It’s everywhere. I cannot escape it. Everyone is doing it. I walked by volleyball practice the other afternoon, and the majority of the team was doing it. Driving home from school the other day, I saw three THS students doing it on the side of the road while they were walking home from the bus. Everyone is dancing along to the nation’s newest cultural phenomenon, “Crank Dat” by Soulja Boy Tell’em.

It’s now even become a status symbol, because if you can “Crank Dat Soulja Boy”, you’re automatically cool, and you want the world to know it. So, you videotape yourself doing the “Soulja Boy” in your living room or backyard and throw it up on Youtube or Facebook, or break out into spontaneous “Crank Dat” sessions in the cafeteria. Yeah, I see you. And don’t get me wrong, I love “Crankin Dat” and it’s variations (see: “Spiderman” and “Spongebob” on Youtube) just as much as the next guy. And I’ll admit, I spent Wednesday night practicing my dance moves as “Crank Dat” blasted out of my speakers. (Don’t lie, you know you’ve done it too) I’m just extremely fascinated at the cultural phenomenon that is “Crank Dat Soulja Boy”.

Let’s start off with this, we all have to admit that “Crank Dat”, while incredibly catchy, is just plain stupid.  All it consists of is a simple drum beat, with a catchy steel drum sounding tune over it, and a lot of yelling of random lyrics being shouted too loudly into a microphone.  And seriously, can we please look at who is rapping on this song.  He’s definitely no Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z, or Kanye.  He’s missing the bling, nice clothes, and lyrical genius to even be compared to them.  But, during last week’s Kanye vs. 50 hoopla, “Crank Dat” remained the number one single on the iTunes Music Store singles list, selling more than all of them, and for that, he gets my respect.  Look at him though.  The nation’s hottest song and dance is being directed to the masses by this Soulja Boy guy who wears sunglasses that look like my pre-school teacher decorated them.  And he wears a large, white, airbrushed hoodie, that I bet I could get made at the mall.  Lastly, what is being said in this song?  I couldn’t even begin to tell you what this song is about.  Something about Supersoakers, Superman, and Bathing Apes.

But, “Crank Dat” is good.  And by that I mean, it’s catchy, and has a dance that goes along with it that almost everyone seems to know something about.  The catchiness of the song may be the power that keeps it around for months to come.  I mean, my brother walks around the house proclaiming that, “haters gettin’ mad ‘cuz I got me some Bathing Apes”, to which I remind him, that he doesn’t actually own a pair of Bathing Apes for haters to get mad at.  Another thing that is going to keep the song alive for quite a while now, is the innovative, yet impulsive dance that comes along with the song.  Part of the explosion of this song is the dance and the hundreds of videos of people doing it that litter Youtube.  If you don’t know it yet, just type in “Crank Dat” and you should learn it in a few minutes.  But, we have to remember that accompanying the song with the dance is cool.  The song itself without the dance, ehh, not so much.  For those of you sitting in your cars blasting “Crank Dat” as you wait to leave school, we get it, you’re cool!

Is it songs like this- simplistic, not prevalent or requiring too much thought, why Nas last year proclaimed that “Hip-hop is dead”? This song isn’t socially aware or thought provoking, unless you consider jumping three times from left to right to inspire thought. Will this song eventually be thrown into the “This is Why I’m Hot”, “Lean Wit It Rock Wit It”, “Laffy Taffy” heap? The short answer is, yes. But, until then, there will be a lot more Supermans flying around the country, saving it from all of this negative, violent, drug referencing, and controversial rap that’s floating around the airwaves. And I’m sure the adults will like that for the time being. Thank God for radio edits.

Welcome to Pop Culture in a Flat World. This blog was started so that I could share my fascination with all aspects of culture (most especially music), young people, and globalization. As a 17 year-old high school senior ready to embark on the world, I see the connection between all of these things on a daily basis, and find myself wanting to discuss it all, so I created this as my platform. We’ll see what happens. But, make sure you pay attention, because it’ll go by quickly.

