Song placements in commercials have nothing on the internet when it comes to forging mental associations with music. Sure, Vonage might have inextricably linked The 5.6.7.8.’s “Woo Hoo Song” with their orange-clad commercials from the early 2000s. But between the memes, tweets, Tumblr posts, reels, and other online content that use popular music from today and yesterday, the internet has a unique way of forever changing how I hear a song.
These four, especially.
“Get Lucky” by Daft Punk
Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” dropped in 2013, featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, and personally, this is a song that was only improved by the internet. In a Tumblr post from the time, one user offered up a new interpretation of the radio-hogging single. Instead of the chorus “She’s up all night to the sun, I’m up all night to get some / She’s up all night for good fun, I’m up all night to get lucky,” we were blessed with “She’s up all night to pet dogs / I’m up all night to pet dogs / We’re up all night to pet dogs / We’re up all night to pet puppies.“
“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen’s moving track “Hallelujah” found new life through a John Cale cover, which then inspired the well-loved Jeff Buckley version. But there’s one rendition that was spawned from the internet that occasionally jumpscares me in my own brain. Yes, I’m talking about “Cold and Broken Waluigi”. This touching tribute features an edited version of Rufus Wainwright’s cover, with the word “hallelujah” replaced with “Waluigi.” In Waluigi’s voice, of course. Say what you want about every cover of “Hallelujah” ever recorded. But when times get tough, who do we turn to but “Cold and Broken Waluigi”?
“Ms. Jackson” by Outkast
Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson” is already a certified classic, so it’s a bit unfortunate that a joke tweet has forever changed my immediate response. But I suppose both things can exist. Where Andre 3000 initially croons “I’m sorry Ms. Jackson (oooh), I am for real / Never meant to make your daughter cry / I apologized a trillion times,” now I can only hear “I’m sorry Ms. Jackson (oooh), I am four eels / Never meant to make your daughter cry / I am several fish and not a guy.” Additionally, artist Dami Lee once made a four-panel comic from this tweet, which adds a new layer of ridiculousness.
“Mr. Sandman” by The Chordettes
Of all the “Mr. Sandman” memes on the internet, I’m choosing the one that’s easiest to explain. The Chordettes’ first recording is a sweet ditty from 1954, and the internet took it and ran with it. Do I include the version that goes “Mr. Sandman, man me a sand”? Do I dare try to explain “man door hand hook car door” so the last altered line makes sense? Some of you will get that one anyway. But no, the “Mr. Sandman” that lives rent-free in my brain is this: “Mr. Email / E me a mail / Make the attachment / A pic of a snail.” Sorry, or you’re welcome.
Photo by Karl Walter/Getty Images
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