There’s Nothing the Chinese Red Army Can’t Sing
What’s the most popular piece of footage to remix on the planet? Well it’s hard to say exactly. In the United States, the German film “Der Untergang” (the source for the infamous Hitler Downfall Parody videos) is a major contender but in Asia, there’s no doubt that the Chinese Red Army Choir wins. Take a look at the original footage of the choir playing the Long March Song Cycle (长征组歌) filmed in 1976.
The Red Army sync version of Michael Jackson’s hit “Beat It” is definitely the most popular with well over 10 million views on ToDou.com alone. (If videos don’t load re-fresh the page).
Beat It – The Red Army Version
Although a handful of ripped copies of the Red Army’s Beat It have made their way onto western sites like YouTube in recent weeks, the vast majority live on the Chinese site Tudou (土豆网) (which translated literally means “Potato Net”). It’s without a doubt one of the largest video sharing sites in the world – claiming to be about five time bigger than YouTube.
A quick search on ToDou.com for “Red Army Edition” (红军版) returns hundreds of remixes including this extensive playlist. Beyond Michael Jackson hits you can also see the Red Army Choir doing their rendition of Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Usher as well as classic songs like American Idiot, We Will Rock You and Never Gonna Give You Up – all in varying remix quality. A few of our favorite “Red Army Versions” are posted below. (They may take some time to load but are worth it).
As for the deeper cultural meaning – perhaps these remixes serve as a commentary on Chinese government authoritarianism or on the virus-like nature of American corporate pop culture. Maybe they are just making fun of old Communist Party propaganda or perhaps it’s all of the above. Not being versed in Simplified Chinese, it’s hard to tell what the true intentions are, but the Red Army might very well be the most remixed video on the planet. Mao Zedong is undoubtedly spinning in his grave (perhaps even in sync to the music).
Poker Face (Lady Gaga)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Theme song)
Wavin’ Flag (Coca-Cola World Cup celebration mix)
Prague Square (布拉格廣場) by Taiwan stars Jay Chou & Jolin Tsai
Category: music video
