When did 'randomness' become cool or funny?

- a 'random' picture of Richard Wagner, god! I am sooo random  -

A perception of 'randomness' seems to have seeped into our collective comedy consciousness. Putting words together like 'sheep tea pot' or 'jacuzzi nostril' could (by some, not me) be considered funny because they are 'random'. Being considered random is the aim of many a desperate, personality-less young person.

Comedians like Russell Brand were misinterpreted by others as being funny because they were random when actually their success was due to their wit and occasional silly voice, and others tried to get in on the act. Not really the blind leading the blind, more a troupe of talented entertainers being followed by a mob of wannabees (ahem...Russel Kane...ahem).

No where is this more noticeable than on children's TV. It would appear that a randomness indoctrination programme has begun to try and trick the next generation into thinking that the formula for comedy is (colour) + (animal) + (verb) + (kitchen appliance) = (first word other than 'penis' that pops into your head).

Not even our food has escaped the randomness plague. Rowntrees Randoms are not random, they are a collection of animals and objects in admittedly delicious gummy form. I would be impressed if, as I opened my overpriced green bag of fun, I were to find a scale replica of Wembley football stadium, a set of deeds to a house in Scotland, two tiny men fighting over a traffic cone, the entire Philarmonic Orchestra, a map of Lithuania, or a white-water rafting infant. These are random as they are the results of five minutes pressing 'random article' on Wikipedia and brief spell on stumbleupon.


the classic tennis-playing blancmange

As I say this, randomness, if done right can be funny. Its called surrealism. Monty Python wrote the (big red) book on the subject, just ask any intergalactic tennis-playing blancmange who's trying to buy a decent kilt. The tradition is being maintained by the likes of Vic Reeves and Noel Fielding of the Mighty Boosh.

Don't ever mistake randomness for originality or creativity. Being creative is not the same as being able to think of the most outlandish phrase in a split second.
Category B trump donkey.