If you’ve been on social media at all this week, you’ve probably seen variants of the last great meme craze of 2017: advice on how to ring in the new year with the perfect song.
The “If You Play This Song on New Year’s Eve” meme goes like this: “If you play [X song] at exactly [X:XX:XX time] on New Year’s Eve, [some amazing, profound, hilarious, or ironic part of X song] will play as the clock strikes midnight. Start the new year off right.”
The website KnowYourMeme identifies this type of fixed-format text meme as a “snowclone,” and for the second half of December, this particular snowclone has flooded several social media platforms, especially Twitter. Its appeal seems to lie in the fact that everyone has a different idea about what the perfect song or mood to transition from one year to the next should be.
If you play 'In The Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins on December 31st at 11:56:40 the drum break will play right as the clock strikes midnight. Start off your new year right.
— Phil Collins (@PhilCollinsFeed) December 21, 2017
Popular recurring choices include just about any excerpt of Toto’s “Africa,” the drum solo in Phil Collins’s “Coming in the Air Tonight,” the “Ting goes Skraaa!” part of Big Shaq’s viral gangsta rap parody “Man’s Not Hot,” and the opening, “It’s Britney, bitch,” from Britney Spears’s song “Gimme More,” to name just a few of many, many suggestions.
You might think a meme this straightforward couldn’t possibly have very many layers, but in fact there are many layers. Let’s peel them back together.
The New Year’s Eve song meme originated on Reddit
Like many trends that became huge Twitter memes, this one actually started elsewhere. In this instance, “elsewhere” was Reddit on December 13, when a Frank Ocean fan going by the name tomboytom posted about exactly when to start playing Ocean’s single “Nights” if you want to hear its prominent rhythmic and tonal transition right at the stroke of midnight.
Two days later, Twitter user blondedocean rephrased and reposted tomboytom’s discovery in a massively viral tweet.
If you start listening to “Nights” by Frank Ocean on December 31st at 11:56:30, the transition in the song will be perfectly synced with the switch from 2017 to 2018 at midnight. Which is a great way to end and start the year.
— Blonded. (@blondedocean) December 15, 2017
From there, the meme was born.
The meme quickly gained popularity thanks to both its time-sensitive nature and a few especially viral iterations
Unlike some of the great memes of 2017 that percolated quietly for months before suddenly exploding into the internet hivemind’s collective consciousness, this one went viral almost immediately, due to both its urgency — New Year’s Eve is right around the corner! — and the benefit of some prominent early examples that everyone could get behind, and thus were willing to share far and wide.
One heavy-hitter that made the rounds initially was Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life”:
if you play "bring me to life" by evanescence at exactly 11:59:08 on new years eve, the first "wake me up" will play at exactly midnight. start off your new year right
— oob (@tmcripple) December 16, 2017
And in a year where Kesha’s album Rainbow encapsulated the cultural zeitgeist, it’s no surprise many people liked the idea of having her sing us into 2018:
If you play “Praying” at exactly 11:56:44 on December 31st, Kesha will hit her whistle note in the final chorus as the clock strikes midnight. Enter 2018 the right way.
— snowmuel (@samuelgrants) December 16, 2017
Other favorite songs included the aforementioned “Africa” by Toto, which tends to be a recurring favorite whenever pop classics are being crowdsourced, and The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.”
If you play “Africa” by Toto at exactly 11:58:43pm on New Year’s Eve, the first chorus will play at exactly midnight. Kick off 2018 the way it’s meant to be
— Jeremy (@CorgiWeather) December 17, 2017
if you start listening to Mr.Brightside by The Killers at 11:58:34 pm on 31st dec 2017 i have no clue what part of the song will be on at midnight but i guarantee you a brilliant time regardless
— keegs (@selftltledtyler) December 18, 2017
Others were popular perhaps because they were just a bit inexplicable, but felt right anyway:
If you play “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” by Shania Twain at exactly 11:59:57 on December 31st, you’ll hear “let’s go girls”, one of the most iconic lines of all time, as the clock strikes midnight. Enter 2018 the right way.
— lex (@shaniaxtwain) December 19, 2017
All of which leads us to the undisputed king of the viral meme moment. Apparently most of the internet’s participants in this game think the ideal transition tune for ringing in 2018 is ... a one-measure drum break from Phil Collins:
If you play 'In The Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins on December 31st at 11:56:40 the drum break will play right as the clock strikes midnight. Start off your new year right.
— Phil Collins (@PhilCollinsFeed) December 21, 2017
Because the meme is so easily adaptable, there are also lots of joke variants
Of course, like all memes, this one has been subject to plenty of attempts to vary or subvert its theme. Among the most popular variants is the suggestion to watch something instead of listening to a song:
If you start watching INCEPTION at 10:36:56 P.M. on New Year’s Eve, Tom Hardy will say “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling” right when the clock strikes midnight.
— tessa (@sherlockify) December 19, 2017
Kick off 2018 the way it’s meant to be.
If you start an episode of Golden Girls at 11:59:48 on New Year’s Eve, Dorothy will bite her fist exactly at midnight. pic.twitter.com/PDf1ozBz69
— Mike Denison (@mikd33) December 23, 2017
Many folks have also seized the opportunity to mix up the spirit of the moment:
If you sing Carolina's alma mater at exactly 11:59:11 on New Years Eve, you'll sing "GO TO HELL DUKE" exactly at midnight. Start off your new year right.
