually, you probably can do that while still just sitting there.

YouTube deletes 30,000 files after Japanese group complains about copyright infringement [IHT]

His suggestion is to start a database of words that he's found will automatically get your lovingly stolen material yanked from the video-sharing service—words like "Oprah," "Lazy Sunday," "NBC," "Digital Short" and, often, "CBS." Feel free to add your suggestions to his below; once we get a few more, we'll keep updating this post. Viva la YouTube! We haven't given up on you! At least, not until Soapbox starts getting some old Prince videos.