Best Songs of 2010 – Honorable Mentions

Over the next two weeks I’ll feature ten songs that didn’t make my list of the ten best songs of the year but were initially in the running. These songs will not be presented in any particular order.

If you’ve been anywhere near a computer over the past six months, you’ve no doubt heard of Antoine Dodson and seen his memorable appearance on a local news broadcast. Dodson packed more memorable catchphrases into that 45-second interview than you’ll find in most movies.

“He’s climbing in your windows, he’s snatching your people up.” “Hide your wife, hide your kids.” “Run tell that.” “You are so dumb… you are really dumb, for real.” The man is a natural entertainer.

It didn’t take long for the creative masterminds at Auto-Tune the News to recognize the inherent musicality of Dodson’s tirade and turn it into a Web sensation. These guys have spun catchy tunes out of speeches by John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi, but Dodson proved their finest subject yet.

‘Bed Intruder,’ the song they crafted from Dodson’s news appearance, has been viewed more than 45 million times on YouTube. It sold so many iTunes downloads that it actually cracked the Billboard Top 100. The Gregory Brothers (founders of Auto-Tune the News) split the proceeds with Dodson and his family, allowing them to move out of the projects where the unfortunate incident took place.

‘Bed Intruder’ is a perfect example of how the digital age has changed the world, specifically with regards to the Warholian insta-fame provided by viral videos and the democratization of the creative process that allows talented people with equipment you can buy at Wal-Mart for a few hundred bucks to produce a Billboard hit.

It’s also catchier than 90% of what I hear on the radio these days.