For those of us spending the pandemic at home, bored and cranky, one of the few bright spots has been the YouTube videos of the reactions of young twin guys listening to classic pop songs for the first time.
The concept is simple: Tim and Fred Williams, 22-year-old brothers in Gary, Indiana, listen to wonderful songs like Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Frank Sinatra’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” that they admit to never having heard before (sometimes they’ve never even heard of the artists), and they react with joy and appreciation. They are earnest and true music lovers. They are not embarrassed about their ignorance of some of the world’s most famous songs, nor about enjoying music that is usually associated with a different fan base. If the songs or artists come with cultural baggage, they know or say nothing of it. The Williamses, who grew up listening to rap, simply love music.
“I have never seen nobody drop a beat three minutes in the song!” Fred Williams says with delight, listening to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” at that point when drums move the song from slow to rocking. The video has been viewed more than 6 million times since it was posted in July, and thanks to the video, the 39-year-old song is back on the music charts, at No. 2.
“We gotta turn this up in the headphones,” Tim Williams says as Dolly Parton begins singing “Jolene,” and at the end his analysis is: “This was a straight banger, I didn’t expect this.”
“Bro, how do you have the most intimidating clothes on, and be singing so soft?” Tim Williams says upon first encountering KISS and listening to “Beth.”
Unlike so many of our eye-rolling children, these kids love our geezer music. They listen to the entire songs, they comment throughout, they point out the good in each song without complaining. Will the Williamses add Garth Brooks’ “The Dance” to their favorite playlists? Who cares? Viewers get a chance to listen to the song with fresh ears, with enough distance from that time when it was on the radio at the top of every hour to appreciate Garth all over again.
Instead of giving in to the boredom of the pandemic, the Williams twins found a way to have new experiences and enjoy themselves. In a moment when we have plenty of time to listen to music and access to nearly every song ever recorded, we no longer have to hear the same song twice. Let the Williams twins inspire us to explore the world we live in right now, small in some ways because of the pandemic, but greatly expanded thanks to the devices we carry around in our pockets.
— The Dallas Morning News