We all know Livin’ On A Prayer, Bon Jovi’s #1 hit from 1987. Whether you liked the song or not, you heard it, it was everywhere. For the last 15-20 years, its probably been heard most often in a passive setting where the music was chosen for the listener, such as: the radio, a bar, a wedding reception or even a sporting event.
One of these passive settings, a sporting event, has created a call to action. Livin’ On A Prayer re-entered the Billboard Top 40 singles chart this week. What caused the spike in sales? A video of a fan performing to the song at a sporting event. You’ve probably seen it by now. I recall seeing the video in 2009 when it was first posted. Apparently it has only now truly become a viral video, or perhaps it is viral again.
So let’s get this straight. A song from 1987 has charted in 2013 with a big help from a viral video made in 2009. What dimension are we living in when moments like this occur and play out in an influential manner? If time itself is the fourth dimension, what is this? If we live in what we call real time, what is this? Unreal time?
Here is the video that brought us into unreal time. I posted it, for contextual purposes only, in case you’re one of the few people that haven’t watched it yet.
Brett Callero: Visual Artist 