Rives: "If I controlled the Internet" (a poem)

[ballerinaguns]

His voice is wonderful

[iNSeRTCLeVRNaMeHeRe0]

he and george watsky are my favorite people on the planet.

[Brust90]

I'ma watch THEM ALL

[rebelVHS]

Just magical.

Also, in You Tube, search for 'TIMEKODE/DENI' and listen to 'POEM - MACHINE RANT'

[TanakiIII]

Why did I read 'remarkably'?

[billygmss]

still angry because some audiences laughed when he said "you'd get an automated reply. their name in your inbox. it's all you wanted anyway."

[Spo8]

"That's all you wanted anyway" still gets me when I think about this poem. I think the audience kind of brushed past how powerful the poem becomes for a second because the rest was funny, but I love it.

[GrandTheftAuto974]

if i ruled the internet i would track down the 82 dislikes and disable dislikes in youtube

[thefinnlord]

This made me so happy I almost threw up.

[Bazement258Studios]

80 people don't realize youtube requires internet.

[HallieBaby]

'You'd get an automated reply. Their name in your inbox. It's all you wanted anyway'. Why are some of the audience are laughing at this, one of the most poignant lines in the whole piece!!!?? Obnoxious.

[EstoyLigado]

@HallieBaby 'Cuz it's ironic...

[nyteflame]

@HallieBaby Sometimes, we as humans laugh because if we didn't, we would cry instead. The people here are laughing because they see a sharp truth in this simple phrase.

[CyanideXsAINT]

@HallieBaby That really was the best part. Kind of hit me out of nowhere too. I still have a spam email that was sent from my friend's MySpace account. He passed away four years ago. Not going to lie, sometimes I look at it and pretend it's an actual message just sent recently. Totally hit home for me.

[boogamalard]

@Luxmans

it is real laughter. All TED talks are live.

[Anna22493]

There is something very sensual about the way he talks, and thinks. The words he says are wonderful.

[okonkwoobiageli]

pure GENIUS

[mfl728]

absolutely awesome, mesmirizes me everytime I watch it.

[thepeopleinthebag]

This is Good but this reminds of

George Carlin's - Modern Man

It's Not necessarily a poem, but is very relevant and Brilliant

as well!!

[migduh]

In The Mood! Noice!

[zatiel]

Gorgeous.

[ColacX]

email the dead people laaal

[spazouteveryday]

amazing poem! but i think i love "Kite" jus a tad more =]

[15orourke]

75 people missed the like button..

[rschott22]

this guy is AMAZING. this and Op-Talk are both super clever.

[chainerd]

the 74 people who thumbs downed this are deaf and dumb

[ForJordie]

Put on transcribe audio (it pops up when you haver your mouse over CC) the screw ups are hilarious

[lileff]

@ForJordie "somedays on the shelves of baking pan" hahaha great suggestion

[themfl728]

The whole poem is beautiful. I like the whole rant he starts at 3:07

[ShugieDupri]

omg one of the best i heard in ah while

[scnsoccer24]

this mans a genius

[okonx]

I love this poem. Well sung.

[DonSalvacion]

Does anyone know the name of the song he does at the end of the poem?

[rdjackson87]

@DonSalvacion Its "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller

[DonSalvacion]

@rdjackson87 it is! Thanks

[spibbly]

I'll inevitably get a bunch of "thumbs down" for stating my opinion, but that was pretentious and unenjoyable.

[rubberbandqueen]

awesome

[dicky4594]

Krimnosha, you're an idiot. Watch his other videos and tell me he is lame.

[craZgirl1091]

hahahaha you could email dead people...they wouldn't email back XD

[thetruth786110]

are there any other channels like this??

[sketchseven]

Rives is brilliant. Love this, love 'Voice' really really love 'Kite'

[shewtceute]

that's probably the most touching one by him ("Kite"). like literally. he talks a lot about touching lmfao but I love Rives, he's a fascinating speaker

[Derci]

he's just amazing.... he keeps you listening with his voice and just the way he acts out what he's saying sometimes..... my favorite poem by him is the one he did at def poetry jam called voice

[itzoUSA]

Good actor :)

[Ch33seMan]

TED is absolutely amazing. Most mentally stimulating thing I've found on the internet. High five to them. Great poem too.

[jtwattsup]

Rives is amazing. I love his 4 am speech

[xxxMisnomerxxx]

Hey, does anyone know the name of the song he hums or scats or whatever at the end of the poem? Its so familiar to me, but I just can't place it. Thank you.

[robdobbler]

It's "In The Mood" by The Glenn Miller Orchestra.. Very familiar indeed!

[xxxMisnomerxxx]

Thank you very much. :)

[mzsckwdt]

love this guy he is truly amazing!

[CodeRdStatTX]

He is remarkable.

[peebzzz]

He is so brilliant!

[Mohazesh]

realy he's not funny at all

fuck you man

[2ylite808]

he has a poem on def poets about sign language! it's so awesome!

