The Internet is a curious and marvellous playground of ideas and oddities. Here are 7 of the strangest “musical” YouTube phenomena currently racking up the views right now. Warning, these will worm their way into that part of your brain that refuses to let go of things. I prescribe a lovely strong dose of Wilco to remedy any ill effects. But for now, click and enjoy…

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Interior Crocodile Alligator

Our resident Brownbread Mixtape sketch troupe The Brownbread Players performed a sketch entitled “An Actual Conversation on YouTube” which chronicled a series of real comments and volleys of abuse about this YouTube clip. The sketch got a great response and we even began communicating with some of the commenters mentioned in the clip. We asked them all to send us a clip that summed up YouTube for them and we were sent the remarkable Interior Crocodile Alligator. Our life has basically been complete ever since. So, thank you YouTube commenter “wHeNiPoOpSuMmItDiEs”. You sir, are destined to go to heaven in a Chevrolet Movie Theater…

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Double Rainbow Song

So, this hippy goes out to Yosemite and sees a double rainbow. He decides to film this Double Rainbow and as he does so, he passionately describes the intensity and overwhelming feelings that wash over him. Perhaps he is really in touch with the universe or just hitting the pipe. Either way, it makes for a really funny monologue as he gets more and more into it. 38 million people seemed to think it was amazing too, as the clicks racked up on YouTube. Then, some folks decided to take his ramblings and remix them into an electronic song and , hey presto, the Double Rainbow Song was born. Along similar lines, please take a moment to hear  the remarkable story of Kelly and Antoine Dodson, which was then transformed into a remixed song version that became a massive YouTube phenomenon (ca. 77 million views), culminating in Antoine Dodson himself singing the song on the televised BET Awards on American television.

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Chocolate Rain

117 million people have watched this dude, Tay Zonday, sing his original song “Chocolate Rain”. Yes, 117 MILLION! Nothing more than a dude singing a song in front of a mic, pausing to take a breath occasionally (which he describes in his textual running commentary), a few cutaways of a piano being played. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it. Utterly baffling but a true internet phenomenon. I hope he is loaded now and bathes in big tubs of chocolate rain every night.

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Friday – Rebecca Black

Unless you have been living under a digital rock for the past few years, you will have heard about the runaway success of this irritatingly catchy and preposterously bad song, Friday, as “performed” (auto-tuned) by 13 year old Rebecca Black. Perhaps more embarrassingly, the song was actually written by a pair of grown men, not the tuneless kid herself. Yet, in the space of approximately three weeks it picked up almost 70 million views on YouTube (now a whopping 120 million). So, clearly they are doing something right, or we are all doing something very wrong. It has also, in true internet fashion, spawned several parodies, reinterpretations and remixes; the best of which is undoubtedly this genius Bob Dylan version. Then, of course, Bob Dylan wrote every popular song ever recorded for the past 35 years. Every single one.

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Trololo Man

This dude, Edward Khil, wanders around with a permagrin singing “trololololololo”. The natural result is that millions of people click and share it. Don’t try to understand why. As Clooney said in O Brother Where Art Thou: “It’s a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart”.

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2001 A Space Odyssey : School orchestra performance

A student orchestra called Portsmouth Sinfonia comprised of non-musicians (no shit!) got together to perform Thus Spake Zarathustra, the atmospheric, portentous opening to Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001. Their version is not quite as good as the original. In fact, it is better, but for more comedic reasons. At least the drummer got it right.

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Badger Badger Badger

Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger…. An absolutely bizarre (and ultimately irritating) video featuring a series of animated badgers doing a mini-workout followed by images of a snake and a toadstool. It really cannot be described or fully understood without seeing it. Over 8 million people were prepared to sit through it. It spawned the infinitely superior Christmas Badgers video which features a guest appearance by JC himself and some presents. Hallelujah!

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Dude singing Carmina Burana and smoking in the shower.

Basically this guy is a total legend.