DJ Steve Porter

By Shamus Posted Saturday Jan 23, 2010

Filed under: Movies 27 comments

Here is an interesting story.

Some company came up with this Slap Chop kitchen gizmo and released a short infomercial about it. DJ Steve Porter did a remix of that, turning the infomercial into a dance song:


Link (YouTube)

He did the same thing with Shamwow and other infomercials. His efforts went viral and he became internet famous. He became so internet famous that he graduated to being actually famous and did a television interview. And then he turned that into a dance remix:


Link (YouTube)

His stuff is pretty catchy, and someone realized that his remixes of advertisements were more effective than the original advertisements, although his work couldn’t exist without the original. Anecdote offered up as proof: I would never have discovered or cared about Mighty Fine Burgers, but his remix of their site made me wish there was one in my area. And his mix of the show Community caused me to seek out the show on Hulu. (Verdict: Meh. But then sitcoms aren’t my thing. Still, his mix got me to check it out, which is what advertisers are always trying to do.)

It really is crazy the things the internet has brought us.

 


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27 thoughts on “DJ Steve Porter

  1. LK says:

    But for every talent like this, there’s a guy dubbing vaguely creepy soundtracks over other people’s videos of grown men dressed like unicorns, waving swords around.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lh27_ux8qs

    I suppose that makes the internet even more crazy.

  2. RedClyde says:

    Yes, imagine if the internet were to suddenly disappear

    Heads up: this site is almost as ‘dangerous’ as a TV Tropes or Wikipedia.

  3. Bear says:

    Catchy… however…

    1) I still hate pitch benders

    2) You’re gonna luv his nutz.

  4. wildweasel says:

    Unfortunately, the fact that these exist has lead to Vince apparently doing a Slap Chop Rap on TV. My mom claims to have seen that actually broadcast on TV in place of the original infomercial. Ugh.

  5. Mari says:

    I just want to thank Al Gore for making it all possible ;-)

  6. Simply Simon says:

    Those are kind of catchy. There are also the slap chop video where someone put the scouts voice from tf2 over the whole thing:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7QIcxoJU4g
    And one with the heavy:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHgEnN2PFzo&feature=related
    I found them pretty amusing.

  7. Teldurn says:

    @5 Wildweasel: I can attest to the fact that they actually played the remix version on TV. It was brought to my attention via facebook. Unfortunately, it seems they used an edited version for TV, because when Steve Porter’s remix went viral, I was hooked, watching it over and over and over, eventually memorizing pretty much the whole thing.

    So when the TV version came on, I noticed some parts were missing. They also added the end portion, with the number to call and all that information, which wasn’t in the remix. I suppose they had to, given they want people to call.

    Short answer: Yes.

  8. RustyBadger says:

    My favourite videos so far that have been made with this technology (called Auto-Tune) are the Symphony of Science clips.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGK84Poeynk

    The opportunities to be entertained and surprised by this tech are limitless.

  9. radio_babylon says:

    @9: yeah, “glorious dawn” is fantastic… i liked it so much i got it on vinyl…

  10. mixmastermind says:

    @LK: Of course, none of your examples are even half as crazy as this:
    (Warning: Do Not Watch if you Still enjoy Life)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffDPTKn7HiY

  11. Doornail says:

    You don’t like Community? For shame, Shamus. I’m curious now about what you do like T.V. wise. Based on your sense of humor (which appeals to mine), I assumed you would enjoy shows like Community and 30 Rock (which also appeal to me). I mean, Chainmail Bikini is basically a sitcom (as I understand the word i.e. comedy derived from characters responding to episodic situations). DMotR and your Champions Online LP would fit the bill, but as you didn’t come up with the situations I suppose they’re more parody than anything.

    Wait! I think I figured it out. You DO like LRR and whoever this blog post was about. You make references to other webcomics (the only name I remember is xkcd but I know there were others) and absolutely hate the big name gaming websites. You don’t dislike sitcoms, you just hate big, popular, networks. I’m no longer curious about what T.V. shows you like; Now I’m just curious how freaked out you are by the random guy from the internet who’s psychoanalyzing you.

  12. Visi says:

    @11

    That… That was the both the best and most disturbing thing I’ve seen this year. Thankyou.

