Leave it to meme culture and Ben Affleck to bring “The Sound of Silence†into the digital age.
By now, we’ve all seen the “Sad Affleck†meme (just in case you haven’t, it’s embedded below). During an interview the Batman V Superman actor is read the film’s myriad negative reviews. He stares off into space. “The Sound of Silence†begins to play. That slow zoom… Tragic comedy at its finest.
Turns out the popularity of that meme has increased the popularity of Simon & Garfunkel’s poignant 1964 classic—according to sales data. The track, which spent two weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 back in 1966, just debuted at No. 6 in the most recent Hot Rocks Songs chart—50 years later. Now that’s a revival!
Streaming has been the primary source of the song’s return to vogue (because what else would be these days?). Neilsen reports 5.6 million US streams (5.1 million via Youtube), which is a 582% increase (!). It’s currently second on the top rock songs streaming list.
May this be a lesson for all those musicians buried beneath the cruel sands of time (not that S&G were buried—Paul Simon just revealed the first track from his forthcoming album this morning, and both musicians are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). If you’re looking to make a comeback, just orchestrate a meme. Scour the Internet for your “Sad Affleck” and then, covertly, send it out into cyberspace. Bide your time, tag your friends, watch it go viral, and then voila! Back in the game.
Keep this in mind if you see a “Happy Affleck†meme suddenly appear on Reddit—Batman was probably behind it.
Actually, that sounds like a great project—anybody out there want to tackle “Happy Affleck?†Let us know if you do.
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IMAGE: Sabconth
