Harlem Shake by popular urban beat combo Baauer was a big club tune stateside in 2012, but is now at the centre of a craze sweeping the world.
This latest viral outbreak, which, as with all the best memes, appears to have spawned completely without reason or logic, shows a single person in a mask or helmet dancing alone in a room to the song, usually employing that most intrinsically hilarious of dance moves: the groin thrust.
Others around them act as if nothing is happening, then, when the song’s breakdown comes in, the video cuts to everyone in the room going utterly bonkers, usually in varying states of undress.
Thankfully we’re still in stage one of the meme, meaning that the Daily Mail hasn’t picked up on it yet.
Stage two being mainstream broad media pickup, and stage three: the appearance of improbable fear-mongering over the potential dangers of Harlem Shaking. In short, prepare yourself for headlines like: “Student loses toes in ceiling fan participating in ‘web-craze’ dance Harlem Shake,” or “Did web meme Harlem Shake give entire school class rabies?”
For now let’s just enjoy this slightly anarchic slice of web fun.