  13. Doornail says:

    A quick search through the archive answered my original question (a post labeled “television” which I would link to if I knew how). I was a little off. Alright so I was completely wrong, turns out you hate sitcoms because of the lack of a plot lasting more than one episode. That was my second theory. Really it was, I promise. I agree with you on some points, laugh tracks blow and I hate seasonseries finales. However I prefer shows not having multi-episode story arcs. I loved (the first few seasons of) SG-1 because the start of every episode was “hey lets go to a new planet” and then they mostly ended with “lets never go back there ever again.” I just can’t get into popular story driven shows (Lost, Heroes, etc.) because their popularity means they aren’t going to end anytime soon. Thus no closure, at least not until everyone stops watching. As you said in that other article, “it’s a limitation of the medium.” Anyways, sorry Shamus for bringing up a subject you addressed long ago and sorry everyone for boring you with my likes and dislikes.

    *edit* Hah! My first post was somewhat right. You “now carry a bitter grudge against the [television] industry in general” because of Firefly’s cancellation. I would tell you to give Community a chance because it’s the best show ever. I won’t though (o.k. so I kind of did), because there’s always someone who feels that way about something. I gotta say, it feels good to be the gushing fanboy for once instead of the cynical guy scoffing at him.

  14. chakan says:

    Well, seeing as how I was already beaten to the punch about both the slap chop mix appearing on TV, (I saw it on Comedy Central only 2 times, and yes, it was edited) and the TF2 remixes, (“I broke your stupid crap, moron!”) I guess there’s nothing else to say, other than validating those posts.

  15. Sean Riley says:

    As an aside, the fact that they’re more effective is pretty well consistent with current advertising theory: That in the end the only thing that matters is [i]mentioning[/i] the product. The context is irrelevant. The proof of this one? Anti-cigarette advertisements cause smokers to have cravings for cigarettes… which they will then go out and buy.

    There’s a reason a lot of anti-smoking ads have stopped showing the cigarettes and instead just moved to medical shots of the consequences.

  16. J says:

    @9, 10

    I totally agree with the Symphony of Science love. ‘Glorious Dawn’, especially, seems to express the wonderful awe of science.

    Or at the very least that of astronomy.

  17. Danath says:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf13MmZIcLs

    You forgot his remix of Henry Rollins and his rant on how techno sucks!

  18. TehShrike says:

    It looks like your link to his Community remix is pointing in the wrong direction!

    Also, I enjoy Community myself – though the recent Jack Black episode was just a bit too awkward.

  19. Maldeus says:

    The slap-chop remix was pretty informative in spite of being catchy. That’s actually a pretty cool kitchen utensil to have on hand, it would seem.

    The Fox interview I didn’t bother finishing, because it wasn’t as fun to listen to and I didn’t particularly care to hear him telling me the story Shamus just told me.

  20. eri says:

    I actually find all of these really annoying.

  21. Namfoodle says:

    Yeah, I saw the remix on Comedy Central before I ever bothered to look it up on YouTube. Although it’s edited, I like it because the picture quality is way better than YouTube.

    I find both hilarious, but I like techno music and mash-ups and all that.

    And you better luv his nutz, or he’ll break your jaw or something.

  22. Papo says:

    Wow, they are indeed pretty catchy.

    Also: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/EP3Petition
    Maybe we can manage to get at least some more concept art.

  23. Zack says:

    You linked the Community show remix link to the mighty fine burger site. And hear I was wanting to get some more remix goodness.

    I loved the slap chop mix. I do some stuff like this but that was really well done. I could never watch infomercials for material. *barf*

  24. ps238principal says:

    I can’t believe youse guys posted “The Symphony of Science” vids without including his tribute to the late pitchman, Billy Mays:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpJGZ9RHAvU

  25. Noble Bear says:

    I’ve been following DJ Steve Porter for a while now and his stuff is a lot of fun.

    My favorite remix his is where he pulls a segment from one of Henry Rollins’ “Talk is Cheap” spoken word concerts where he rips DJ for being parasites of music.

    Language Warning
    http://www.youtube.com/user/djsteveporter#p/u/11/Jf13MmZIcLs

  26. Chris Ciupka says:

    Wow, total mind meld moment, I was just reading and watching all of this guy’s stuff on Friday.

    What brought me to him, and is still my favorite thing of his is this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKYrJnY75Uk&feature=related

    The Year 2009 in autotune, it’s awesome, and amazingly catchy, I mean I could listen to this in my free time, for FUN!

    My favorite parts are Kanye in autotune (which is perfectly timed, he speeds up through the dead space) and Lady Gaga:
    “It’s not a persona, I dress like this all the tiiiiiiime, it’s not a persona, this is who I really am I dress like… kermit the frog.”

    Also: “Skippy peanut butter”.

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