The YouTube button in particular got me thinking. And not only because a little over a week ago an Oral History of Nardwuar podcast went live, put together by the Canadaland network. I was one of the many long time Nardwuar associates interviewed for what turned out to be a thorough look beneath the trademark tam.
If you're new to Nardwuar, the 200 words or less brief on him is that he's the exact opposite of an overnight success. Today he's a YouTube phenomenon, in the top 3 or so percent of all YouTube channels in terms of both subscribers and views. But he's not your typical YouTuber. He started decades ago, and worked his way to YouTube by way of campus radio*, then the occasional appearance on public access cable, then 2 minute pieces on MuchMusic, the MTV of Canada.
Around the time that the MuchMusic gig came to an end this new thing called YouTube appeared. And as you'll probably remember for its first few years it was full of the most random material, as well as pirated material, and far too many videos of people's kids' talent shows and of course the cats that later become the backbone of entertainment on the Internet.
And though it wasn't part of the plan -- as there really was no plan when Nardwuar starting posting videos on YouTube in late 2006 -- the inherent randomness and disorder of YouTube turned out to be the perfect home for this unconventional interviewer of everyone from pop, rock, punk, and rap stars to comedians, politicians, and even luminaries from the worlds of infomercials and conspiracy theories.
That YouTube was specifically not TV was what created a whole new space of possibility for people making online content. The idea was that anyone can make and post videos, and anyone in the world can see them, and comment on them, and share links to them. And we ought not forget that such a notion was truly radical 15 years ago, when YouTube started, and it still kind of is even now. The definitions of what an interview is, what an interviewer is, what a show is, what quality is...all those things were put into the hands of the people choosing to watch. And now, on some remote controls at least, those choices can be made right alongside the ones for network TV, cable TV, and streaming services.
If you're interested in the story of how a person whom for years received rejection letters, was told he didn't have enough commercial appeal, or was categorized as being 'off brand' for most broadcasters and network TV, ends up finding the perfect workaround to the gatekeeper-controlled world of media (and igniting a coming up on 20 year bromance with Snoop Dogg along the way), then the Oral History of Nardwuar podcast is for you.
And just one more thing...
*Oh and 33 years later he's still doing the damn campus radio show
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