web shanties and ballads

Once upon a pandemic, things felt both mind-numbingly dull and grim. Perhaps you remember it yourself, and felt similarly? It would be simple for me to just say “everything was closed!” as if that were the reason for the malaise and not a mere symptom. In reality, though, it was hard not to feel down, whether or not the local stores still operated. The news was never good in 2020. And staying inside! It made sense - but what was I supposed to do!

Naturally, I was spending a lot of time online. If you were there, too - and you well might’ve been - you might remember that sea shanties had quite a moment. I’m unsure why, but they sure did! I gave plenty a listen, both traditional and original, and some that blurred the lines between them - reimagining. Folk songs, especially those telling a story, always enthrall me. Shanties as a genre are so fun either way. I dreamed of writing my own sea shanty… except I not a sailor. I’m just a weirdo on the internet. So, the idea sparked and found kindling… web shanties.

Web shanties, as far as I’m concerned, are songs both about and proliferated on the World Wide Web. This deeply stretches the traditional definition of a shanty, I realize. We’re talking about the internet here, which already shakes things up, so I think a little elasticity is fine.

Here’s my (personal) criterial for a web shanty. Y’see, I use the term shanty rather loosely, but still think it intensely appropriate here…

• A web shanty is, by definition, a meme, though not always an extremely popular.
• Web shanties typically begin their life on the internet, and many have images or videos attached that share memetic influence.
• In addition to this, I would include songs about the internet, technology, and the World Wide Web as web shanties, of course.
• A web shanty does not have to make sense or have a plot, but many do, and some are illustrated.
• Are these just memetic songs? Not quite, but close, and you can think of it that way if you want.
• To me, normal popular songs that just happened to become memes years later typically do not count.

Here’s my glorious (and constantly expanding!) playlist of songs (and downright noise) that I consider web shanties, all on YouTube. I considered building one from another platform, but YouTube seemed to have the most. If advertisements bother you, consider downloading a non-Chrome browser and installing an advertisement suppressant before enjoying these.

Please be mindful. Simply including a song here for archival and interest purposes does not mean I necessarily approve of its contents. I avoided some really terrible titles that emerged from bullying or other bad situations, but I still don’t endorse all these songs. Some are really old, too. Nevertheless, give some of them a listen, and perhaps contact me in the sidebar with any others you’d like to add, if you think they qualify as web shanties.

Would you like to write your own, though? Why not! It’s a great idea! I have zero musical aptitude, but am still trying my hand at it in Weird Al Yankovic fashion. I might share some “parody” songs that tell tales of the web eventually. Granted, I can’t sing because my vocal cords were partially paralyzed at one point, and I’m also tone deaf. They’ll just be lyrics meant to be sung along with popular melodies, but still. I’d love to write that, or write some web poems meant to be sung (eventually). Who knows? Maybe I will. Maybe you will! If you do, hit me up! My contact information is on my about page