[fatboyfilmproduction]

brilliant

[flamshiz]

that was absolutely wonderful

[DizzyDelicious]

Amazing poet!!!!!

[flyinghotwing]

this guy a poet? i dunno he sounds lame to me

[stjamesjjs5]

bich ass.

[ohadelaide]

I love how he adds in sign language occasionally when he speaks. Reminds me of the poem he performed at Def Jam.

[david3newman]

I don't follow sign language, if you do could you give a brief overview of what he "says"? Is it just repeating what he says out loud?

[ZERK1ZERK1ZERK1]

yes

[thebeautywithin678]

this is cool

[Croakph]

Amazing piece of beautiful spoken art!

[Jelloxox]

Ive always liked poetry but I never got into it at all. But Rives really changed my mind about poetry and open my mind to the different styles.PLUS his words are sooo sexy. Rives rox.

[furiousflower]

word!

[daughterofeve01]

I love it!!!

[tthausen]

That loud mouth shitting himself laughing at 1:44 drives me fucking crazy

that 'email dead people' bit is not supposed to be funny

he means that you just want to communicate with those you love and miss and just having an automated reply gives a form of connection with them

[mysockpuppet]

perhaps that man shouldn't be laughing as loud as he is, but there is humor in that bit. with some of the ridiculous ideas that he has prior to it, the obvious that they won't because they can't e-mail back is a little unexpected.

[DollfaceErin]

Yea I thought the same thing. I was like Wtf is that dude laughing about? SHUT UP! Its a great poem.

[KillMeNow1990]

Actually, the email dead people thing is supposed to be funny at first. Watch how he delivers it. It's supposed to be funny, then at 1:56 it is supposed to have an abrupt turnaround into that heartbreaking "I miss you" line. Rives's best work always has bracing shifts of emotion like that.

[nomadichence]

sometimes i wish i was a person who had synesthesia, his poems are too infused with feeling to just be listened to, theyve got to be tasted and smelt..that would be incredible....

[darkblaze06]

yeah this is good

[fbpyt]

CLEAN! SO FRESH.

[Blobadelics]

i feel raped

[alex0782]

This is brilliant. If the internet is about connecting people, then Rives is taking that concept to the ultimate level in this poem.

What he says about seeing the name of a person that's passed away in your inbox is touching.

[nessamaine]

love him and his words. thanks for your thoughts, rives. xo

[DinaCalifornia69]

aw. i like that.

[513nia]

go to "secret meaning of a girl"..if u like spoken word.

[makepeacenotwar0505]

God i love him! Rives is amazing!

[Poejj]

He isn't good. At all.

[tymol777]

ofcourse he isn't it's just a piece of crap, bukowski was a lot better

[NiwdogNave]

exept that bukowski fits in with the stereotypical drunk poet. Woot for him. Shut up and enjoy some good ol' poetry.

You just want to sound smart anyway.

[tymol777]

who wants to sound smart here? and don't tell me to shut up, maybe bukowski fits to your steroypical way of thinking but it doesn't mean that he wasn't good, many times he strikes just into a bulls eye, and this is just a piece of crap for me, he is winning he is horny about himself it's disguisting for me

[ladybrooklyn09]

more than dope..

this is ill.

[JJKId93]

Rives is one of my favorite poets

[NewCense]

Dope...

[Morahman7vnNo2]

In the Mood . Com?

[BigPapaOH]

yo this was great, I do poems to, check me out for one thats new.

[787Bisurdaddy]

The subject matter is a little cheesy, in my opinion, and I would have preferred something a bit funnier, but I have to say that I'm quite impressed with his delivery. And even more so than that, he is clearly an excellent wordsmith.

[jinrazorfang]

I disagree with the cheesiness comment but his delivery is fantastic. This seems like something so original. But i don't think your comment should be hidden, because its a legit comment, even if other people don't agree with it.

[787Bisurdaddy]

Yes, people get offended way too easily. I was simply stating that I was very impressed with his delivery and way with words, despite the fact that I didn't really enjoy what he was talking about.

I suppose I should have just posted "THIS GUY SUX!" since it would have gotten the same response.

Apparently at least 6 TED watchers feel that people aren't entitled to their own opinions. Censorship sucks.

[jinrazorfang]

It just needs to be used only when needed, for obscene comments etc., not for controversial opinions, in my honest opinion.

[smikeeboy]

Is that a contradiction? If so LOL. Who defines controversy?

[natashatakia]

Fuck. That was amazing!

[Mizzy2007]

i guess

[deimosazra]

Extremely good poetry.

[g0m99]

I don't know if this was a joke of some kind. But I'll answer it anyway.

Technology Entertainment Design.

[BishkekRushin]

lol dead people

[alreadycontentenough]

does rives have a women...

[BigPapaOH]

woah, nice poem, check out my shit. I think u will like it. If I ran the web, more people would view my videos.

[copcake]

"you could mapquest your lovers mood swings"

Nice........

