If you have hopes of being productive today, then you better go somewhere else. Seriously, get out of here.
But if, on the other hand, you woke up this morning with a curious urge to burn a boatload of time on YouTube, then welcome. Please come in. You are among friends here.
What follows are 10 videos that I have spent days upon days watching, listening to, and LOLing at. A lot of them are musical, but some are not. Hence, they are random. So without further ado, here are 10 random YouTube videos to watch on repeat.
T-Pain Unplugs at Tiny Desk
The Tiny Desk Concert series features musicians performing at a desk inside the NPR music office. The sets are small and intimate and absolutely fantastic. But the most surprising performance is seeing auto-tune guru T-Pain unplug and go au naturel.
Prince Rips A 3 Minute Guitar Solo
Here is Prince absolutely shredding the solo to While My Guitar Gently Weeps. He comes in at the 3:28 mark and then just plays through the conclusion of the performance, whether he was supposed to or not, before tossing his guitar into the stratosphere and strutting off stage. Goddamn, Prince was the coolest.
God Dammit Donald Brown
Here we have the premier sports lowlight. Listen closely before the snap and you can hear future HOF quarterback and raging perfectionist Peyton Manning scream LEFT, presumably signaling for running back Donald Brown to head that direction and help with the weak side blitz.
So what does Donald do? He immediately goes right. The protection crumbles and a notoriously immobile Manning is forced to flee and slide. But before going down, he takes a moment to curse Donald’s name. A mic picks up the audio and carries it into the homes of half the country. Classic. (You’ll have to click through to YouTube to watch the video).
Mike Tyson KOs Some Guys
Sometimes after a long day at the office or when I’m generally just sick and tired, it really lifts my spirits to watch Mike Tyson beat the living shit out of some guys. Listen closely to the smack at 2:20. Brutal.
Chance The Rapper Rocks The White House
Here we have your standard, run-of-the-mill rap performance. You know, just a rapper, choir, and trumpeter performing for the President and First Family on the front lawn of the White House.
Amy Winehouse – Valerie
A few years ago, my cousin sent me this video. I have listened to it 1,000 times since. Amy Winehouse was 5’2” 110 pounds. Here now is proof that soul comes in very small packages.
SonReal – Try
Apparently, soul also comes wrapped in a floral pattern with knee socks and a dangly earring. Finder’s fee here goes to my brother.
Volcano Choir – Comrade
Justin Vernon is the best musician of this generation and if you disagree, then come fight me, because I am willing to go to war over this proclamation. Anyway, here is an absolute gem.
Pinegrove Live From Some Forest
There are better live versions of this song, but this one is the most intriguing. For example, what are they doing on this rock? What exactly is the bearded kid doing with that Casio? And where did the blonde kid get those pants? I want to know. Anyway, good tune.
Leon Bridges Live At Tiny Desk
A lot of great soul singers have been compared to Sam Cooke. Few are worthy of the comparison. Leon Bridges is one of the few.