Sometime when I wasn't looking, the infectiously ridiculous song I'm Too Sexy assumed
new power and meaning in the world. Maybe not for you. Maybe not for
anyone you know. But for Japanese people by the truckload. For Anime and gaming fans.
For karaoke singers. For anyone with a new camcorder for Christmas and the simple, honest desire to be
incredibly buff and sexy, all at the same time.
And the magic of sites like YouTube is in revealing such odd obsessions.
The other night, while scouring YouTube for anything resembling Cheesy Euro-Disco, I stumbled onto versions of the 1992 dance/pop hit, I'm Too Sexy, by the Brit-Pop trio Right Said Fred. (YouTube does have videos of Baccara's Yes Sir, I Can Boogie and Sorry I'm a Lady, but they're horribly disappointing.)
But Fan Videos of I'm Too Sexy -- that's another story, Search for I'm Too Sexy
and up come dozens and dozens of homemade fan videos and karaoke
sessions based on the song, from all over the world. Anime and Gaming freaks. Giggly teenagers. Your drunk Uncle.
Why a Beatles fan would take footage of The Fab Four and set it to the tune of Right Fucking Said Fred is beyond me, but, here it is: (download video, 15 meg Windows Media file). And here are I'm Too Sexy Fan Videos dedicated to the imaginary catwalk stylings of Japanese bands like Miyavi and Gackt and Dir En Grey (streaming videos from YouTube).
If you don't know the song I'm Too Sexy, here's a great mashup of it, combined with Kraftwerk's The Model, by Frenchbloke and Son (download MP3 Sexy Model).
The I'm Too Sexy fan video phenomenon first surfaced a few months ago when this video remix of the song made the rounds, as sung by My Little Pony (download video, 10 meg Windows Media file). Cute enough, I thought at the time - in fact, too cute. Little did I know that this was merely the tip of the iceberg. The song's been remixed by World of Warcraft fans (download video, 7meg Windows Media file), Final Fantasy gamers, Simpsons / Family Guy fans, combination Chipmunks/CSI obsessives, Mortal Kombat freaks, Kids In The Hall DVD owners and one anime version after another after another....(all streaming videos from YouTube)
There's enough here for a freakin' I'm Too Sexy Film Festival.
And that doesn't even get into the karaoke and vanity music video productions. You got your jocks, your teenage girls, your twins...(more streams from YouTube). And this is but a sampling. I eventually came to my senses and got back to work on the WFMU Fundraising Marathon.
I'm Too Sexy clearly has the power to endow anyone with sexiness, or for anyone who already possesses the sexy, the song magnifies their raw animal magnetism a dozen times over. Or at least that's how it feels when I do my little dance on the catwalk. On The Catwalk.
And speaking of the marathon, how about putting a few coins in the
slot to cover our humble blog's ever-escalating bandwidth costs - you
can make a pledge here,
in the box on the top left of the blog or at 800-989-9368.
I leave you with Mike Lupica's traumatized memories of Right Said Fred and I'm Too Sexy:
My memory of them is forever tainted by the fact that they became popular in 1989, which was a banner year for nazi-skinhead violence at my then home-away-from-home, City Gardens. Suddenly reckoning with ultra gay-looking versions of the same guys who were beating the snot out of everyone at shows made their rise to success a surreal experience, to say the least.
you forgot all the youtube MIX-A-LOT
search for "big butts"
Posted by: special tommy | March 02, 2006 at 01:46 PM
Right Said Fred hold a special place in my heart. I first heard I'm Too Sexy on my car radio during the Dr. Demento show - you could say he "broke" that song. It was in the middle of a snowstorm in the suburbs of Denver, and my friend and I were each in our boat-like beat-up 70s cars doing cookies in the parking lot of an abandoned strip mall (ie - slamming on the emergency break and forcing the car to spin in circles on the ice). When they started in on "do my little spin on the catwalk", we simultaneously stuck our heads out the window and screamed for joy. Anyway, I wish there was a video of that.
Posted by: ResidentClinton | March 03, 2006 at 10:55 AM
Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy.
I loose my virginity under this one.
Posted by: Sexy Boy | April 05, 2006 at 08:21 AM
There was a bavarian (german) cover version of I'm too sexy called "i bin zu sexy fur mei Frau"
performed by the bavarian actor/ comedien Ottfried Fischer .
Posted by: Macke | April 06, 2006 at 04:43 PM
Awww, I was talked about in an article? :)
Posted by: Trefenwyd | December 13, 2006 at 09:40 PM