A couple weeks ago I was watching a favorite Youtuber, 12Tone, deconstructing a song I wasn’t aware of. During the intro he made a joke about trying to explain the song, then stopped, saying everyone already knew what the song was. I had no idea at all. So I went and listened to the song and looked up a bit more about it.
Due to some weird convergence of chance and Matrix-esque internet dodging that I didn’t know I was doing, I somehow missed out on the phenomenon that was Mr. Brightside.
It’s a really good song and I had the fortune to be one of that day’s lucky 10,000.
Seriously no idea at all. My wife, who doesn’t generally care for music at all was very well acquainted with it. It was just one of those one-in-a-million things just seemed to happen.
What country are you in? It seems to be way bigger in the UK; at uni, there was a program where some American students from either Princeton or Stanford would come to my uni for a term, and reflecting on their bemusement in the club when Mr Brightside came on always makes me laugh.
Most of them were familiar with the song, but altogether unprepared for how nuts the club went when it came on. It’s such a meme that even an old punk like me can’t resist singing along.
That’s the best because the song is phenomenal, and I never listen to it now because I’ve heard it too many times. You truly have been given a gift there!
Every time I hear it I’m transported back to a grimy pub in the student union, dancing on the table and beyond drunk on snakebite and youthful abandon. Truly one of my happiest memories, not for what happened that day but just how young and happy and free I felt!
XKCD is clearly credited in the post, and I think the reason for this post is that it has made huge rounds over and over again on Tumblr. You can make the greatest comic in the world, but it has to get out there/you’re going to have different degrees of reception. I’ve just found that the Tumblr community really vibed on that comic and it’s probably safe to say they helped spread its very positive message.
What I find disheartening is how eager you are to undercut the post when the entire point is about being kind of chill as a person and excited for people. It’s kind of the whole thrust of the comic - you can take a negative approach or a positive one.
What you are asking for is some form of toxic positivity. Its okay to have measured negative responses to things. Debo wasn't overly confrontational and it is a valid question, even if the image does properly attribute things. The comic isn't about always being positive, its about identifying a very specific kind of interaction where people were often negative when they shouldn't have been.
I didn’t say it was about always being positive, I’m talking about in this very specific situation as well. The purpose of their comment was to tear down someone pointing out a positive thing that happened on tumblr. It’s not about whether or not it was a valid question, it’s that we should really ask ourselves “what’s your point?” It’s just inherently negative/casting shade for the sake of it IMO. It was classic internet cynicism because it is generally rewarded. Like what are they actually trying to accomplish? XKCD is clearly credited - which is relevant based on what they said. So to me there isn’t actually an issue, yet they’re acting (at the very least implying) like some harm has come to Randall at the hands of tumblr seemingly taking credit for his positive work.
Toxic positivity is a thing, but that is hardly what is happening here. You don’t have to accept my interpretation of things, but that’s a pretty unfair accusation to levy at me.
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