Chicken Noodle Soup

August 14, 2006 7:11 AM

Chicken Noodle Soup! It's a dance. Some people wonder, "Is the Chicken Noodle Soup dance racist?"
posted by chunking express (54 comments total)

No, but it could lead to dancing.
posted by jonmc at 7:18 AM on August 14, 2006

I'll tell you what's racist: that "black culture" stuff!
posted by MaxVonCretin at 7:26 AM on August 14, 2006

Jazzhands are racist?

Bad jazz hands!
posted by Bookhouse at 7:26 AM on August 14, 2006

If you can decipher any of it, try reading the You Tube comments. It seems some people really DO think being stupid is "cool".
posted by wfc123 at 7:29 AM on August 14, 2006

The racism angle seems a bit lame; I think the second link is actually more interesting for its discussion on the spread of this dance over the internet:

But now we've got YouTube, thanks to which you don't need to wait for someone to discover "Chicken Noodle Soup," press the song onto vinyl, sell it to a major label, and have Hype Williams produce the video. Now you can see 14-year-olds doing the Chicken Noodle Soup before the song is even on the radio outside of NYC.

posted by chunking express at 7:30 AM on August 14, 2006

It seems some people really DO think being stupid is "cool".

Well, empty-headed fun has it's place. Not everything enjoyable should have a minimum SAT score requirement.
posted by jonmc at 7:31 AM on August 14, 2006

Ultimately, the chicken is the biggest victim in all this mess.
posted by jimmythefish at 7:32 AM on August 14, 2006 [1 favorite]

This kind of thing is exactly why I still love 80s hip hop.
posted by shanevsevil at 7:38 AM on August 14, 2006

jonmc-

I was referring to the rampant stupidity in the You Tube comments. Speaking that way is one thing, but actually WRITING like an imbecile is alarming.

Typing phrases like "She a hoe" instead of "she's a whore" proves people are making a conscious effort to be ignorant.

Also, I really don't understand why this woman's dancing is being scrutinized the way it is.
posted by wfc123 at 7:50 AM on August 14, 2006

Color me stupid, but I don't get the "racist" part of it. Is it racist against black people because they're not dancing like the Campbell's Kids historically have, or is it racist against white people because they are the Campbell's Kids?
posted by leftcoastbob at 7:51 AM on August 14, 2006

Where can I get the mp3 by DJ Webstar and Young B - RapidShare hates me...
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 7:59 AM on August 14, 2006

Jesus. I just learned the Bird Flu. There's only so many new dancesI can learn at once, folks!
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:10 AM on August 14, 2006

"Chicken Noodle Soup": more or less racist than "Peanut Butter Jelly Time"?

Discuss.
posted by Greg Nog at 8:18 AM on August 14, 2006

I dunno about dancing bananas, but I'm about ready for this hiphop/rap thing to join disco in history's musical dustbin.
posted by dsquid at 8:27 AM on August 14, 2006

I think the kids are too creative for the music to go the way of disco. Anyone here see Rize, the film abour Crunk? (Clowning & Krumping)
posted by chunking express at 8:42 AM on August 14, 2006

I'm about ready for this hiphop/rap thing to join disco in history's musical dustbin

yeah, me too, along with that "rock or roll" rubbish. bring back bing crosby!
posted by Hat Maui at 8:46 AM on August 14, 2006

man, these beats are so fresh.

snap!
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 8:50 AM on August 14, 2006

With a SODA on the side? My Jewish foremothers are spinning in their GRAVES!
posted by squirrel at 8:56 AM on August 14, 2006

Mmmm, noodle soup!
posted by schoolgirl report at 9:00 AM on August 14, 2006

Soda cracker?
posted by pracowity at 9:02 AM on August 14, 2006

Why are there no crackers in this soup?
posted by Shfishp at 9:08 AM on August 14, 2006

Waiter, this soup is fly.
posted by pracowity at 9:13 AM on August 14, 2006 [2 favorites]

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop! Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening, Beautiful, beauti--FUL SOUP!
posted by Smart Dalek at 9:23 AM on August 14, 2006

Chicken noodle soup dance? No.
Chicken dance? Yes.
posted by Gamblor at 9:43 AM on August 14, 2006

Speaking that way is one thing, but actually WRITING like an imbecile is alarming.

PWN3D.

