"guitar" (small "g") is the starkly named video on YouTube that's earned deserved national buzz, and a mention in the New York Times. It's a soaring rock guitar arrangement of Pachelbel's "Canon." Really a treat. I love the display of talent, the real entertainment value, and the anti-hype. (Oh, and the price, too: free). A nerdy little guy sitting by his desk, framed by his computer mouse, his bed and and a window behind, playing his heart out. It's got the feel of a Queen instrumental break in overdrive, but the guitar goes on longer, and no melodramatic vocals interrupt the reverie (R.I.P. Freddie Mercury). Here's the NYT on YouTube, and "guitar:"

The most beautiful video, by far, is called simply "guitar," and it has drawn, according to YouTube, nearly two million views. (It's also the No. 2 most-discussed video on the site.)...."guitar" is a display of unalloyed physical virtuosity that preempts criticism. After a black screen, the opening bars of Pachelbel's Canon begin, and title cards identify the piece, adding, "Arranged by JerryC," and "Played by funtwo." Funtwo, presumably, then shows up: he's a young-looking guy in a T-shirt and a baseball cap that obscures his face. He's sitting by a computer and holding an electric guitar. He looks like any introverted kid with frontman fantasies.

Still, the anonymous image is arresting. Bright light shines through a window behind him, surrounding him with a glow; the effect is dreamlike. Funtwo then plays JerryC's rock embellishment over the classical piece with amazing dexterity, managing to enliven the music and create a lasting work of pop art. As the comments say: "dude teach me how to play," "it is undeniably one of the best solos ive ever see," "u could go up against jimi hendrix." What's most impressive about the performance is the combination of funtwo's shyness and his aggressive, guitar-god fingerwork. Some posters try to suggest that the performance is fake; but someone called fablesoftherest seems to silence most of the skeptics: "I'll end the guesswork-the kid is for real," adding, "Funtwo's is the definitive version. This kid is destined to be one of the great guitarists of all time."

Sunday, in my weekly round-up of strikingly sensible newspaper op-eds and editorials, I included a link to this YouTube-posted poli-rock anthem, "Bush Was Right," by The Right Brothers. It does rock.

Mark Glaser of PBS media blog Mediashift reports here that users are viewing 35 million videos a day at YouTube and about 35,000 videos are uploaded daily onto people's computers and other digital devices from the site. Glaser adds the monetization strategy for the less-than-year-old site must likely emphasize pay-for-play deals with major entertainment media networks. Ads are another option, but risk ruining the grassroots vibe.

Actual video quality is another issue. As commenters on Glaser's post add, the nearly-instant playback of YouTube videos via the built-in Flash platform avoids snafus caused when end users haven't downloaded Apple's QuickTime of Microsoft's Window Player. But the convenience is achieved at a cost: images are a bit washed-out and fuzzy, and there's some herky-jerkiness in the delivery (even on my '05 vintage iMacG5). Noticeable, but far from fatal flaws.

You still get the gist of each posted video, and there's a wide variety of offerings. No middleman filtering things means you pick your own poison. Much like, say, Google News, but the source typically has less authority. On YouTube's News and Politics Channel, you'll encounter the same anarchic sensibility of the blogosphere, which is good and admittedly, sometimes less good.

Tired of the network talking heads? Maybe just what you need to watch is a well-argued, snarling rant about kids too fat for car seats. Or perhaps a P.O.'d young conservative named Jason Sanchez dishing on the protestors who oppose immigration reform; and then going off on the waste of resources that is celebrity news. Here's an off-air studio clip of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay at a TV interview, commenting on ho-hum presidential polling numbers for Hillary Clinton, and agreeing no one likes "know-it-all women." (Hmm....d'ya wonder exactly how that got out on The Internet?). This homespun anti-smoking polemic about an old lady who burned down her house (and died?) after falling asleep while puffing in bed employs questionable logic. The fire is claimed to show the evils of smoking, but it's more a testament to simple carelessness. And there's no mention of when and where the tragedy occured. Important factoids left aside.

Another YouTube issue, unresolved, has been copyright violations. People are posting snippets left and right from commercial TV and cable channels, like this great Mobile, Alabama TV news segment on a "leprechaun sighting." But they're just snippets, after all, and certainly no substitute for the whole show, either in length or audio and video quality. So the practice may well NOT result in the legal come-uppance that stopped free sharing of peer-to-peer music files on the Internet.

YouTube just announced today it has landed $8 mill more in venture capital, from Sequoia Partners. It's not the first or only video-sharing site by any stretch, but it's sure the first one that a hoary old middle-stage adopter like me has wanted to explore further. Send along links to any especially flavorful (original content) YouTube videos you come across. If I like 'em, I'll post the links.

TECHNORATI TAGS: YOUTUBE, ONLINE VIDEO, CITIZEN VIDEO, "GUITAR", FUNDING, BUSINESS PLAN, COPYRIGHT

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at April 5, 2006 08:12 PM

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