'Friday'

In life, there are the eternal questions: What is love? Why are we here? Which seat can I take? Rebecca Black is most concerned with the last question on her debut single, “Friday” (the answer depends on whether or not she wants to be “kickin’ in the front seat” or merely “sittin’ in the back”), which has garnered more than 100 million hits on YouTube after being online for more than a month. However, the music video isn’t receiving attention because it’s the pinnacle of musical achievement; quite the contrary. The 13-year-old’s voice (which for all we know could be perfectly lovely) is auto-tuned beyond recognition; the production values are straight from the ’80s; and the lyrics—penned by writers at Ark Music Factory, the company from which Black’s family bought the song—are abysmal. It’s so bad it’s good—and this is really, really good. It’s easy to dismiss as another viral video, but there’s something more here. The song embodies the positive and negative power of the Internet, from those who enjoy a good-natured laugh, to those who flood YouTube with anonymous hateful comments. What type of jackass wants to talk trash about a kid because she loves “fun, fun, fun, fun”? She’s just “so, so, so, so, excited” and “lookin’ forward to the weekend” full of “partyin’, partyin’, yeah.” There are worse ideas on the Internet to get behind.