Idolator’s Tribute-Video Treasury Finds The Video To End All Videos

kater | March 6, 2008 2:45 am
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I’ve seen a lot of odd combinations on the tribute-video beat, but recently I found what I believe to be officially the Weirdest Thing on YouTube. It’s a confluence of cultural elements so incongruent, so entirely bizarre that I am not exaggerating when I say it causes me physical pain. Never has a musical soundtrack been put to such shocking ends, not even when the Phantom of the Opera paid tribute to Keiko the Orca whale. Brace yourselves: This one involves Dom DeLuise. And anime.

Audio: “Texas Has a Whorehouse in It,” performed by Dom DeLuise from the movie version of the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Visual : Scenes from Cowboy Bebop.

Where to start? At the very least there does seem to be some sort of hooker storyline in Cowboy Bebop, and it does have the word “cowboy” in the title, but other than that it’s anyone’s guess as to how this marvel of modern culture came to be, or why it’s so lovingly edited. It’s fast-paced and punchy, and there’s even some impressive lip-sync action! But the cultural discrepancy between Dom DeLuise’s show-stopping number and the cryptic, violence-drenched world of anime is so gaping that viewing the video in its entirety creates a feeling of profound uneasiness that no amount of clever editing can surmount.

What’s next? Sweeney Todd and Veggie Tales? My Fair Lady and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? This video has desensitized me to any and all future combinations.