[garghamell]

& on & on...

sweet

[JumpinSkiing]

You really can tell the TED crowd likes this but doesn't know what to make of it. The laughter Rives got from the deceased in your inbox confused me, and him, you can tell he tried to quell it by speaking faster than he wanted to.

[shinerecordsgrog]

clever, BUT if u want spoken word go for the best check out polar bear on youtube and myspace

[ChewyEllis69]

PolarBear is class, But Rives is MAGIC

[imanid50dee]

wdf

[prep4md]

I did not find it that special.

I do not think he should have been featured on ted in the first place.

[blueorchid89]

I think this man is amazing. Have you seen anything else by Rives?

[prep4md]

Nope

[blueorchid89]

Well, in the end, if you don't like him, you don't like him- but you should listen to some other stuff by him.

4am, Op Talk, Kite and Dirty Talk are really good.

[prep4md]

Thanks for pointing out the performances. I watched them all. Probably it just isn't my style.

[blueorchid89]

I see. To each his own, right?

[robillard130]

go listen to most of the talks from TED 2006 then listen to mockingbird by Rives(his performance at TED 2006) and you will realize just how genius and insanely talented this man is.

[prep4md]

I did not like it :/

[MiaPiaTyralla]

why?

[Jelloxox]

"if I ran the web...you could email dead ppl" I love how awkward he said that.

Gosh he is sexi, love his work.

[Bens44utube]

exxcellent!

[alienzm]

Check out this girl at "Talanta awards preview". Man she's great

[paranoidpfanclub]

that was great!

[DanielBonaireMusic]

AWESOME!!!

[ArtistIreland]

Good one! :)

[wiccansong]

Poetry is not required to rhyme!

[pearlrabbit]

actually if u listen closly he does rhyme. it may not be like a hammer to the head, dr.suess type poetry but if you listen you can hear how intricate his rhyme style is..

[Zeaky0arteest]

Woah, since when did good poetry have to rhyme?

[jotedimmy]

but it DID rhyme!

[TheScilencer]

sometimes thats what i love about a free poetry its my favourite type to write as well opens more for feeling then just design

[JerryGreen26]

Great work! well done! Jay

[forrestgumprules]

perfect,

smart,well delivered and hilarious all at the same time

[decharms1]

Love it.

[MiaPiaTyralla]

Amazingly brilliant!

[JonnyCapone989]

so this is the first piece i've seen from rives... and his mannerisms... even the way he speaks is identical to buddy wakefield... so i feel like some biting of style has taken place... I'm just not sure who is the lender and who is the borrower... can somone help me figure it out?

[RFblank]

probably not.

[marycigarettes]

rounded and funny

[balaine]

that was awesome intelligent witty smart funny sincere creative but most of all flawless in its delivery

[medic007]

HA!

[iluvdakushgroove]

this guy is a looneybin hes like a fucked up cracked out motivational speaker that says really really dumb things. my guess is he went to high school dropped out gave the illusion he doesnt do drugs dress nice but did way too much acid and a good amount of coke. he might have sniffed glue too much too.

[indscrub]

its called being poetic and its shared by a large yet exclusive majority of the world's finer beings.

[chasong]

you could email dead people...lol

[astro15]

what we're trying to say is that its not hallariouse... it is funny and has much good meaning to it. but not hallariouse. he has done much better things then this one

[bludecembers2]

.... get a dictionary.

[TheScilencer]

Please learn to spell.

[spibbly]

@TheScilencer

Hahahah, you spelled silencer wrong IN YOUR USERNAME. Don't go around telling people how to spell.

[willshakeyou]

since when is being funny, an opposite of being deep and having significance??

you guys need to watch some more Rives videos =D

of course it was meant to be funny, and of course it was meant to have a lot of meaning and a lot of stuff that you don't get the first time you listen to it... one thing doesn't deny the other =)

[osnhao]

which celebrity is he referring to in the beginning?

[jucii1705]

who wud we noe???????????

[jucii1705]

who wud we noe???????????

[FiswaT]

lmao

[GinnyLopez]

I agree, it had some funny parts, but it wasn't meant to be funny. Especially not the dead people thing.

[lmayo003]

the dead people thing was i think...cause technically they responded...

[astro15]

wasnt that funny.. had a meaning to it tho.... pretty cool...

[jonathanled]

More like some strange sort of poetry than fun or hilarious... Cool though.

[Mendengolo]

Ya the part about emailing dead people, isn't suppose to be funny.

[Shanell456]

i liked it !

[Damazigh]

You're not smart enough to appreciate it or understand it for that matter

[razorxsex]

Please take out Hilarious.

It's not funny.

It's the damn truth.

Simply amazing.

[KeroroGunsouTX]

Awesome!

[monoshift]

charmer , though , you need to remove the "hilarious" from the title coz people are expecting more from this word :)

[ajanisnelling]

He's okay. I guess..

[Mauisnake]

No. Not funny.