shoes

I came across the most amazing thing last night. This standup comedian/drag queen Liam Sullivan/Kelly did this song/music video on youtube called "Shoes."
Oh My God, Shoes.
Go on Youtube and seach "Kelly Shoes." About 50 versions of the video, and a dozen tribute videos come up and will blow your mind.
The premise of the video is this.
Kelly and her twin brother are celebrating their birthday, and Kelly's parents purchase Kelly's twin brother a car and a computer. However, Kelly only recieved a six-foot tall purple stuffed bunny, which clearly upsets her. Her Tom Skerrit loving mother asks her if she would have preferred "con-damns." which, of course starts a fight leading Kelly to storm off in anger. Her dad asks her where she is going,
"Out."
"Whore." her mother responds under her breath.
"What are you going to do with your life?" Asks her Bush-loving fiscally responsible father.
"I'm going to get what I want!" Replies Kelly.

And what she wants is shoes.

Kelly proceeds to go on a retro-new-wave psychodellic journey, stepping on boys, dancing with robots and drooling over "$300 f'ing dollar" shoes, like a John Waters dream slamming into an Andy Warhol nightmare in the middle of the world of "Party Monster."
The video concludes with Kelly attacking and--I assume--killing a sales clerk for telling her her shoes are too big, while a circus performer girates with a flaming hulla-hoop, and everyone repeats Kelly's mantra, "Betch."
I thought this video was genius. The production values are amazing for a YouTube video. The camera shots and editing, as well as Kelly's 'bitchy-ambivalent' performance are actully really quite top notch. The video is clearly a bit of comedy, but there is something serious about it too.
Today, amateur internet art is becoming more and more sophisticated. Back in the nineties when the internet was new, it was animated shorts. There were a few cute ones like hamster dance but then they started to really get amazing, and whole websites appeared, like Icebox.com, ____, and Homestarrunner.com. Eventually all of these began being housed at places like Atomfilms.com, Newgrounds.com, Rathergood.com and Ebaumsworld.com.
Around 1999 the internet music revelution followed. Everyone knows that Napster became a powerhouse because it helped people steal music. However, Napster had another component: the ability to allow amateur acts to reach a wide, mainstream audience. Here in Mt. Pleasant, in 2000, we quickly all were able to get copies of "Central Girls" almost immediately after its release, thanks to Napster. D.J. Greenup wasn't the only artist that used Napster to become better known. Tons of bands from Elbow to the Electric Six used the web to get it out there.
Then came the advent of YouTube. YouTube allows amateur film makers to put their work up against some of the best in the world. This past Spring, a YouTube user challenged MTV and the music establishment by releasing his own version of Shakira's hit, "Hips Don't Lie." The result became the most popular music video on Yahoo for weeks.
CafePress.com opened to allow rookie writers to publish their own books by bypassing the big publishing houses. Blogger.com helps wannabe journalists get the stories the major news networks are too bloated to go after.
The internet is finally realizing its promised potential as a reseource for average people with no connections to have the chance to create and reach a wider audience. Sites like YouTube ought to be revered as progress--realizing the dream of the postmoderns, removing the establishment from the creative movement. What an amazing time to be alive.