Respect Authority

Good afternoon! I’m here to give you a new perspective on the word “awesome.”

In the immortal words of R. Kelly, “It’s! The! Remix!”

ThruYOU is the genius bastardization of all media through the cultural dream catcher that is YouTube by some shadowy, often pictured shirtless, character by the name of Kutiman. With a name like that, it sounds like the dude belongs in a fucking Pokéball if you ask me — instead, he’s busy ripping the entire Internet to shreds, and pushing mash-up culture’s overstuffed envelope just a little further in the process.

The results of his tireless mad science are no less impressive than they are innovative. Kutiman is the Girl Talk of streaming video montage, to put it one way. And just like the Pied Piper of neon-clad hipstards, Kutiman may not have been the first to attempt something like this, but he achieved it on a scale so much larger, and did it so successfully as to completely overshadow the clambering troglodytes that paved his way. And like in the best mash-ups, the end product is somehow more than just the sum of its parts. Kutiman makes rich, lush soundscapes out of zit-faced losers playing a cheap guitar for their webcam as if the 14-year-olds calling them a fag in the ensuing YouTube video’s comments actually care.

So I guess this is what it feels like to be living in Post Postmodernity.