Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ was excoriated as everything wrong with the modern music industry — the epitome of packaged product and the removal of talent from the commercial equation.
Indeed, Black is the logical extension of Britney Spears. Spears proved that you didn’t need vocal talent to become a superstar… just a sexy image and a group of top hit-makers and producers behind you.
The Ark Music Factory removed the sex appeal and the proven behind-the-scenes talent from the equation and still managed to score a big hit, if only an ironic one.
But ‘Friday’ did generate some genuine entertainment in the form of cover version and parodies. From the Glee prom episode performance of the song to Stephen Colbert’s all-star rendition on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, ‘Friday’ inspired greatness in others.
The spin-offs are countless, and I just stumbled upon perhaps my favorite yet, this reading by Bob Dylan circa the 1960s. I’m not sure who’s responsible for this recording but he did a terrific job capturing Dylan’s sound and style.
And is it me, or do these lyrics, heard this way, suddenly seem profound?
Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs
Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal
Seein’ everything, the time is goin’
Tickin’ on and on, everybody’s rushin’
Gotta get down to the bus stop
Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends (My friends)
Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?
It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend
7:45, we’re drivin’ on the highway
Cruisin’ so fast, I want time to fly
Fun, fun, think about fun
You know what it is
I got this, you got this
My friend is by my right, ay
I got this, you got this
Now you know it
Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?
It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend
Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin’)
We-we-we so excited
We so excited
We gonna have a ball today
Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes after … wards
I don’t want this weekend to end
It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend
Meet Me In Montauk 
Ha, this is hysterical. But, no, the lyrics don’t become more profound. Well, maybe a bit more profound in some of the verses:)
“Kickin’ in the front seat, sittin’ in the back seat, gotta make my mind up, which seat can I take?” — Rosa Parks
I could have sworn we had talked about, even featured?, this rendition when you posted the original song as one of your SOTD’s. Did I imagine that?
Regardless, I loved it when I first heard it, and I’m enjoying it again now. Still, I can’t say that I hear the “profound” interpretation that you find here.
I do recall fondly listening to a group of kids sing this song while we were waiting in line to see John Green this past summer. One of them took out a guitar and started playing. Next thing you knew, there was quite a chorus singing along. What’s fun about a song like this one are those offshoots, both ironic and not, that inevitably follow.
I was kidding about the lyrics being profound (though the Rosa Parks idea is interesting). This is the first time I’ve heard this version… maybe you’re remembering Jimmy Fallon singing ‘Charles in Charge’ as Dylan?