I can go for that?

November 23, 2018 5:33 AM

No matter what I watch on YouTube, "I Can't Go For That" is always the "up next" video! Why? I mean, I love Hall and Oates as much as the next guy, and the video certainly inspires some blazer/shoulder pad longing, but I haven't watched it a zillion times or anything. I'm finding this hilarious and wondering why YouTube/Google/The Internet has decided that this song is the nexus of my internet experience. Any thoughts?
posted by stillmoving to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

YouTube is just bonkers. I watched two Vulfpeck videos back in ‘16 and it took me well over a year to break out of that funk trap. Not exactly complaining, but still.

Then there’s things like Black Betty, by Ram Jam, which few people under 40 would know, and never really topped the charts, but is perennially at the top of many people’s “up next” list, as evidenced by it having far more views (45 m) than much more popular songs from 1977. For context, ICGFT was number 1 for many weeks and has 36 million.

Anyway my point is that you’re just as well off trying to figure out why your cat does that weird thing as trying to understand YouTube reccommendarions. They are both arcane mysteries, moving targets, and every answer you can come up with is probably wrong.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:57 AM on November 23, 2018 [3 favorites]

Did you happen to accidentally add it to a “Watch Later” list?
posted by Crystalinne at 6:35 AM on November 23, 2018 [3 favorites]

From the limited info provided, my first guess would be that OP has watched various other music videos but Hall & Oates is the only music video they've watched from VEVO channels. I'd also suspect the channel is being watched with third-party devices or scripts/plugins like NoScript or ad blockers, which are interfering with viewing habits being passed back to YouTube.
posted by crapmatic at 11:39 AM on November 23, 2018

I don't know, but I had to quit Pandora because no matter what kind of playlist I made, it added "The Joker".
posted by easy, lucky, free at 12:41 PM on November 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

I kept seeing "Jordan Peterson" videos up next. Weird thing is, I think that guy is a total jackass. If you see Hall and Oats on the right sidebar, move your mouse over it, and there will three vertical dots (one over another). Click on the dots, then select "not interested". It worked for me, and it is my fervent hope that I will never again be reminded that Jordan Peterson exists.
posted by elf27 at 12:58 PM on November 23, 2018 [8 favorites]

I also like to occasionally clear my youtube watch and search histories because the recommendations start to get too specific and I feel I'm missing out on other stuff. Or that some random youtube rabbit hole I went down when I was bored would skew my recommendations too much.
posted by acidnova at 4:16 PM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]