“What Song Are You Listening To?”

There’s actually a couple of guys who do this, and maybe you’ve seen these videos in your own travels around YouTube, but the basic premise is someone walking around the streets asking people sporting ear pods or headphones what song they are listening to. I suppose it’s sort of an interesting experiment. This morning, I spotted this one below, shot last month in and around my own neighborhood of Greenwich Village and Washinton Square Park. Take a look.

At first watch, I found this to not only be mind-numbingly repetitve (the constant mantra of the question gets real old, real fast) but also, on a personal level, somewhat profoundly depressing, given that so many people on my own home turf seem to be listening to abjectly shitty music. I mean, maybe apart from the one guy who cites “Orion” by Metallica, almost every individual here cites what I would consider abysmal piffle. Apparently, rock really is dead, or at least for the NYU kids.

But beyond my own boorishly snobby tastes and arrogant opinions, the crucial flaw in this format is the utter lack of any semblance of fruition. There is no real follow-up, no judgement, no drama and no consequence. The voice behind the camera simply thanks his accostees for their time and, occasionally, their "good taste" (as if). I think it would be way more rewarding if this was handled in a manner comparable to Billy Eichner’s “Billy on The Street,” wherein bystanders are either half-heartedly rewarded for their participation with a single dollar bill or subjected to exasperated and venomously antagonistic retorts from Eichner. That would totally work better. “What? You’re listening to DRAKE? You’re obviously an asshole!” “You’re voluntarily listening to Bad Bunny?? REALLY? Even with so many better options open to you?”

Now THAT I would watch.