The "Chandler hugging an album” meme: explained
A boomer-friendly guide to the viral music meme
If you are an Internet user between the ages of 10 and 49, I will automatically assume that you are familiar with the concept of a meme. Why be so precise with the age of 49 instead of 50, you ask? Well, for starters, my mom is 49. I believe my mom is at the exact age at which adults are still posting memes, but their knowledge of what a meme actually is is quite questionable. For instance, 49-year-olds will religiously post Minion memes on Facebook as shown below; however, judging by the nose-scrunch face they make when you show them a meme you saw on Twitter, you’d suspect they’d never seen one in their life.
With this said, it is only fair to declare that there is a wide variety of memes on the Internet, that cater to almost all imaginable genres of humour, niche interests, fandoms, etc.
As a music enthusiast, one of my favourite meme categories is, naturally, any meme that has to do with music that I know or listen to.
Music memes not only offer you entertaining and innovative content related to your favourite music, artist, genre, or even song or album - but they also provide you with a certain feeling of belonging or community by connecting people, or even a fanbase with similar musical interests who find the same topics funny, or “memeable”.
A perfect example of this is the “Chandler hugging an album” or “Chandler hugging a record” meme, which went viral on social media in 2019. If you’re anything like me, and you either love music, follow music creators or other music lovers, you have likely seen some versions of this meme, or others inspired by it. If you have, I suggest you stick around to learn more about the meme - how it became a trend to make your own version of it, and why I believe it is such a good idea for a meme that brings people together.
The original, unedited version of the Chandler meme, from the TV show “Friends”
Chandler’s claim to fame
The original version of the image shows Chandler, a character in the famous American 90s TV show, Friends. In fact, this image is a screen capture of a scene in Season 3, Episode 8, where Chandler is holding the album “Lionel Richie” by Lionel Richie. In this scene, Chandler is passionately singing his own emotional rendition of the song “Endless Love”, by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross with his eyes closed, hugging the record tightly in his arms.
According to this Know Your Meme article, Tumblr user @/nothingtolosebutmymind was the first one to capture this image from the show, and to make it into their own version in 2014, replacing the Lionel Richie album with the “Definitely Maybe” album by the group Oasis. Eventually, more and more users reused the image of Chandler as a template, on which they could photoshop or edit their own favourite album into Chandler’s arms.
An edited version of the meme, with “Nothing Was The Same” by Drake
As the idea gained traction, more and more people started sharing their own personalized versions on various social media platforms to show others what albums they are listening to. A "chandler hugging album Meme Generator” was even created to facilitate the process of creating and sharing different versions of the meme. Users would often post the picture temporarily, notably on their Snapchat or Instagram stories to participate in the trend.
Additionally, some users even made individual Twitter and Instagram accounts that had the sole purpose of posting as many versions of the meme as possible, sometimes upon request, with albums of all artists and genres. With this, different fan bases or music fans could find a version of the meme that included their favourite album without having to edit the original picture themselves.
Not long after the Chandler meme rose to fame, an image of Bill Clinton listening to records also gained momentum on social media, with the same concept of showing off favourite albums, and with its own meme generator as well.
A version of the Bill Clinton meme
Why the Chandler meme is great
As mentioned previously, memes have a natural ability to bring individuals and communities together. On one hand, I think the Chandler meme is a great example of this ability, allowing people to identify with others with similar musical tastes and bond over music. On the other hand, it makes for great discoverability; I have been able to listen to many good albums and artists for the first time, all thanks to this trend. It can also benefit the artists by giving their work more visibility, and simply showing appreciation!
On the whole, the Chandler meme has a straightforward, harmless message. It aims to convey a person’s emotions and how dearly they feel about a piece of music.
Let’s be honest; we all have our own “Chandler moments”. Whether it’s performing a private concert in the shower, or just blocking out the world with our headphones, many of us can relate to this wholesome moment represented in the Chandler meme. After all, that is what music is all about! Forget about everything else, and rock on - or have a seat to listen to your favourite tunes comfortably and shamelessly, just like Chandler did.