— Peter Andringa (@p_andringa) December 19, 2017
This is how we ended up with many derisive variants of the meme, because let’s face it: For a lot of people, cynicism went hand-in-hand with 2017:
If you start playing “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond at 11:58:54 PM on New Years Eve, you’ll hit EAT SHIT PITT, right at midnight starting 2018 the right way
— Wrenna Merle (@WrenWren_15) December 19, 2017
if you play the spongebob theme tune at 11:59:34pm on new year’s eve and follow the captain’s instructions, we will all hit the deck and flop like a fish in unison at midnight and honestly I think the world needs that
— tom (@tom_harlock) December 21, 2017
if you play “Year 3000” by Jonas Brothers on NYE at 11:59:20 PM and keep it on repeat 159,409,615 times, the first time it says “Year 3000” will play exactly at midnight on January 1, 3000. start your great great great granddaughter’s year off right.
— jessica page (@jessica_page28) December 20, 2017
IF YOU SPRINT INTO THE WOODS ON DECEMBER 31ST AT SUNDOWN YOU WILL FORGET THAT TIME EVER MATTERED TO YOU BY MIDNIGHT
— NOT A WOLF (@SICKOFWOLVES) December 19, 2017
KEEP RUNNING
YOU ARE FINALLY FREE
It wouldn’t be a 2017-ending meme without a nod toward abject existential despair, so there are lots of ironic references to that, too
With so many people struggling to be optimistic about the coming year based on their experiences in 2017, several song and lyric suggestions have reflected a pervasive sense of dread:
if you start playing pompeii by bastille at exactly 11:59:28 you will hear the last round of “how am i gonna be an optimist about this” just as the clock strikes midnight, and if that’s not a mood for 2018, idk what is
— eliza (@wtf_bastille) December 19, 2017
If you listen to No Mercy by @ThisIsPVRIS on New Years Eve at 11:58:36 it will time perfectly to the verse "this place is going up in flames" at midnight and that's how I predict 2018 will go.
— Leah (@LeahLNurse) December 19, 2017
If you start listening to “Ride” by Lana Del Rey at exactly 11:58:31 on New Years Eve, you can sing along to "I am alone at midnight" at exactly midnight. Start your New Year honestly.
— chip skylark (@scotty_13_) December 19, 2017
Alright, if you start watching Mean Girls at 10:44:24 PM on New Years Eve, Regina George will get plowed by a bus right at midnight and if that’s not an accurate representation on how 2018 is going to go idk what is
— dani (@daniwolfeee) December 20, 2017
Meanwhile, lots of people dispensed with the song choice altogether in favor of getting a good night’s sleep.
If you get into bed with a nice mug of Ovaltine and a good book at exactly 11:15:00pm on New Year's Eve, you'll be having a lovely night's sleep at exactly midnight and feel very refreshed the following morning. Start your new year right.
— Daniel (@DannyJewitt) December 19, 2017
And last but not least, there’s the Gucci Gang sidebar
Because the New Year’s Eve song meme has been so massively popular, it offers an enlightening look at what’s been on people’s minds as we close out 2017. But among the many themes that have emerged, there’s also been an outpouring of hatred for one specific song.
Lil B’s “Gucci Gang” has mainly coasted to fame on the strength of its austere lyrics, in which Lil’ B intones “Gucci gang, Gucci gang, Gucci gang, Gucci gang,” over and over and over again. The repetition hasn’t prevented the song from climbing the charts and garnering over 350 million views on YouTube, but clearly, many people don’t particularly care for it:
if you play Gucci Gang at 11:57:36 PM on New Years Eve it’s perfect because the song will end right before midnight in 2017 and we can leave it the fuck there because that’s where it belongs.
— Nocturnal Brownie™ (@MoodySith) December 17, 2017
If you start listening to “Gucci Gang” by Lil Pump on December 31st at 11:58:08 You will hear him say Gucci Gang for the 53rd time just as the clock strikes midnight. Start off your new year right.
— Nate (@Nate_skis) December 18, 2017
If you play "gucci gang" any point relatively close to midnight on New Year's Eve, Lil Pump will still be saying "gucci gang" when the new year begins. Start your year right by hating yourself as much as you did all 2017
— Matt (@Mattymurph69) December 19, 2017
If you play Gucci Gang at 11:59.53, you will hear "Gucci Gang" right as the clock strikes midnight. Also if you play it at 11:59.48. And at 11:59.43. And at 11:59.42. And at 11:59.41. And at 11:59.40. And at 11:59.30. And at 11:59.29. And at 11:59.29. And at 11:59.28. And at 11:
— Post Taylone (@taytay7ftw) December 22, 2017
Alas, the New Year’s Eve song meme won’t allow you to leave behind your least-favorite songs of the year. And sure, as some people have been quick to point out, there are plenty of people who’d rather say goodbye to 2017 by doing something other than trying to precisely time a song down to seconds just before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve.
But it is a neat way to stop and think about what songs (or other kinds of media) mean the most to you, and how they relate to this moment in time: which among them best encapsulates your personal feelings about 2017, and which will help you kick off the new year with, if not a bang, then at least a “Skrraaaa!”