I will also post my opinions on various topics, show off some cool videos, and suggest some hot new songs you should listen to. It should be a good time.

Please comment so I know how many people are reading!!!! And add the to your bookmarks, and make sure you visit often

Behind the cut, I have posted an extremely interesting article which appeared in this month’s Media magazine. It talks about the young people in today’s world, and how connected we are. It’s an extremely insightful article, enjoy it!

My Well-Connected Life

Teens sound off on cell phones, social networks, and why they can’t log off E-mail is obsolete, cell phones are rarely used for talking, social networking is an addiction and computers get equal time with TV. Welcome to teenage America. On a typical weekday morning, 17-year-old Columbus, Ohio high school student Anne McCaffrey wakes up to the soulful whispers of sleepy-voiced rocker, John Mayer, or the twangy chorus of an upbeat Kenny Chesney number – whichever happens to pop up on her iPod playlist first. After a quick shower and last-minute wardrobe change, she searches through hundreds of burned CD’s for a suitable drive-to-school soundtrack. In class, Anne ditches her beloved tunes for the teen-mastered art of stealth texting, engaging in multiple, full-length conversations from beneath her desk. But thanks to an iPod-friendly after-school job twisting pretzels at Auntie Anne’s, the self-proclaimed music junkie can resume her habit. (“The customers don’t mind.”) At the end of the day, all media collide during her nighttime routine: homework mixed with instant messaging and MySpace browsing; several more rounds of text-message conversation; and two hours of cell-phone time with her long-distance boyfriend. The final tally? Text count: 60 messages; phone time: 2 hours; online (MySpace, IM, homework): 3 hours; music listening: 8 hours The Buddy List Anne’s media habits might be dissimilar to those of people even one generation older, but reflect those of a sizable portion of today’s tech-happy, texting, MySpace-surfing teen population. Teens today spend as much time with the computer as with TV, communicate via text messages while eschewing e-mail, and create their own media on MySpace and other social networking sites, according to a recent study by Ball State University’s Center for Media Design, slated for release this month. In that study, researchers led by primary investigator Robert Papper tracked the media usage habits of 15 Indiana teens (ranging from 13 to 17 years of age) during a typical school day. Overall, teenagers spent less time with media (7 hours, 5 minutes) than adults in the same community (almost 9 hours, according to Ball State’s previous report, Middletown Media Studies II) – a difference the Ball State researchers attributed to school-related demands. But the most significant difference wasn’t the variation in total time spent. It was in TV-watching. The teens in the study were exposed to TV for an average of 120 minutes a day – the same amount of time they spent on the computer. Adults, by contrast, watch an average of 240 minutes a day, according to Middletown Media Studies II. And TV isn’t the only traditional medium getting short shrift with teens. Participants in the study spent barely any time with newspapers and magazines: Only three teens consumed newspapers or magazines, and spent less than five minutes each day with them. Even some new media – specifically, e-mail – isn’t getting much attention from teens. Those in the study spent only 10 minutes on e-mail in a typical day, compared to 70 minutes spent instant messaging. At Valencia High School in Southern California, 18-year-old senior Samantha Berenson says teachers confiscate students’ cell-phones on a regular basis in an attempt to curb the rampant typing obsession. Depending on the number of offenses, punishment ranges in severity from losing one’s phone for the remainder of class or the rest of the day; after-school detention; or even long-term suspension in schools where cell-phone bans have been put into effect. But where there’s a stubborn teen will, there’s a way. High school students select from an arsenal of stealth text maneuvers: the hoodie hide; the pocket protector, wherein students casually text from inside their jeans or shorts pocket; and the desk slide, which requires students to hunch slightly forward and type messages directly beneath their desk. But what are kids talking about that simply can’t wait? “Everything and anything, really,” says 17-year-old Courtney Briley. “We’re mostly talking with friends in other classes, deciding where to go for lunch or making plans for later in the evening or that weekend.” But intra-class texting – virtual note-passing, if you will – is just as