Carl E. Martin, in his first video on YouTube:

All music, and especially popular music, is created through inspiration and copying. ‘The Gen Alpha Melody’ is an interesting example where a specific melody is being used in hundreds of different contexts.

That description undersells this video. It’s a fascinating exploration of a pop music melody so ubiquitous it’s practically a cliché. It has a killer opening, and I thoroughly enjoyed Martin’s deadpan, no-nonsense delivery (and his bone-dry sense of humor).

As I watched and listened to the video, I found myself recognizing the songs, even though I’ve heard almost none of them (I’m well behind “Gen Alpha”). I was both fascinated and appalled in equal measure by the dozens (hundreds?) of songs cribbing essentially the same melody. (And yes, I’m sure a version of this exists for every generation.) Throughout the video, I kept hearing two songs in my head, though I couldn’t quite place them until they were played. One was Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” the other, from an “obscure Scouse band” Martin mentions in passing at the very end. I practically yelled out “Of course!”

Martin, unsurprisingly, has a master’s degree in musicology, and this is, as I noted up top, his first YouTube video. Quite the banger right out the gate—3.6 million views since mid-May. His follow-up explaining how he made the video is also really good and gives insight into his research methodology. I hope he has a few more videos in him.

(Via Cathy Hammer.)