Randy Rainbow

June 14, 2020 1:24 PM

Randy writes and performs satirical showtunes lampooning political figures. Cheeto Christ Stupid Czar. A Spoonful of Clorox. The Bunker Boy.
posted by adept256 (20 comments total)

He's pretty amazing.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 1:48 PM on June 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

Only for this would I subject myself to Broadway tunes...
posted by jim in austin at 2:12 PM on June 14, 2020 [3 favorites]

So, over Thanksgiving, my dad's side of the family had a rare get-together which was about 2/3 boomer-generation people and 1/3 older millennials/younger gen Xers. We all spent a lot of time talking about that generation gap and how different our life experiences were. But the thing that really drove that gap home was Randy Rainbow.

My aunt said something about Randy Rainbow, and my cousins and I said "who is that?" and it was like if you'd asked a room full of tween boys about Fortnite or something. My parents and almost all of my aunts and uncles all loved him, and they were like "Oh my god, you guys don't know Randy Rainbow??? How is that possible? We have to watch some right now!"

I wound up liking him too, but in this connected age where my parents are aware of memes and shit, I was mostly just amazed to have found a corner of online culture which had completely passed me by while all the "grownups" in the family were totally aware of it. After Thanksgiving I started keeping an eye out, and nobody else I know had mentioned him. Until now!
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:32 PM on June 14, 2020 [24 favorites]

Here’s a really good recent one, Fiddler style.
posted by ejs at 3:12 PM on June 14, 2020 [3 favorites]

I love Randy Rainbow! Here's one I like from a few months ago that's actually not based on a Broadway tune.

This one from last year is still a favorite. But I'm still waiting for Part 2!
posted by SisterHavana at 3:38 PM on June 14, 2020 [2 favorites]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that young people aren't aware of Randy Rainbow because you need to know show tunes. "The Bunker Boy", though; It took 15 minutes poking the most remote neurons in my brain to realize what that was set to.
posted by acrasis at 4:36 PM on June 14, 2020 [2 favorites]

You don't necessarily need to know show tunes. One of my early favorites was his 2017 Before He Tweets, a parody of Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats. It's got a lower standard of production values vs. what he does now, but I think it's pitch-perfect and brilliant.

showbiz_liz, you made me feel REALLY old. I'm GenX, but my social media circle ranges from 17 to 95, and they all go nuts when Randy releases a new one, trying to be the first to share.

I would never have survived this far into the Trump administration without Randy Rainbow. FWIW, he's been doing videos for 10 years, though most of the good stuff only dates back about five years. (And now I'm going off to sing Kim Davis Cell Block Tango!)
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:13 PM on June 14, 2020 [7 favorites]

Well that was a fun YT dive. :)
posted by Pouteria at 5:13 PM on June 14, 2020

Yesterday I learned that's his REAL ACTUAL GIVEN name. Still getting my head around it.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:32 PM on June 14, 2020 [13 favorites]

bonobothegreat, I was going to say the same thing!
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:56 PM on June 14, 2020

I didn't know who he was until he was a guest star on "Better Things" this season.
posted by stevil at 9:06 PM on June 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

I can't take this guy seriously, can't get past the name. I mean, weren't you there in '63? Don't you remember Denise?

(But don't get me wrong, he's fighting the good fight. Bravo!)
posted by Rash at 9:16 PM on June 14, 2020

He also had a cameo in the Actor's Equity Fund rendition of "You Can't Stop The Beat."
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 5:36 AM on June 15, 2020

Oh, showbiz_liz you made me feel old, too! I'm only 44! Randy Rainbow's videos are shared all over my social media when he releases them. Love him.

I'm honestly agog that he hasn't had an FPP before now.
posted by gaspode at 6:34 AM on June 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

My partner LOVES his videos and frequently flags me down to watch or listen to a particularly good new one. I know that Facebook is their main social platform, altho we're late-twenties; maybe it's also partly a platform thing with respect to social media.
posted by sciatrix at 6:49 AM on June 15, 2020

Think Liberace for the 2020s - everybody's in on the joke, wink wink, but the ladies at the salon just ADORE him. Of course, he uses a sequin-covered razor blade.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 9:57 AM on June 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

He is a national treasure. That is all.
posted by SinAesthetic at 10:14 AM on June 15, 2020

I think his best material is the non-musical stuff. His interviews are great. Some of his older stuff, like using embarrassing celebrity audio to spin them into phone calls with his new boyfriend, is genius.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 1:13 PM on June 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

That was just delightful. Exactly what I needed today.
posted by arcticwoman at 2:54 PM on June 15, 2020

I'm surprised this is his first post on the blue.
My wife, daughter, and granddaughter are all into show tunes, so I've been seeing Randy for a while now.
National treasure indeed.
posted by MtDewd at 4:44 PM on June 15, 2020