common. Messages like “This is so boring” and “I can’t wait until we’re out of here” fly from one side of the room to the other with such speed it seems a wonder that any student would be caught. Even outside of class, many teens prefer rapid-fire texting to the shortest of phone calls. “It’s just more convenient,” explains Valencia High freshman (and Samantha’s younger brother) Matt Berenson, whose SMS proficiency rivals that of his keyboard typing. “With text you can have more than one conversation at a time, and you’re never trapped talking with someone you don’t want to.” Sending an average of 475 messages a week (compared to the 50 minutes he spends on the phone), Matt’s text reflexes are lightning fast. But not even he could keep up with 13-year-old Morgan Pozgar, whose ability to type 151 characters in 42 seconds earned her the title of 2007 National Texting Champion (yes, such a competition exists, though, granted, the contestants used an LG phone with a Qwerty keyboard). And to what does she credit her victory? Practice, of course. Pozgar sends over 4,000 text messages a month. Despite happily participating in this all-day typing frenzy, teens hardly ever communicate with one another via e-mail. Unlike 20- and 30-somethings who check their Gmail and Yahoo accounts several times an hour, today’s high school students log in once a day or every couple of days simply to clear their inboxes. While they might find messages from relatives or a few school-related assignments, they’ll likely receive no word from their peers. “My friends and I couldn’t tell you one another’s e-mail addresses if we tried,” says Samantha. “But we do know each person’s instant messenger and MySpace name by heart.” Samantha Skey, executive vice president, strategic marketing group at Alloy Media + Marketing says the shift makes sense when you consider how social IM is, compared to e-mail. “Teens are so prolific right now with the conversational social media, where e-mail’s not quite that social. There’s more of a time gap,” she says. Alloy’s research shows that e-mail use increases again once teens go off to college, where they’re less likely to be available at the same time. Until then, however, digital marketers will have a hard time reaching high-schoolers on e-mail if they don’t use it. But with mobile marketing poised to grow, Madison Avenue isn’t out of options. “If [teens'] use of cell-phones or instant messenger keeps increasing, it might simply be a matter of translating [your] approach from one Web-based communication to another,” says Ball State’s Mike Bloxham, director of insight and research at Ball State’s Center for Media Design. Beyond Entertainment Then there’s other Web-based activity. Teens today spend at least equal time on the computer as they do watching television – an average of two hours a day for those in the Ball State study. For teen multi-taskers, however, that might mean as many as four or five hours in front of multiple screens. Fourteen-year-old Brett Ranhofer, for example, divides his post-basketball practice time into an hour of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 on his Xbox 360, and three hours on MySpace, but also watched several episodes of “The Simpsons.” As Brett’s “Simpsons” habit shows, teens do still watch television. And there’s some research suggesting that teens watch nearly as much content as adults, because they cram more shows into fewer hours, thanks to TiVO and other video-on-demand technologies. “Young people are just much more efficient media absorbers, so they can avoid and cut through a lot of media if they consider it less relevant,” says Alloy’s Skey. “They’ll watch less TV in order to watch a full program – 37 minutes instead of 1 hour, because they TiVO it.” Of course, for Madison Avenue, that shift means that marketers are even less likely to reach teens than adults with 30-second or 15-second ads. Instead, she suggests companies need to think about product placement or proactive calls to action. But while the TV in the living room might have formed the basis for off-hours entertainment for older generations, Web-based social networking today is emerging as a new dominant activity for teens. Consider, a recent study by Alloy Media + Marketing found that 13- to 17-year-olds spend nearly as much time on social networking sites (9.3 hours a week) as watching television (10.2 hours). Unlike television and video games, however, social networking sites like MySpace and its – until recently – college-oriented competitor, Facebook, allow users to construct and maintain virtual relationships with those who matter most: their real life peers. Best friends, childhood playmates and acquaintances who’ve met only once or twice are instantly granted access to the infinite details of one