http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j8hIZrFiSY
- Uhm, let's DON'T and say we did, m'kay?
- Oprah's, of course
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D1aSbKvm_mKA
- It was fun while it lasted, R1. Why not?
- I liked the one in a Philadelphia department store where they did the Hallelujah Chorus.
- Hate that dancing girl with the long hair, R2.
- Remember those days, O? When you had an audience?
It%27s%20Gayle%20King%2C%20bitches%21%21
- I always love the Janet Jackson flashmobs. Here's one from San Francisco.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFL3gwABZdY
- This is the one that started them all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DbQLCZOG202k
- In the Oprah video, I love the African American guy in the front. He's wearing a yellow t-shirt under a light blue short sleeve shirt. He looks like he is legitimately having so much fun.
- Flash mobs have gone the way of Academy Award-winning actress, Celeste Holm.
- That one was great, R8. The voice announcing the train schedule adds to it.
- How much of a shark-jumping moment is it when The Black Eyed Peas, once a critically-acclaimed hip-hop group, is leading an Oprah flashmob?
- This trend was started by the Gen Y's who still post on Datalounge as wanna-be hipsters.
- Time is a cruel mistress. Now we're stuck with nothing but sagging old flash moobs.
- The greatest and most beloved of all: "Do Re Mi" at the Antwerp Train Station.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D7EYAUazLI9k%26feature%3Drelmfu
- R12, BEP jumped the shark when they released that song, before the flashmob. I Gotta Feeling was practically written bar Mitzva and wedding reception ready! Edgy and catchy enough for everyone, safe enough for grandma to get out on the dance floor. "Fill up my cup (drink)...mazel tov (le heim)...look at her dancing..."
I can't think of flashmobs without thinking of the Modern Family ep where Cam desperately wants to join in and clumsily tries to follow along.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dnm0jRQwzKtQ
- Unfortunately, the sagging flesh moobs are on guys 28 years old. And, you know I'm right.
- R9, I agree. That guy is loving it. Someday, someone will post that this was a more innocent time.
- They are not over, bitches. This trend is just beginning. You remind me of people who said the internet was overrated back in '96.
- That is not a flash mob, R7. It's an MTV video. Typical Jackson family...
- R20, you stupid.
- Always makes me smile....
http://youtu.be/oacelnX3VSQ
- Link doesn't work, R22.
- Link works for me, but I'll try again.
http://youtu.be/oacelnX3VSQ
R22
- I think some of the videos (the Janet Jackson and the Bollywood) lose the essence of what a flash mob is about.
My interpretation of it is the entire spontaneity feeling you get from seeing it. That not all the participants join in from the beginning, they move along in the crowd looking just as surprised as everyone else, then further along in the performance they join in. That's what makes this so amazing.
The Jackson and bollywood ones look so choreographed and predictable that the spontaneity thing is lost.
- Was the music in the Antwerp train station live or was the video dubbed? Based on the reactions, it appears to be live.
- I like this one. Yes, it's connected to a bank's PR campaign, but I can't watch it without smiling big by the end.
And there's also a place in the middle where I get tears in my eyes every fucking time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DGBaHPND2QJg%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded
- This one of my favorites.
International Dance Day Flash Mob at the Toronto Eaton Centre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAIzXPqwcag
- I like this Janet one. It's a little more spontaneous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjhNvAZKgfw
- The music was live but it was redubbed later.
- Sorry, R22. Link works now. Had to reboot.
Love the bride's reaction and especially the marching soldiers.
R23
- Does anyone know how to organize a flash mob? Does one hire a choreographer or can one pick up a choreography some where? Must the choreography be very simple? How do you attract many participants and have them learn the choreography and show up on the day? Do you need to get permission of city officials?
- Those are some rich Russians. All of those people were paid dancers not wedding guests.
- Also for the bride not to miss half of it, she had to be watching it on a monitor in the limo before they pulled up to it.
- The marching soldiers were the most uncoordinated part of it.
- What the fuck is Edsel?
- Edsel - Ford-built car in the 50s. OP is an eldergay. Forgive him.
- Pic of R37
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnso&tbnid=iwm9hYAItfwCeM:&imgrefurl=http://www.insidemybag.com/2005/10/press_media.html&docid=2PMoWxFUiJpoZM&imgurl=http://insidemybag.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/bryan_003.jpg&w=400&h=533&ei=j
- The Russian video looks like a trippy commercial for Burlington Coat Warehouse. Must be cold there.
- Mary @ R35. I know this might be difficult for you to understand, but the dancing soldiers mostly likely didn't attend Martha Graham.
- This is the original flashmob:
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DjvCTaccEkMI
- Is photobombing over too?
http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/greatest-animal-photobombers-of-all-time
- The Belgian train station one is my favorite but R22's was pretty good too.
- The people in R22's link are definitely prouncing it as "Harry Cooper" rather than "Gary Cooper." Any Russian language experts? Is there a hard "g" in the Russian language?
- I don't think the original flashmobs had anything to do with music. I remember reading something about a bunch of people going into a small store and browsing for a few minutes and then just all leaving at the same time. It makes me laugh just to imagine that.
- Let's start a Datalounge flash mob. OK, OP. You start.
