One Year Later, What Does The Fox Say Remains A Bizzare Musical Gem

Musical phenomenons are not unusual, with things like Gangnam Style, Call Me Maybe and Let It Go overtaking the human race in ways both exciting and terrifying. A week after I saw Frozen, I mentioned the phrase "let it go" in a reference to the film, and I received blank stares. A single month later, saying one of those three words in any context would trigger endless singing. Last September, one song continued the trend of a popular tune taking over, but this one was....well, let's say different.

The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) is not a conventional hit song, at least in the sense that it wasn't created with the intention of becoming an actual song. It was just another project for Ylvis, which is two Norwegian comedians who are well known for their TV show which airs in the country of (you guessed it) Norway. They sort of strike me as a Lonely Island like group, and while that Andy Samberg led group has had some hit tunes in their time, they've certainly never had something like What Does The Fox Say.

Much of the songs popularity has to go to the music video. Go right above this pharagraph, sacrifice a few minutes of your day and watch it again, just revel in its unhinged absurdity. There isn't a moment in the whole thing that could be described as even remotely predictable, the entire endeavor seems hellbent on breaking every convention of popular music videos. Again, that's sort of the point, as the whole video was originally just a sketch to promote the duos TV show, but the fact that it works as a sort of a ludicrous exercise in the world of music videos does earn it extra brownie points.

Something I realized while listening to it is that the melody and lyrics are actually fun to listen to. The song is surprisingly inventive, and it helps add to the productions overwhelming "go-for-broke" attitude. Many other music videos created for even the most popular songs feel like their made more out of obligation than creativity, so to see this level of craft going into such a seemingly nonsensical tune is kind of awesome. I should also note that the structure of the project as a sketch leads to some very humorous moments within the video, such a as a Grandfather reading the story of the song to his grandson, or the horse communicating with (what else?) moo-oo-ooo-rse.

Even 365 days later, The Fox (What Does The Fox Say) remains captivating. It is ridiculous, I think Ylvis would be the first to admit it, but y'know what? It's so much fun, the music video, the lyrics, the beat, that I just can't resist it. This infectiously song was more than worthy of all the attention it received last year, and maybe this special anniversary can reignite some attention to the song. Why, as the immortal Ylvis put it..."DING DING DING DING DING DING"