Wait. l33t speak is white people, so it's okay, right? Go curl up with a Charles Murray book.
posted by LDL_Plackenfatz at 9:47 AM on August 14, 2006

I WAS READING THE SERIALIZED FITZGERALD IN COLLIER'S AND I WAS LATE TO AN ETHER FROLIC WHEN I NOTICED THESE JIGABOOS AND THEIR CHICKEN SOUP DANCE!!!

DAMNED RAP MuSIC GET OFF MY LAWN!!
posted by basicchannel at 10:14 AM on August 14, 2006 [1 favorite]

yeah, me too, along with that "rock or roll" rubbish. bring back bing crosby!

Comparing Rap to Rock. Funny!
posted by dsquid at 10:24 AM on August 14, 2006

It's no watusi, froog, or boogaloo, that's for sure.
posted by stenseng at 10:25 AM on August 14, 2006

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thought that "Chicken soup with a soda on the side" sounded like "Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat".
posted by drleary at 10:28 AM on August 14, 2006

I'mstill dancing the hornpipe, and am convincedit will come back into style.

Actually, it sort of did in the Sixties, when Ernie K. Doe released his song "Check Mr. Popeye." The dance what went with it was a sort of hornpipe line dance.
posted by Sailor Martin at 11:31 AM on August 14, 2006

wfc123 writes "If you can decipher any of it, try reading the You Tube comments. It seems some people really DO think being stupid is 'cool'."

It's "cool in an ironic way". The domain of trucker-hatted hipsters...
posted by clevershark at 11:39 AM on August 14, 2006

Metafilter: Won't somebody please think of the chickens?
posted by jonp72 at 11:47 AM on August 14, 2006

There does seem to be a resemblance to a lot of vaudvillian and minstral dances, but then again a lot of dances incorporate moves that have been assimilated from similar sources. The Lindy, the Jitterbug and some of the wilder swing moves all come to mind.

I really wanted to find examples of the specific style this was modelled after, but didn't have a lot of luck, I did find some modern video of a cakewalk recreation, which I thought was interesting.

And I realize the futility of saying this yet again, but some of you should actually follow the links before commenting (or just pass on it if you're not going to read them), as your clever observations seem kinda dumb when they are refuted in the first or second sentence in the article.
posted by milovoo at 11:48 AM on August 14, 2006

(It's probably my fault for using his title -- which is not so acurate -- in the post.)
posted by chunking express at 12:07 PM on August 14, 2006

Not racist. Why do you ask? I mean,
is this any more/less so? What measuring device are you using?
and holy shit, who took the time enter the annals of FRIENDS into wikipedia?
posted by Busithoth at 12:09 PM on August 14, 2006

If you can't see what is racist about this dance, indeed this thread, and metafilter itself... well, then clearly your Klan robes are pulled too far down over your bright blue Germanic eyes.

FYI: It is also racist to wear your Baseball cap askew. And it's unpardonably racist to name your Labrador "Midnight."

I'll think of some more after I march against my racist neighbors who have the racist GALL to be from racist Kentucky.

"Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Kentucky neighbors have got to go!"

(CRAP! My use of 'Ho" was also racist)
posted by tkchrist at 12:10 PM on August 14, 2006

Here's a real cakewalk -- 1903 film with modern music. I've seen the original somewhere, maybe the Library of Congress?
posted by pracowity at 12:42 PM on August 14, 2006

PWN3D.

Wait. l33t speak is white people, so it's okay, right? Go curl up with a Charles Murray book.


Can someone decipher this? Or is it even worth the trouble?
posted by wfc123 at 1:17 PM on August 14, 2006

Comparing Rap to Rock. Funny!

you do realize that you're echoing the philistines that wanted "nigger music" (which was what rock was called in its nascency) banned, right?

whether you hate hip hop or not, it's completely invalid to compare it to disco from just about any perspective: its broad-ranging musicality, its cultural impact, its history, etc.

just because you don't like it does not mean that it's bound for any "dustbin" anytime soon. in fact, it's quite possibly the most innovative style of music that exists.

maybe it's just that you've never heard good hiphop? do they not have the good stuff over there in britain?
posted by Hat Maui at 1:31 PM on August 14, 2006

Terror acts, warfare, whatever's going on in the middle east, the cold war before it...