And%20five%20six%20seven%20eight%21
- I loved the "Sound Of Music" one from the Antwerp train station. A few other favorites are:
- The flash mob from the Ohio Student Union that does Journey's "Don't Stop Believing".
- The flash mob from the Dubai airport that does "Jai Ho" and "Moves Like Jagger".
- The Backstreet Boys flash mob from the Ukraine.
- The Glee flash mob from Rome, which I've linked below.
They're all available on YouTube if you have some time to kill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DNhbK2bMTRbI
- Totally never got flash mobs. Seemed too staged and scripted and what's the point?
- OH the spontaneity!
I'm far to jaded to like or participate in these stupid things.
- my fave
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D_zmwRitYO3w
- I keep reading this thread as "Flash Moobs".
- For college, I went to the Experimental Theatre Wing of NYU in the 80's.
Sometimes we would go out in the street and do what we called 'paratheatric' movement exercises, using the crowd around us as an audience for whatever purpose.
We would dress in suits and go to Wall Street during lunch hour, and walk very very slowly, wearing dark gothic eye makeup.
Sometimes one of us would ask someone for the time and when they lifted their hand to look at their watch, we would all fall on the ground dead.
Stuff like that.
Yes, it was all pretentious college drama crap, but at the time it was great fun, and was totally appropriate for a bunch of 19 year old trying to make a theatrical statement.
This flash mob stuff just seems like it's trying hard to be like that, but it's too organized to be any kind of statement other than 'look at me!'. As we had learned in college, at least, 'look at me' is not a strong enough reason to get someone to look at you. You have to dig deeper.
I wish that these flash mob things would be more political and interesting, and less about copping MJ dance moves. Who gives a shit? I guess nobody, since it's a dead/dying art.
I did see one where 50 people all did a Lady Gaga medley series of dance moves in the Castro here in SF. Everyone went apeshit over it, it was so random. I was trying to see if there was any kind of point to it other than 'look at us dancing!', There really wasn't any other point.
Now, SOME people dancing in the streets are actually talented dancers and have a lot of skill, technique and acrobatics to offer. That, to me, is divine, and there should be more of that too.
not that you should care what I think
- [qquote]not that you should care what I think
we don't.
- You cared enough to respond, dumbass...and with a misspelling, no less.
- "Was the music in the Antwerp train station live or was the video dubbed? Based on the reactions, it appears to be live."
Yes, it was live. Julie Andrews, the kids and an orchestra were hiding behind the acoustical ceiling tiles.
- R55's respone gave me a chuckle.
- R50, that brought tears to my eyes.
Just think, you're standing there waiting for your hoagie and the guy next to you starts belting Verdi, then pretty soon the whole food court is ringing with music.
Lovely. Even better than the canned music w/dancing.
- R57, I just watched it too and had the same reaction. You guys can look down your noses all you want but flash mobs are a wonderful expression of art appreciation. In R50's video, just look at the expressions on those people's faces: a little bit of joy they can't explain was brought in to their lives for just a few minutes. Do they still go back to their work-a-day lives? Sure. Did some people try to scurry out of there once they realized what was going on? Sure. But for a few minutes, their lives were enriched.
That's why I love the guy in Oprah's video that I mentioned upthread. He's just having fun and feeling happy for no particular reason. That's what art should be; it addresses the emotional parts of us we can't always reason with.
R9
- Another pre-cursor to the Flash mob
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DlASPrnWf6cA
- You're a heartless bitch if you watch this and don't have an emotional reaction!!! Watch all the way to the end. I'm a blubbering idiot with tears streaming down my face after watching this.
If you can't see the beauty in this then you're missing out on joining the rest of us in our shared humanity. (typical DL'er at the 1:36 mark)
OK, this Mary is done for the night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DxgOyTNtsWyY%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded
R9/58
- That was great, R60.
- The link at R27 was pretty amazing if you agree that the best part of a flash mob is seeing people enjoy the music who were not originally part of it.
- Some of these videos are nice, but are they really "Flash mob"?
- R63, they are all different but the best ones show people in the audience enjoying music they never expected to hear or stumble across in an ordinary day.
- Most of the Americans in R50's post had no clue what was going on and wondered why their subs weren't ready yet.
- R47 I had forgotten the video you linked to. I remember when it came out. Watching it again, I noticed a younger guy in a white hoodie and a green/black plaid scarf. He's on the left in most of the shots, near the front. He's exactly what that new femme guys thread is looking for. Pretty and dances like a showgirl.
Tony%20Woodard
- [quote]I don't think the original flashmobs had anything to do with music. I remember reading something about a bunch of people going into a small store and browsing for a few minutes and then just all leaving at the same time. It makes me laugh just to imagine that.
Exactly. I remember hearing about a bunch of people dressed in blue polos and beige pants descending upon Best Buy and causing mass confusion!
- The bus driver's expression in r60's link when the dude starts playing the horn is fucking priceless!!
- Always liked this one-
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DEfI4-zOgETE
- fun one especially the pissy dude at the end of row 5.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DMqBJBS4_5uo
- The first time they say "Super Dooper" in the Russian video, the woman closest to the camera says "Super Pooper!"
No%2C%20really
- It's another one of those stupid things that women and fags are into.
Straight%20Guys
- I know this is an old thread but are flash mobs totally dead? Me sad.
