You know them, you love them, and they somehow outlived themselves as memes rather than hit songs. Here are four tracks that became iconic for reasons that have everything to do with their incredible online staying power.
“All Star” by Smash Mouth
Smash Mouth’s 1999 hit “All Star” had a life before Shrek. But since its prominent feature in the 2001 DreamWorks film, it’s forever associated with that iconic opening. Timing the line “Somebody—” with Shrek busting the outhouse door open and making that his character introduction was a bold move. But there’s no denying that it definitely paid off. In the following years, “All Star” morphed into a meme that can be instantly recognized by the first syllable alone. You know, those videos that perfectly cut the song off at the beginning, so all we get is “Someb—” for maximum impact.
“A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton
Vanessa Carlton released her debut single “A Thousand Miles” in 2001, but it gained unshakable meme status in 2004. It had a prominent feature in the movie White Chicks, where Terry Crews, as Latrell Spencer, in all his comedic wisdom, performs a passionate rendition. Its status as a “basic white girl” song, along with Crews’ performance, made the scene unforgettable. In the movie, Latrell picks up Marlon Wayans as Marcus, disguised as Tiffany, for a date. In an attempt to dissuade Latrell’s affections, Marcus puts on “A Thousand Miles”. Unfortunately, this backfires, as Latrell reveals his unconventional love for the Vanessa Carlton hit. What occurs next is as terrifying for Marcus as it is forever hilarious for the audience.
“What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes
With the unexpected news that 4 Non Blondes are releasing another album after several decades, it would be a travesty to leave “What’s Up?” off the list. Released in 1993 as the band’s second single, “What’s Up?” was moderately successful at the time. But it gained a second wind in 2005 when it was used alongside footage from the 80s He-Man animated series. The video, originally named “Fabulous Secret Powers”, was created by two animators at Slackcircus Studios. They edited together a rendition of the song with longer footage from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Unfortunately, the original video was subsequently downloaded, shortened, then distributed again. But the image of He-Man belting “HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA” against the sparkly rainbow background lives on forever.
“Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley
If you’re old enough to remember when Rickrolling was a frequent occurrence online, it’s time to take your calcium supplements. Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” is quite possibly the original meme. Or at least it’s the genesis of the bait-and-switch prank. Allegedly, its first usage was in 2006, when YouTuber Erik Helwig prank-called his local radio station. Instead of asking them to play a song, he played “Never Gonna Give You Up”.
From there, it became commonplace to live in fear of opening links online, lest you find yourself the victim of a Rickroll. These days, opening unknown links will probably infect your computer with a virus or send you to some illegal dark web shadow realm. But in those early halcyon years, the worst we worried about was getting pranked by a song from 1987. Times have changed so much, I almost forgot what it felt like to be hunted for sport by Rick Astley.
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