another’s lives. In addition to the basic profile information (a comprehensive list of one’s hobbies, entertainment preferences, and current school or job status), enthusiastic members post quizzes (“How well do you know me?” or “Which ‘Entourage’ character are you?”), hourly bulletins and surveys, and random YouTube clips to amuse daily visitors. Beyond sheer entertainment value, however, these extra features provide greater insight into the image each user is trying to project. Do they see themselves as a music connoisseur? Prankster? Consum-mate flirt? One quick scroll through their photo albums and slide shows – filled with concert snapshots, embarrassing moments, suggestive poses, or maybe a combination of all three – should clue you in. Regardless of the kind of virtual identity they craft, almost every member’s page is filled with both general and picture-related comments from their Top Friends. This elite group of individuals is generally composed of the user’s closest confidantes, those with whom he or she shares the strongest connection or sense of history. Though members were originally permitted only eight “best” friends, the current set-up allows for anywhere between four and 40. Despite the additional spots, teens risk angering or insulting peers by failing to rank them high enough (or not at all). “It’s all so ridiculous,” says Samantha. “People stop talking to one another and friendships are ruined, all because someone who thought they were your absolute best friend winds up at number five.” Fed up with the needless drama, Samantha refuses to pick favorites anymore. In fact, in a move that might shock many teens, she completely removed the Top Friends feature from her MySpace profile. In addition to the platonic tiffs, heated (often irrational) arguments between couples often occur as a result of online favoritism. Jealousy is taken to a whole new level, as naturally suspicious individuals are granted access to their significant other’s extensive virtual network. Describing the frequent paranoia experienced by one of her own friends, Anne explains, “If she even sees another girl on her boyfriend’s Top 8, she starts freaking out. If they’re actually close to her – say, within the top four – she absolutely loses it.” Why the extreme reaction? After all, it is only MySpace, right? Not to teens, who dedicate hours of their day to the technological maintenance of relationships. Even the slightest change in one’s online status is cause for concern. Facebook users, for instance, are notified the exact moment that one of their friends adjusts his or her profile (“Krista’s relationship status went from ‘it’s complicated’ to ‘single.’”) With the click of a button, they have informed hundreds of their peers that they have ended a real world relationship. Many also are quite willing at letting strangers know details of their lives. While Facebook requires its members to build their network one friend at a time – those you don’t approve cannot view your profile – MySpace profiles are available to the general public. Unless, that is, the user voluntarily switches his or her privacy settings to “My Friends Only.” For teens, the decision to do so is easier than most might think. Unlike in the made-for-TV movies, which feature Internet predators and naïve, attention-seeking adolescents, most teens are simply looking to stay connected to the friends they’ve already made. For recent high school grads like Courtney, whose classmates will be attending separate colleges, social networking sites function as a social lifeline – a way to maintain existing friendships while keeping tabs on one another’s new lives. But they do take steps to keep their profiles away from the prying gaze of adults. As a veteran camp counselor, Samantha is all too familiar with some of the “crazed” parents of her campers who scan social networking sites for detailed information on the young employees. In fact, the parental practice has become so widespread that all of the counselors at her camp are now required to change their account settings. Still, despite the minimal efforts to keep outsiders off their sites, teens are by and large willing to use media to publicly construct and shape both their identities and interpersonal relationships. Whether making weekend plans via the cellphones tucked into their pockets, chatting on instant messenger during a DVR’d episode of “One Tree Hill,” or posting several new MySpace picture comments at 2 a.m., today’s high school students are in constant contact with one another. To older folk, such media habits may appear nonsensical and exhausting. To teens, it’s just an average school day.

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Now playing: Hellogoodbye – Bonnie Taylor Shakedown 2K4
via FoxyTunes