I know a great number of people will try and convince you that a particular religion is responsible for the violence, that religion itself is the catalyst for world conflicts. The extremist belief that the abolishment of the concept of organized religion and the concept of a God being will bring an end to senseless violence, that a new renaissance will rise from the ashes of world religion and the world will live in peace. Belief.

However.
In the above article, there is this passage:

Harlem kids hungry for their own Lean Wit It Rock Wit It have taken this thing up like the plague. Kids are posting Chicken Noodle Soup vids in the weirdest places. BET noticed the flurry of YouTube vids and is now asking kids to send in homemade videos for use in some sort of web/tv special. White sorority girls are doing it in their dorm rooms. All of which has heated up the rivalry between NYC and ATL, with southerners clowning on Chicken Noodle -- at least in part as revenge for Northerners who clowned on "Laffy Taffy" and the snap-music dance crazes.

Call it defense of religion if you like, this stands as my counterpoint. Take away all the religions of the world, unify the world under the flag of Science, under one language and one people. Rebuild the Tower of Babel, but human beings will always find a reason to disagree. To attack. To hate.

Because while Religion is an easy target, there is someone out there who would kill on behalf of The Chicken Noodle Soup Dance.

Believe that.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 1:36 PM on August 14, 2006 [1 favorite]

I butter my bread butter side down.
posted by I Foody at 2:13 PM on August 14, 2006

That Phoenix article suggests that the dance's originators might be intentionally referencing minstrelry in order to upset the grown-ups. That seems kind of far-fetched, doesn't it? Kind of an obscure reference point for a bunch of kids to pick up on....

Or maybe not. I'm really not sure how plugged in the average teenager is to the history of disturbing racist entertainment in America.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:14 PM on August 14, 2006

And it's unpardonably racist to name your Labrador "Midnight." Unless your black. In the same vein white guys pull your jeans up, and put a bloody belt on will you? You not only look silly, your mocking style of dress is offensive.
posted by econous at 2:19 PM on August 14, 2006

After having watched that chicken noodle soup video I can say, without an iota of doubt,


posted by clevershark at 4:13 PM on August 14, 2006 [1 favorite]

Waiter, this soup is fly.
posted by pracowity at 11:13 AM CST on August 14 [+ 2] [!]

Is it racist if I say "I love you"?

in fact, it's quite possibly the most innovative style of music that exists.

What an incredibly odd thing to say. That would be like saying Romance Novels are the most innovative style of literature that exists.

Voluminous? Sure. Broad in scope? Absolutely. Popular? Without question. Innovative? Not exactly.

Chicken Noodle Soup Dance? Gotta give it 4 stars Dick. It has a good beat and white people could do it and look like they know what they're doing.

And I'm all about the air raid siren.
posted by Ynoxas at 9:15 PM on August 14, 2006

"
What an incredibly odd thing to say. That would be like saying Romance Novels are the most innovative style of literature that exists."

No, really, as far as musical production techniques go, hip hop is surely the most innovative, at least as far as finding unintentional or secondary uses for equipment, samples, etc.

Think about scratching alone - the idea of using the record player as an instrument?
posted by stenseng at 9:53 PM on August 14, 2006

stenseng, exactly.

ynoxas, were you just trying to say something incredibly odd yourself in tribute to your supposition that my statement was somehow strange?

innovative is, for instance (as you identified in your own damn comment) using something like an air raid siren in a musical way (see public enemy for lots of other examples). innovative is most definitely NOT "One Perfect Rose" or "Courting Miss Hattie" (yes, i looked up a couple titles). in fact, romance novels are the very definition of formulaic. (read: NOT INNOVATIVE).

in conclusion, duh.
posted by Hat Maui at 2:21 AM on August 15, 2006

I'm not going to accept the phrase that rap is "the most innovative ever".

Surely there are any other number of choices. For instance, I would say adoption of the diatonic scale for western music would surely be more "innovative" than playing an air raid siren.

What about orchestral music? Jazz? Electronic?

Has rap been innovative in the past? Sure. I think early rap was groundbreaking, legendary. The most innovative ever? That's a tall order Tex.

Rhyming spoken word or sing-song lyrics over loops? Welcome to Run-DMC. In my opinion, there's been nothing TRULY revolutionary since those early days. There has been lots of refinement, which is the proper path for maturation of a musical style.

