It’s That Time of the Year….

Everything is creeping up on us.  We thought there was so much more time left in the semester.  Suddenly, they’re telling us classes are over in two weeks and just about everything is due between now and then.  And then for some of us, graduation is coming up right after.  Job applications must be turned in, flights must be arranged, papers must be written, goodbyes must be said.  AH!  Too much stress.

So what do we do?  I know it’s bad.  It’s not a good habit to get into, and it only prolongs our work time, but we tend to play on Facebook, go out for “one quick drink,” or…we go to YouTube.  Or even worse, we go on Facebook and see that it has happened again.  “15 of your friends posted about “Call Me Maybe.””  A video has gone viral.

I don’t think it is any coincidence that the great Rebecca Black/”Friday” explosion of 2011 and the Carly Rae Jepsen/”Call Me Maybe” viral video of 2012 reached their peaks at almost exactly the same time.  Each of these videos that started as, more or less, jokes and grew into cultural phenomena debuted in early March and gained their multi-million following in mid-March.  There is something fascinating about the mocking-turned-anthem turn that each of these tunes took.  I don’t think “Call Me Maybe” suffered quite as much derision as “Friday” did, but there is still an awareness of the quality, or lack thereof, present in each fan’s sing-a-long that makes one wonder where the line between genuine appreciation and irony lies.

After the initial, “Oh my God, this song is so bad, but it’s so funny, so I guess we’ll listen to it at every party!” experience that “Friday” endured, there was a concession by many that the song was catchy.  For all of the auto-tune in the world and the strangest lyrics, the song’s redeeming quality was its beat.  The same response seems to be following “Call Me Maybe,” although people seem more apt to like Carly than Rebecca.  They appreciate the song as a whole, until they examine the lyrics closer and begin to question what it is about the song that really grabs their attention.  Then the conclusion is reached: it’s the beat.

But is it?  There is still the question of the unique timing coincidence.  I have a theory.  Each of these songs is sung by a teenage girl about her specifically teenage experiences.  Rebecca Black basically takes us through her journey on an average Friday.  She shows herself waking up at her parents’ home, going to school, going to a party with her friends.  Carly’s song, though not through the lyrical narrative, shows us in the video that it also takes place at her parent’s home.  Each of these girls interact with a boy in a way that is strictly adolescent– innocent flirting, waiting for him to make the move, barely touching.  They each have a group of friends they joke around with during the day and a band they rock out with later.

Assuming that the hike in view counts and instant popularity is due primarily to college students, as the prominence of the songs on campus would suggest, I think the appeal is obvious.  At this time in the semester, the stress is beginning to mount and we are searching for an escape.  Our teenage years were not so long ago.  So we fall back into this celebration of adolescent play, and jump up and down to the mundane lyrics and pubescent voices as a way to recall that carefree time in our lives, when our biggest concern was which seat to take or if the boy who cut our parents’ lawn was gay.

Granted, most music videos don’t feature pop stars paying bills or studying for exams, but there is something extra relaxed and responsibility-free about a teen sensation.  They don’t even have to make their own breakfasts.  They still have their parents to take care of them.  And though none of us will ever admit it and would never give up our independence for mom’s cooking, when the stress really piles up, there is something comforting in the idea of your childhood home and high school friends.  There was something wholly unique and idealized about that time in our lives.  Perhaps in four years we will look back on college in the same way, but for the time being, high school is our Neverland.

I wouldn’t call this a regression; it is merely a 3-minute break from the over-committed, research-ridden, paper-writing mess that March and April can be.  So yes, we might laugh at the constant refrain of “Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday,” or question the sentiment that, “Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad,” but we revel in the simplicity.  And if we must mask it in irony or perform a close-reading of the narrative at a party to justify our enjoyment, so be it.  But for the time, I say, do what you can to have “fun fun fun fun.”