this is the year that television forgot

my house in melbourne was like the poster child for the digital generation. three macbooks, three ipods, an external hard drive and copious amounts of ultra-fast wireless internet. at least we thought it would be copious. but then the three of us started regularly going through the full 20GB/40GB monthly bandwidth allotments provided under our plan. and really, that is a shitload of data. remember dial-up? yeah, me neither.

so, where did all this bandwidth go you ask? well, we were downloading a lot of movies and tv shows, so that certainly took sizable chunks out of it. but on a more immediate, day-to-day bent we were also watching a lot of youtube. a LOT of youtube. also, sometimes, we talked to each other. usually when our broadband got shaped.

now, i'd like to think that all that video watching wasn't for naught, so in an effort to quantify how awesome and life-fulfilling all this youtubery actually was, i've decided to compile my list of the 5 best youtube videos of the year. here goes:

(qualification: i've exempted both weng weng and the count song because i've already posted them up here)

5. breakdancing in times square. a clip with a real kick to it.



4. new wheels on the block. ethically challenging comedy at its finest. i'd also suggest watching the merrill howard kalin show, but youtube seems to have removed it. probably for the best really...



3. frankie and johnnie's furniture commercial. from the moment that the overweight black woman starts berating hans moleman you know you're onto something special. the chicken is just an added bonus.



2. the pirate song. possibly the shittest thing ever produced. also the most over-stimulating. oddly addictive though; in the early stages me and dan were watching it at least once a day. and would then catch ourselves singing it at random moments. even to this day, i will still unthinkingly start humming the chorus to myself: yarr yarr fiddle de dee. ah, blessed siren song. watch carefully at 1:29 for the best facial expression of all time.




1. charlie the unicorn. i cannot tell you how many times, and in how many different states we ended up watching this video. first time i saw it i was absolutely inconsolable. i may have fallen over laughing. second time was similar. third time it found new reaches of humour. fourth time may have been funnier than the first. even now, when i must be brushing close to 20 separate viewings, it can still set me off. and to be honest, i'm still not entirely sure why. 225 seconds of glory. show it to someone you love.




honourable mention: dramatic chipmunk. the best 5 second investment you will ever make.



my god, i love the internet.