Most innovative ever? Can't see it.
posted by Ynoxas at 7:56 AM on August 15, 2006

I read Ynoxas comment, and I am reminded of the simpsons:

Oh, oh: you see, the kids, they listen to the rap music which gives them the brain damage. With their hippin', and the hoppin', and the bippin', and the boppin', so they don't know what the jazz...is all about! You see, jazz is like the Jello Pudding Pop -- no, actually, it's more like Kodak film -- no, actually, jazz is like the New Coke: it'll be around forever, heh heh heh.

posted by chunking express at 8:52 AM on August 15, 2006

I'm not going to accept the phrase that rap is "the most innovative ever".

that's just fine by me because it's not what i said. why the hell did you use quote marks, when my assertion was: "in fact, it's quite possibly the most innovative style of music that exists"?

quite a lot different than "rap is the most innovative ever," no? i offered it as a debatable opinion (note the use of "possibly," not absolutely, as you are seeming to assert).

so we can agree to disagree. but what i said wasn't odd, which it seems you know, but rather an assertion with which you disagree. and i'm glad to see you abandoned the romance novel trope. that was just silly.

next time, perhaps you should actually be quoting what someone says or what you think is the thrust, especially if you're going to use quotation marks.
posted by Hat Maui at 8:58 AM on August 15, 2006

Hat Maui: innovative is, for instance (as you identified in your own damn comment) using something like an air raid siren in a musical way (see public enemy for lots of other examples).

Or perhaps, a percussion orchestra of three xylophones, four bass drums, and a tam-tam (gong), two "live" pianists, seven or so electric bells, a siren, three airplane propellors, and 16 synchronized player pianos. Or pehaps, live atillery? Just pointing out that the use of sound effects not usually associated with musical performance didn't start with hip hop. Fans of Ultra Lounge compilations notice that there seems to have been a whole genre of jazz music performed by Foley artists.

whether you hate hip hop or not, it's completely invalid to compare it to disco from just about any perspective: its broad-ranging musicality, its cultural impact, its history, etc.

Well, actually I think disco is highly underrated. It didn't really die, it just mutated and evolved in different ways merging with pop, hip-hop, and various forms of dance and electronica. Or perhaps another way to describe it is to say that "disco" like "grunge" went though a period of commercial appropriation and commodification followed by burn-out, by which point most artists had already moved on. With both "genres," seminal artists frequently didn't identify with the label by which the music would be marketed.

I think that trying to measure innovation within a musical genre is a bit difficult. Musical labels are by and large an attempt at commodification. The really innovative magical works usually get isolated out on the fringes and defy classification. There are also many dimensions around which one can "innovate."
posted by KirkJobSluder at 9:43 AM on August 15, 2006

Hat Maui: Oh come on. Those nits are a little small to pick dotcha think?

Let's try it in reverse. You, quite possibly, are the biggest poopie head in the universe.

Wait, wait. Why are you upset? I in no way asserted you WERE the biggest poopie head in the universe. That's not at all what I said. Not at all.

Come on dude.

I intended to mention the 1812 Overture in my last response, but KJS covered that pretty well. Yes, using "non instruments" as musical instruments is nothing new by any stretch of the imagination.

By the way, the romance novel thing I was trying to make a point but failed miserably. Basically, romance novels were, at one time, innovative. There existed a time where there was not such a thing, and then, suddenly there was. The form is well recognized and very popular now. Some people might say that all literature was different after that. So romance novels were, at one point, without a doubt innovative.

However, calling romance novels (possibly) the most innovative style of literature is really no differnet from calling rap (possibly) the most innovative style of music.

At least in my head.

(P.S. I don't really think you are a poopie head, in this universe or any other. Just an illustration. Rock on.)
posted by Ynoxas at 12:42 PM on August 15, 2006

I should have quoted the list of insturments for Ballet Mechanique oops.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 1:06 PM on August 15, 2006

KJS, point taken, but what you're describing isn't a genre as much as it's a unique expressive form.

and your disinclination to categorize to the contrary, i took dsquid to mean "disco" as a discrete era with a distinctive sound -- i buy your argument that it has evolved, but i was responding to what he meant.

ynoxas, as a poopie head, i know pretzel logic when i see it (see? doesn't make any sense at all). and you, sir, are a purveyor of fine bavarians.
posted by Hat Maui at 1:56 PM on August 15, 2006