Presidential hopeful's infamous speech remixed to pop songs online.
By Brandon Mercer
TechTV

Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean can thank online music remixers for giving his now-infamous primal yell immortality on the Internet.


Dozens of parodies are circulating the Net, set to everything from AC/DC to The Offspring (a parody of "Pretty Fly for a White Guy") to a version of the Beach Boys' "Kokomo," which replaces place names with states holding upcoming primaries.


Dean's Jan. 19 speech following the Iowa Caucuses was nothing unusual for a late-night, hoarse-voiced campaign rally -- until the final "yeah!" or "yeagh!" or, as the BBC writes, "yeeaarrgghh." It was that final, primal scream that put it over the top, giving college students and musicians with too much time on their hands the impetus to set it to music.


Caner Ozdemir, a self-proclaimed Dean supporter, searches for remixes and links to them at DeanGoesNuts.com. Ozdemir writes, "Don't get me wrong! I am actually a Howard Dean supporter and will be voting for him when, and if, the time comes. I just think that January 19, 2004 was a magical day in politics and Howard Dean should be immortalized on the Internet. I'm just doing my part to make sure that happens."


You got your wish, Caner.


Dean, however, wishes it would all go away. Critics say he appeared unpresidential, or worse, unpredictable. While a huge Internet presence helped move Dean from political "who's that" to a leading presidential contender, the remixes and blogs surrounding his infamous speech are hurting him.


Dean tells ABC's Diane Sawyer, "I did it. I own it. Maybe it was over the top. I was trying to pump up 3,500 kids who gave me three weeks of their lives, and I'm not a perfect person. But, my attitude is, that's done. And, now we've got to get back to running for president."