Uploaded January 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Help me get on NPR! They're running a contest for undiscovered talent and the winner gets to perform in their Tiny Desk Concert series!
To enter you have to perform a song near a desk. So I did!
Help me get on NPR! They're running a contest for undiscovered talent and the winner gets to perform in their Tiny Desk Concert series!
To enter you have to perform a song near a desk. So I did!
![Pachelbel Rant from 2006 [Official High Quality Re-Post]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uxC1fPE1QEE/mqdefault.jpg "Pachelbel Rant from 2006 [Official High Quality Re-Post]
The original Pachelbel Rant in full resolution! I found the transcode file from the original mini DV tape!
Thank you to everyone who liked, shared, translated, and commented on the Rant over the years. It’s been so exciting to hear about how people have found the video—some through music class in school, some found it through friends, some found it by googling Pachelbel to find Canon in D (Ha! Take that, Johann!)
If you’re curious I’m still performing comedy music, I put out a live concert album in early 2019, I regularly perform in New York, the occasional cruise ship, and I write and produce music for myself and other artists. Check out RobPRocks.com for all the details, and check out the new album here: https://open.spotify.com/album/500uskrfq5cFG2mxDAo5Lm?si=iAwOqHYeR72UuLclOy1xQQ
Turn on closed captioning for the official transcript, here are the songs referenced:
2:21 Graduation (Friends Forever), Vitamin C
2:32 Cryin, Aerosmith
2:43 One Tin Soldier, Coven
3:35 Hook, Blues Traveler
3:45 Basket Case, Green Day
4:11 Push, Matchbox 20
4:15 Good, Better Than Ezra
4:17 Machine Head, Bush
4:21 With or Without You, U2
4:25 Torn, Natalie Imbruglia
4:28 Sk8r Boi, Avril Livigne
4:32 We’re Not Gonna Take It, Twisted Sister
4:36 Laverne & Shirley Theme Song
4:40 No Woman No Cry, Bob Marley
4:43 Let It Be, The Beatles")
![The Ballad of Lou Pearlman [Lyric Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vXTWzrvX0ts/mqdefault.jpg "The Ballad of Lou Pearlman [Lyric Video]
There have been a lot of Ponzi schemers but only one used his money to give the world the gift of boy band pop. That man was Lou Pearlman and this song is the epic story of his grift.
From the album The American Songbook: Redacted
on apple music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-ballad-of-lou-pearlman/1646865974?i=1646866465
on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/78DWewDz32D7vIrOwaLPPr
on bandcamp: https://robprocks.bandcamp.com/track/the-ballad-of-lou-pearlman
on YouTube Music: https://youtu.be/1E1SGEWgEwM
Lyrics:
The Ballad of Lou Pearlman as performed
In the 90s all your pre-teen dreams
Had been funded by a classic Ponzi scheme
Money from financial malfeasance
Was used to find boys who could sing and dance
A guy named Lou had a slew of bogus companies
People invested but the money went missing
He said that he ran aviation companies across the nation
But he was straight up grifting
He used the money to begin a talent search
Founded agencies and labels in a blink
Hired coaches choreographers and chaperones
Soon he gave the world Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC
In the 90s every pre-teen dream
Had been funded by a classic Ponzi scheme
Money from financial malfeasance
Was used to find boys who could sing and dance
A middle class kid from Queens
Who liked helicopters and planes
Sold a blimp to Jordache Jeanes
But it went down in flames
He took the companies public through shady penny stocks
Had insurance and accounting forms but he forged all the docs
The transportation companies were barely real
The investment fund was where huge sums were lost
He lied to borrow money which he spent on record deals
like 3 million bucks in Backstreet Boys startup costs
In the 90s every pre-teen dream
had been funded by a classic Ponzi scheme
And since con men always thrive on reality TV
He started Making the Band on ABC
Eventually all of his acts would sue him
And authorities like the SEC would start to see right through him
He borrowed more and for a while was somewhat resilient
But in the end he’d taken over three hundred million
Word! The guy who started Backstreet Boys and ’NSYNC stole 300 million dollars! A hundred million from individuals!
In the 90s every pre-teen dream
Had been funded by a classic Ponzi scheme
Money from financial malfeasance
Was used to find boys who could sing and dance
If you’re wondering, the other 200 mil. was from institutional inverstors (just say ‘banks’)
In the 90s every pre-teen dream
Had been funded by a classic Ponzi scheme
Money from financial malfeasance
Was used to find boys who could sing and dance")
![Fake News Nightly [52 Sellout Week 50]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wCy7_3EvVuk/mqdefault.jpg "Fake News Nightly [52 Sellout Week 50]
Everyone else is making money (or political hay) with fake news so I figure I’d better get in on it. Look for me in the social feed of your racist cousin or crazy aunt!")
![Best pickup truck song since “Like a Rock” [52Sellout Week 2]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wxVlAXsoJyA/mqdefault.jpg "Best pickup truck song since “Like a Rock” [52Sellout Week 2]
“Like a Rock” by Bob Seger was the best song ever in a pickup truck ad, until now.")
![This Cup o Noodles commercial gets real [52 Sellout Week 22]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xLisVI1psSw/mqdefault.jpg "This Cup o Noodles commercial gets real [52 Sellout Week 22]
If youre buying instant noodles lets not sugarcoat things: youve ruined your life. And this commercial is honest about it.
This is week 22 of 52 Sellout, and you can see all of the commercials at my 52 Sellout playlist!")
