In Praise of Black Nerds, Part 2

I was ambivalent about whether to post this video or not, largely because almost everyone has seen it. Then, we I knew the subject couldn't be avoided, I hedged again, thinking that I might curse you to hearing this song in your head all day, walking around screaming "Chocolate Rain!" all day for no apparent reason. And you will be singing "Chocolate Rain!" This video is sort of like marijuana; the first time you experience it you think 'What's the big deal?' Then latter, when the effects kick in, you realize you've been kicked on your ass.

What is so intriguing about Tay Zonday's little ditty? Is it the fact that his head appears, gnome-like, at the bottom of the screen before jumping into action? Is it that he dodges to the side, lizard-like, to breath? Is that he looks like he could be 14 or 40, male or female, but whoever he looks like doesn't look like someone who would sing this song? Perhaps it's the lyrics themselves, serious words that are easily misinterpreted as scattalogical humor. Or maybe it is just the way he stares at the camera at the end, with an look that is either the most innocent expression in the world or the most creepy. Maybe it's just that the song goes on for four minutes without break or hook or self-consciousness about this fact.

Here's to Tay Zonday, for being black and intelligent and eccentric and creative and completely unapologetic about that fact. So unapologetic, in fact, that when he does a reading to show viewers his speaking voice, he chooses as his source material Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried.