We all know that the Internet has its drawbacks. (Why do I know that
Sandra Bullock's husband cheated on her? Why does a certain
relatives think I enjoy videos of kittens?) But its power to
aggregate—pulling material from across time and around the
world—can still knock your socks off. I stumbled across an example
this week: the UK Guardian’s list of 50 greatest arts videos
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/aug/31/youtube.jazz] on
YouTube.
The list is a couple of years old, but the clips are classics.
Madonna's very un-polished first show
[http://www.studio360.org//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IveucV1LO8Y]at
Danceteria in 1982. Vladimir Nabokov and Lionel Trilling discussing
Lolita [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldpj_5JNFoA]. Stravinsky
conducting Firebird [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tGA6bpscj8].
Pollock dripping paint [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrVE-WQBcYQ],
Nirvana practicing [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGIUpIVvxtY] in a
garage before they hit. All these things existed before, somewhere;
but you’d have spent years of your life hunting them down. In the
mountainous slag heap of YouTube, there are plenty of loose diamonds,
if you know where to look.
And if you do want to see some kittens, click here
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF6IBWTDgnI].
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF6IBWTDgnI]
—Cary Barbor