Honorable Mention: Kanye West Rapping on a Plane
Just a few short hours after doing an intimate meet-and-greet and listening party in the Twin Cities, Kanye West decided to perform an impromptu show aboard his flight from Minneapolis to New York City on Delta. Watch him do a medley of "The Good Life" and "Gold Digger" via Hollywood Life. (Number of views info not available.)
10. Max Sparber's "Ballad of Steven Slater"
When news of disgruntled JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater going ballastic on a rude passenger got out back in August, local songwriter and scribe Max Sparber offered his take with his "Ballad of Steven Slater." Another guy then added music and made a video, which later wound up on various news programs including CNN's Situation Room, garnering about 3,500 hits.
9. Brawl at TC Hip Hop Awards
The annual Twin Cities Hip Hop Awards at First Avenue turned violent this year - onstage, no less. With bar stools. It's crazy enough to have gotten over 21,000 hits since it went online back in January.
8. Gigamesh's "Double Rainbow" Remix
The epic double rainbow meme last July got a local twist when former Minneapolis DJ/producer (now based out of Miami) Gigamesh offered his totally danceable remix, nabbing over 27,000 hits.
7. Lady Gaga Flash Mob
When Lady Gaga did a two-night show at the Xcel in August, she made the local news after showing up to the Turf Club (and we posted exclusive pix). But the local Gaga-related video that went viral was the "Bad Romance"-performing Flash Mob that hit Nicollet Mall, getting over 38,000 hits.
6. GAYNGS Prom
Another big LOL/OMG story this year was the GAYNGS Prom at First Avenue, unparalleled in its sheer epicness. There was a balloon drop, show-goers dressed to the hilt in prom gear, the premier performance by the local supergroup (and also the biggest GAYNGS lineup they've ever had hit the stage). Oh, and Prince showed up. A bunch of videos were subsequently uploaded - including local filmmaker Isaac Gale's live video that got over 38,000 hits - but the most noteworthy was Pitchfork's:
5. "Empire State of Mind" Twin Cities Spoof
St. Cloud video makers Afternoon D Light are behind this Twin Cities take on Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind," which has over 300,000 hits. If you can get past the lo-fi video quality and weak singing/rapping, there are classic references to black ice, Herb Brooks, and Joe Maurer. (Okay, this is technically from December 2009, but deal with it.)
4. Jeremy Messersmith's "Tatooiine" video
Another music-related video to get over 225,000 hits is the Star Wars-inspired "Tatooine" by local singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith. The video, created by filmmaker/animator, Eric Power, wraps up the Star Wars trilogy via paper cut outs. The video was quickly picked up by just about every cool blog out there, including Wired, Nylon, and New York Magazine, among others.
3. "Minnesota Gurls"
Coming in at over 1,400,000 hits was the Minnesota-made video, "Minnesota Gurls," inspired by Katy Perry's summer hit "California Gurls." The autotune singing is sort of unlistenable and the video quality is poor, but they get credit for lyrics that name-drop Grain Belt, lutefisk and 10,000 lakes and expound the virtues of "waterproof boots with flannel on top."
2. Randy Moss Remixed in "One Clap"
Former Viking Randy Moss is known as much for his skills on the field as for his narcissistic, hilarious, Kanye West-esque quotes. In October, NYC/LA-based DJ Steve Porter compiled his best lines and remixed them into a seriously catchy video, "One Clap," right as it was announced that Moss was returning to the Vikings. That move lasted only a week before Moss was fired, but this video will last into infamy. It was aired on NFL Sunday Countdown and became an instant viral hit, garnering over a whopping 2,590,000 hits.
1. Metrodome Collapse
Closing off a year of Vikings drama was the truly epic Metrodome collapse earlier this month. The pillowy roof of the Dome collapsed under the heavy snow of the #blizzard #snowpocalypse #whateveryouwanttocallit and got a staggering 5,000,000 hits. Luckily, Fox News was there with a camera on the ready after getting a tip that the Dome was leaking.
