Music reaction videos have become popular on YouTube in recent years and have become a new cultural phenomenon. Through the creators’ immediate reactions to music works, these videos show the interactive process between the audience and the music, and transform the private behavior of listening into a public social experience. From a theoretical perspective, these videos not only embody the theory of assemblage, but also reflect the reactivity and social attributes of digital media.

According to Francesco Casetti’s bricolage theory, media bricolage is composed of multiple elements, including technology, content, user behavior, and social interaction, which are dynamically combined to build a non-fixed media ecosystem. Music reaction videos are a typical embodiment of this bricolage.

For example, the twin brothers TwinsthenewTrend’s reaction video to Phil Collins’ classic song “In the Air Tonight” shows how music can be revitalized through digital platforms. Their real emotions attracted a large number of audiences, making classic music popular again across generational barriers. This kind of video contains not only the music itself, but also the creator’s exaggerated reaction performance, the audience’s real-time comments, and the recommendation function of the YouTube algorithm. These dynamic relationships make the video part of the bricolage, providing a new form of music experience in the digital age.

As we learned this week, music reaction videos often give new meaning to classic music through editing, sound effects and reaction narratives. And Carol Vernallis also mentioned the nonlinear characteristics and remediation of YouTube content. So I want take Charismatic Voice who is a  vocal coach as an example, the professional analysis of rock music helps the audience understand complex music techniques, it also enhances the artistic value of the music. This process can allows audiences who from different cultural backgrounds to appreciate these works from a new perspective and make the music more expressive.

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCharismaticVoice

Music reaction videos demonstrate the diversity and interactivity of the digital media era. From instant reactions to social participation, this video format redefines the meaning of “listening”, and the reveals the infinite possibilities of cultural bricolage.

But sometimes I think when we appreciating and such videos, we should pay attention to the creative logic and platform mechanism behind them.Because some videos appear “contrived” due to overly exaggerated reactions, and soem music reaction videos also face certain criticisms.  raising questions about their authenticity. In conclusion，this week’s learning allowed me to appreciate the charm of the music creation process while reminding myself that in an era of rapid development in music videos, we should pay attention to the things behind the scenes.

Junwei Lin 33867183