GANGNAM STYLE

One of the advantages of having a teenage daughter is that I get exposed to aspects of youth culture that would otherwise completely pass me by. Under her gentle prompting, I am now aware of the charms of (eg) Gossip Girl, Cake Boss and Say Yes to the Dress. The last is a particularly inane programme in which forthcoming brides try on dresses costing thousands of dollars, while their fathers, grizzled steelworkers from New Jersey or wherever, start blubbing and say "anything for my little princess" (are these people insane or what?).

The latest example is Gangnam Style. Gangnam is apparently a rich suburb of Seoul, the wealthiest district in the country, and Gangnam Style is a pop single and video by a Korean guy called Psy. It's got a catchy rhythm, specific dance moves, and minimalistic lyrics, which consist mainly of the words "sexy lady" and some grunts from Psy. The whole thing is unbelievably naff, even in (or perhaps especially in) the eyes of cool 18-year olds, which is presumably why it has become so wildly popular.

The You Tube video had, as of this morning, been seen by 249,774,127 people, which is a fair proportion of the world's population. Well, to be exact, now 249,774,128.

Walter Blotscher