Back in 2004, the online humor site JibJab released what turned out to be the viral video hit of the George W. Bush-John Kerry election cycle. Set to the tune of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," JibJab's "This Land!", was a Flash-animated satire that took every stereotype about the two candidates and made them even more stereotypical. To wit:
Bush: "You're a liberal sissy."
Kerry: "You're a right wing nut job."
Bush: "You're a pinko commie."
Kerry: "You're dumb as a doorknob."
And so on.
For several years now, JibJab has put together a year in review video, full of the most memorable (and song-friendly) highlights of the previous 365 days. There was 2006's wonderfully titled Nuckin' Futs!, set to the tune of "Jingle Bells." 2007's version was performed to the tune of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." And 2008 continues the streak with yet another kinda creepy video starring marionette-like hinged-mouth characters.
This one is set to an old ditty called "Miss Suzy," the conceit of which is that the end of each line ends with a dirty word that is said in some form at the beginning of the next line. It went a little something like this:
"Miss Suzy had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell
Miss Suzy went to heaven, the steamboat went to
Hello operator, please give me number nine
If you disconnect me, I'll cut off your
Behind the 'frigerator..."
And so on.
So way to go, JibJab, bringing us back super old school. It's fair to say you'll never again be as relevant as you were for a brief period in 2004, but your singing babies did make us think of Baby Herman in Who Framed Roger Rabbit ("My stogie!"). And your latest video is kinda funny:
"White guys got passed over
From Wasilla she was plucked
When the maverick tapped a hockey mom
The press said What the
Truck bombs in Islamabad
Bill Gates up and quit!
Putin stuck his chest out
Told the Georgians to eat
Ships were seized by Pirates...
And so on.
That part about the truck bomb, though? Not so funny.