YouTube reaction videos are more interesting than they sound | DAVID MURDOCK

David Murdock| Special to The TimesThere’s a whole lot of ground to cover today, so I’m going to get going.OK, YouTube. I’ve never been much of a fan of YouTube, mostly using it to “watch” music — music videos, concert footage, those sorts of things. Maybe some clips from movies and TV shows, too.Lately, however, their algorithm finally zeroed me in and suggested some things to watch, and I have to say, they got me. Because of the music I’d watched, YouTube suggested what are generally termed “reaction channels.” These are — and I’m not joking — people filming themselves listening to music they’ve never heard before and commenting on the music in much the same manner as sports play-by-play.It doesn’t sound like it, but I have to say, it’s fairly genius. Particularly so when the people reacting to the music are teenagers, but they’re listening to classic rock, R&B, country, soul, blues, even bluegrass. The delight on their faces is wonderful. By the way, the most “reacted to” song I’ve...