Ever the trendsetter, Kerri-Anne Kennerley demonstrated planking Photo: YouTube
The HARLEM SHAKE does involve a kind of shuffle, but it should not be confused with The Harlem Shuffle, which was a Rolling Stones hit in 1986, written by Bob and Earl in 1963. Although the lyrics of The Harlem Shuffle ask listeners to “Move it to the right, if it takes all night … Move it baby, get into your slide”, we cannot blame the Rolling Stones for the recent dismissal of 15 gold miners by the Barminco company of Western Australia.
The miners had filmed themselves underground doing the Harlem Shake, which is not so much a dance as a phenomenon – the latest in a sequence of social movements that, in reverse chronological order, included Gangnam Style, Party Rock Anthem, planking, the macarena, flash mobs, the chicken dance and the Australian Limp Fallers Association, which started the whole thing.
Here’s how the latest fad works. One person, often wearing a helmet or hood, moves his or her hips and arms for exactly 15 seconds and then is joined by a crowd who move their bodies wildly for another 15 seconds, roughly in time to the song Harlem Shake.
Students from Tunis Carthage Private University do the Harlem Shake
The track was recorded by a DJ named Baauer in the middle of 2012 and forgotten until February 2 this year when a comedian named Filthy Frank released a video of it. That has now been copied by more than 100,000 amateur filmmakers on Youtube, while the download has become the number two best selling track on the Australian hit parade. The miners are the first shakers to be greeted by a less than amused reaction.
The track is pretty monotonous, and its only lyrics are “Shake shake, shake” and “Con los terroristas” (like the terrorists). But that was not why the miners were sacked. The company said doing the moves underground was in breach of safety and integrity standards. The way of the pioneer is never easy.
I am just old enough to remember the Limp Fallers Association. I was privileged to be in a bar in 1969 when eight men, one after another, collapsed off their stools onto the carpet, to the astonishment of the other patrons. They then jumped up and took a bow, while one explained that we had just witnessed a display of formation limp falling.
The movement was started by a Perth cartoonist named Paul Rigby, and its practitioners were mostly media workers under the influence of alcohol. It was one of the reasons I got into journalism.
The 1960s had been a decade when there was a new dance craze every month – the Twist, the Stomp, the Boogaloo, the Bird, the Monster Mash, the Pony (which inspired Psy’s movies in Gangnam Style), and the Frug (which probably inspired the moves in the Harlem Shake videos).
But limp falling did not require a soundtrack, which was appropriate during the musically barren years of the 1970s (I mean, what kind of moves can you do to Abba?). Done in public places, it always achieved shock and awe.
Limp falling faded away in the early 80s as health concerns caused its proponents to cut down on their drinking, but enjoyed a 90s resurgence as “The Lying Down Game”, allegedly created by two English teenagers. That activity was later renamed planking.
Now planking has morphed into the Harlem Shake – again with the goal of generating shock, awe and smiles in public places. When you do it, remember to say a small thankyou to limpmaster Paul Rigby.
The Tribal Mind column, by David Dale, appears in printed form every Sunday in The Sun-Herald, and also as a blog on this website, where it welcomes your comments. David Dale teaches communications at UTS, Sydney. He is the author of The Little Book of Australia -- A snapshot of who we are (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark The Tribal Mind.
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