Tired of "Gangnam Style" yet?
Don't worry -- current meme "Harlem Shake," featuring students, office workers, and your mom getting down to Baauer's song of the same name -- is currently all anyone can talk about. The viral phenomenon has caught on like, uh, a virus, partly because it's really easy to do. All you need is a person casually dancing at the beginning, then when the bass drops, a jump cut reveals a room full of people dancing. (Clothing's optional; crazy costumes and dry humping is highly encouraged.)
We hit the YouTubes and rounded up the 10 Best Harlem Shake videos from Phoenix (and as a bonus, we tossed in the one that Phoenix New Times made).
See also:
-Gangnam Style Bests Justin Bieber for Most-Watched YouTube Video Ever. What's the Formula?
Harlem Shake House Party
This video kind of looks like the trailer for Project X, which leads us to believe it was a pretty fun party. The beardo shotgunning a beer next to a trash can full of cans cuts to crazy time with all sorts of characters. A shirtless guy does chin-ups while Grover sprays a drink, a shirtless cowboy is up to no good, and a very patriotic horse dances around. Oh, and there are sparklers and Boba Fett, to boot.
D-Backs do the Harlem Shake
This video is pretty lame at first, as it looks like MLB is trying to pass the team's stretches for dancing. When the bass drops, some less coordinated players continue to stretch amongst cut-outs and big heads modeled after some of the team's best known players. We're still wondering what the guy rowing himself across the field is up to. Baxter the Bobcat pulled off a Jackass-worthy stunt by surfing on a golf cart, as somebody imitated Kirk Gibson's run.
The Coyotes did pretty much the same thing, too.
Phoenix Knights Version
Sorry Coyotes, this hockey team does it right. This video starts off strong, with a shirtless, masked hockey player dry humping on a table. We can't see his face, but he's got a nice body, so we're not complaining. The rest of the team looks fairly bored as the guy in the goalie mask does his thing, then halfway through, things get crazy. It seems a little homoerotic as all of these shirtless guys dance around in brightly colored shorts, but the guy in the American flag costume, the dancing hot dog, and the banana reading the paper totally makes it worth it. Also, what's with all the push ups? Phoenix Suns Edition
We're a little biased toward rooting for our basketball team, but seeing the Suns Gorilla go crazy in the team shop is pretty entertaining. The room fills up quite a bit, including some folks in retro Suns uniforms, crazy fan girls and a guy spinning on the floor drinking a big baby bottle. And of course, no Suns video is complete without a jab against the Lakers (look at the sign in the back).
Phoenix Zoo Version
This video automatically made the list because there are three very real giraffes in the background at the start of the video. They mysteriously disappear after the jump cut, as the dancing tiger is joined by his animal buddies and a kart-driving panda. Bonus points for the kids who tried to dance with the bear and the wolf. See ASU students get creative on page three.
V1 ASU Edition
This one is a bit more like the typical ASU party...with the addition of a "dream team" of child's characters, anyway. If you ever wanted to see a pirate party with the Cookie Monster, Jack Skellington, The Cat in the Hat, a blow-up doll and girls crumpin', look no further.
ASU official
Poseidon calls upon a bunch of his buddies to party on University and wave a giant "Fuck UA" banner next to bicycles and umbrellas. UofA tried to do the same, but faltered due to a poor production value.
ASU's Harlem Shake Pool Party
It must have taken a bit of balance for the costumed character to dry hump in the middle of the pool at the beginning of the video. ASU's bicycle obsession gets a little out of hand, as some guy tries to ride a bike upside down next to an air humping robot, Bob's Big Boy, a girl with a turtle mask, and pole-dancing scuba divers.
ASU B-Town Harlem Shake
This happened on the 10th floor of Taylor Place at ASU's downtown Phoenix campus, according to the comments. If you're currently a Sun Devil, you may see some familiar faces. A guy wearing a penguin head kicks off the video with a sturdy hump, leading us to believe he does this a lot (high five, bro). 15 seconds in, it looks like what every new student dreams an ASU party will be like: There are girls and bros wearing Raybans, cheerleaders, a guy in a black body suit, shirtless guys, and Psy. That's right, Psy has been known to party crash more than Bill Murray.*
*but not really.
ASU Engineering Version
All engineers do is read textbooks or maybe nap on pool tables or play with iPads, right? Wrong. Sometimes they strip down to their boxers to dance around in Freddie Kreuger masks while rocking out on inflatable guitars.
Check out the official New Times "Harlem Shake" video on the next page. Phoenix New Times Official "Harlem Shake"
Yeah, that just happened.
