Something from nothing

Ever hear of LMFAO? If you have kids, or happen to frequent the bars these days in an attempt to reclaim your youth (it’s out there, you can find it) you are hip enough to know that the acronym so much more than it appears. First off, in internet slang LMFAO means “laughing my f#%*ng a$$ off” but it is also the name of an American electropop (really, electropop now – what’s next?) duo made up of Redfoo (Stefan Gordy) and SkyBlu (Skylar Gordy). They however claim their acronym LMFAO stands for Loving My Friends and Others. Sure guys, sure it does. Anyway, from nothing we have something as they’ve only officially existed since 2006 or so and really had their international breakthrough just this past year. They are now music industry juggernauts, covering the radio with hits like “Sorry for Party Rocking,” “Party Rock Anthem” and “Sexy and I know it.” I am sure they must have talent of some kind but I would say having an uncle by the name of Berry Gordy (founder of Motown Records, Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and on and on) kinda helps too. Anyway, as I have said from nothing we now have something known as LMFAO and from there it would seem the money flows.

Cut to Michelle Nunes & Kate Siegel. Oh, wait - you don’t know them either? Don’t worry, you will soon enough. This pair have been quite busy working their individual ways up the entertainment ladder doing such things as hosting shows like Gadget Gift Guide, The Best Damn Sports Show Period, Million Dollar Challenge (Michelle Nunes) & acting in TV series like Numb3rs, Ghost Whisperer and Castle (Kate Siegel). Together, the gals did a spoof of a spoof called “Puke in my Mouth” back in 2009 earning them the moniker “The Puke in my Mouth girls.” Classy, no? The video was a smart alec response to the well-known(?) SNL skit that even became a top-selling single called “Ji** in my pants” done by Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg back in 2009 – and thanks to the staying power of the always-on internet has continued to turn up and get the ladies some attention. Okay, still with me? Once again, we are seeing something created from nothing.

Now let’s mash it all up together.

The “Puke in my mouth girls” have recently let drop yet another new “spoof” on the YouTube world at large called “Sorry for Boutique Shopping” done to the strains of LMFAO’s “Sorry for Party Rocking.” In this case though they are going a wee bit further than just tweaking back at another song. This time they are actually promoting a jewelry site called boticca.com. This is not just a bit of satire – it’s a promo spot for a real brand. Seriously, Weird Al Yankovic must be spinning in his....well, I guess he’s not actually dead yet is he? Sorry Al. Weird. I wonder if he could have done “Eat It” back in the day and made some extra coin by having Burger King provide some signage and product for the video – creepy Burger King guy maybe? Anyway, taken together this circular series of spoofs of new creations of previous spoofs that somehow emanated from nothing at all is a revelation. It’s a business – money is changing hands at some point here - and it all comes from stuff that most of us don’t even realize is going on. Viva la capitalism.....and the apparent ability to take someone else’s hit song and add your own words and image for fun and profit.

I’m not entirely sure how the rights work in this kind of brave new world. Where does the creative license line end and the rules of capitalistic ownership and profit recovery begin? How far does this sort of thing go with so many legions folks looking to “dip their beaks” into the trough for some profits of their own? That’s for the lawyers to sort out I guess. But it is amazing really. You can take any video by any one of the folks mentioned above and it’s a pretty fun creation all on its own. In fact, it’s almost impossible to sort out where the various parties officially start and actually end. Would it be so surreal to see the Puke in my mouth gals hit the stage with LMFAO sometime in the future to pound out a verse of their own creation to screaming fans? Or that suddenly Timberlake and Samberg stroll in to bust it up with the whole group in their fake rock personas for a boticca.com commercial video followup? There are no rules anymore about this stuff. It’s the Wild West and it sure seems like anyone can do whatever the heck they want, so long as it’s good.

I don’t know that the real and the unreal have ever before been so totally intertwined with each other, but it does beg a most interesting question: wherever do we go from here? By way of an answer I expect nothing less than a hilarious, sarcastic viral video. LMFAO, Puke Girls, et al – are you listening?

Photo: Contributed

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.