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“You can do it!” “Reach for the stars!” “Never give up!” These and other motivational platitudes echo endlessly through the cubicles and classrooms of modern-day America, in mind-numbing lectures, posters and songs. At work or in school, they blend seamlessly into the background, but out of context — on YouTube, for instance — some of them become miraculously, inexplicably … awesome. Let’s take a magical mystery tour of some of the best motivational music the net has to offer.
BE SOMEBODY by Mr. T
T delivers a rap-lecture to a ragtag bunch of street-wise city kids: be somebody! But is T really the best role model?
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF by N’Sync
N’Sync takes their message to the street — Sesame Street.
Much more after the jump.
WE ARE APPLE by Steven Jobs
Actually, unless Jobs also wrote the 80s classic “What a Feeling,” which “We Are Apple” shamelessly rips off, he probably doesn’t deserve cred. But back when Apple was battling IBM for survival — circa the Mac rollout of 1984, when this corporate video was produced — they certainly needed a motivational kick in the pants! Watch and laugh.
OH HAPPY DAY by Ernst & Young
Another corporate motivational song, jaw-dropping in its use of gospel stylings to motivate Ernst & Young employees: “Oh happy day / when Ernst & Young / showed me a better way!”
BEING THE BEST by Jim Wearne and James McDunn
The Jims have a bunch of motivational classics on their YouTube page, but this one is definitely required listening.
CHANGE by Professor Albert
I was on the fence about including this one, but the fact that it’s a motivational song by an Albert Einstein impersonator — this being mental_floss — put it over the edge.
TREAT YOUR MOTHER RIGHT by Mr. T
It’s not exactly motivational, but it might be the funniest thing I’ve seen on YouTube recently. When did T become such a nagging goody-goody?
Comments (12)
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posted by Janet on 10-1-2007 at 9:41 am
Actually, Mr. T didn’t write the songs from those videos. They were written by Ice-T. (No, I’m not making this up.)
posted by Sillstaw on 10-1-2007 at 1:20 pm
What about ‘Roy’ from the Starbucks commercial, based on Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger?
Roy! Roy Roy Roy! Roy Roy Roy…
posted by Patrick on 10-1-2007 at 2:02 pm
Both Mr. T songs are from his motivational video, Be Somebody… Or Be Somebody’s Fool!. It sounds like a winner =\ lol
posted by Stephanie on 10-1-2007 at 2:05 pm
I pity the fool who mocks Mr. T.
posted by DW on 10-1-2007 at 3:18 pm
You are awesome for including *NSync in this lineup.
posted by Celeste on 10-1-2007 at 3:56 pm
I like listening to the car commercial that’s using an old song. It’s George Harrison (I think) singing “Hold on tight to your dreams.” I’ve sung (karaoke) “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Both are “never give up” type songs.
posted by Tdave on 10-2-2007 at 3:09 am
wow… GO MR. T!
posted by Korin on 10-2-2007 at 8:01 am
(I wish I could go back and edit my poorly composed comments.)
posted by Tdave on 10-4-2007 at 12:10 am
Thanks for the kind words about “Being the Best”. Oddly enough, it is not the “best” song Jim Wearne and I wrote. In fact that is a scratch-track, recorded in a cheesy studio with one microphone quickly. If you search with my last name on youtube, you can hear other clips like “Take On Tomorrow”, “A Touch of Distinction” and more.
As I state on youtube, these songs are all for sale and can be customized with your firm mentioned in the lyrics. For more information, contact me at jpmcdunn@comcast.net
posted by James McDunn on 8-15-2008 at 4:19 pm
How, pray tell, could this list have been published without the KPMG song? Compared to that, everything else is a distant, understandable second.
posted by CJ on 3-12-2009 at 9:37 am
I love Mr. T…..
posted by Zelda on 3-12-2009 at 6:13 pm