So over the past year or two I’ve increasingly turned to watching streaming YouTube videos on my TV to check out the latest artists. I watch rock, I watch hip hop, I watch country, I watch blues, I watch 60’s and 70s, I watch just about anything that strikes my fancy.
Lately I’ve really been grooving on a YouTube music review show called “Lost In Vegas.” It’s been on about two years, and it’s hosted by two young African-American guys, Ryan and George.
Some of the time they review hip hop, which honestly isn’t that interesting to me. I mean two black guys reviewing hip hop? Boring.
But their hook, their niche, and what’s made their YouTube channel and their videos such a smash success recently, garnering millions of views, is that they also review a lot of country music, heavy metal and rock and roll.
On the surface that might not sound so interesting, two guys reviewing country, rock and roll and heavy metal. But the truth is, and I think we all know this to be the case, musical consumption is extremely segregated. I mean like straight out Jim Crow segregated.
Here’s the thing. White people, for the most part, love black music. For your parents’ generation that might be Smokey Robinson, Barry White, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and the rest of the Soul and Motown greats.
And for the younger generation, it’s hip hop, pure and simple. I’m a proud member of Generation X, which is people born roughly between 1960 and 1980. We grew up on hip hop, from Run DMC to Public Enemy to NWA. So it’s fair to say the black music is deeply ingrained in the white consciousness.
But what makes “Lost in Vegas” so incredible is that, simply put, black people don’t listen to white music. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part young black teenagers aren’t listening to Miley Cyrus, and their parents aren’t listening to Journey.
It’s a musical segregation that probably began in the 1980’s, and it’s accelerated each decade. So what’s incredible about Ryan and George’s show is to see their reactions to songs they’ve never heard, but which just about every white person from your mother to your brother to your butcher has heard.
Some of the major songs I’ve seen them do include “Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters, “Don’t Fear The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult and “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd. In each instance, they approached the song with an open heart and a healthy dose of curiosity.
And you know what? They ended up liking about 90% of the songs I’ve seen them review. Their energy is infectious, they bob their heads back and forth and groove to the music, and they tell jokes and generally have a good time.
But make no mistake, they are also seasoned music critics. They discuss topics such as guitar riffs, melody, transitions, reverb, and bass tones. They do it all with a knowledgeable yet open style that brings the viewer in, and gives them a better understanding of what music is all about.
As they’ve become more well-known, Ryan and George have starting introducing product placements into their videos, everything from ostentatiously sipping a bottle of sponsored water to wearing the latest athletic gear and thanking the sponsor.
They’ve come up with a great concept, and what they’re doing now is trying to monetize it, in the same way millions of other YouTubers are doing.
What makes them different is that they actually have something unique to offer. It’s informed music criticism by people not usually associated with the culture of the music they’re covering. And it’s great.
So if you’re looking for a worthwhile show on YouTube that’s interesting and different from all the other crapola on YouTube, I highly recommend you check out Ryan and George on “Lost In Vegas.”
They’re rock stars in the making.
