# Howard Dean Scream Howard Dean's shrieking "YEAH!" at a January 2004 post-caucus rally in Iowa was one of the earliest viral political remixes on the web, replayed in late-night monologues and dance mashups within days[1]. His handheld microphone filtered out the roaring crowd, so the yell sounded unhinged on home TVs and set off techno edits and TV parodies[2]. By July 2016, Dean himself was recreating the moment onstage at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia[3]. ## Origin Vermont governor Howard Dean was favored to win the January 19th, 2004 Iowa Democratic caucuses, but a late surge for John Kerry and John Edwards left him in third place. That night Dean addressed supporters at the Val-Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, running through a list of states he planned to contest and ending on a hoarse, high-pitched "YEAH!" into the microphone[4]. The yell sounded wild on television because the unidirectional handheld microphone tuned out the deafening cheers Dean was speaking over, as Verne Gay noted in a Seattle Times column[6]. Dean later told David Letterman the speech was "a crazy, red-faced rant," admitting it damaged his primary campaign[5]. - **Platform:** Cable news (catalyst) / early YouTube and music-remix sites (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2004 ## Overview Audio remixes make up most of the Howard Dean Scream canon. Early YouTubers and bedroom producers set the "YEAH!" against techno beats, AC/DC riffs and Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train," chopping four seconds of audio into dance tracks, novelty ringtones and mashups[2]. In titles and comment threads the yell is spelled out onomatopoeically as "BYAH!" or "YEARGH!", which helped the sound travel as a text joke even when the clip was not attached[4]. Late-night TV picked up where the DJs left off, with Conan O'Brien and Dave Chappelle filming parody re-enactments on their shows[4]. News outlets revive the clip whenever another candidate has a hot-microphone stumble, with CBS running a 2011 piece asking whether a Rick Perry speech was his own "Dean scream"[5]. The visual half of the meme usually freezes on the red-faced frame where Dean peels off his jacket and points into the audience. ## How to Use Most Howard Dean Scream edits are audio-first. Creators drop the "YEAH!" sample into a music track, often on a strong downbeat, with techno, rock or novelty genres being common. Visual edits typically loop the red-faced moment or caption it with the onomatopoeic spelling "BYAH!" or "YEARGH!" rather than a direct quote[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Howard Dean Scream? A shrieking "YEAH!" that Vermont governor Howard Dean yelled at the end of a January 2004 concession speech in Iowa, which was replayed on cable news and remixed into music mashups within days[1]. ### Where did Howard Dean Scream come from? It came from Dean's post-caucus rally at the Val-Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, Iowa on January 19th, 2004, after he finished third in the Democratic caucuses[2]. ### What does Howard Dean Scream mean? It is treated as the archetypal cable-news gaffe moment, where a unidirectional microphone made Dean sound "loud, peculiar, and unpresidential" on home TVs even though the crowd was cheering him on[6]. ### How do you use Howard Dean Scream? Most uses are audio remixes dropping the "YEAH!" sample into techno, AC/DC or novelty tracks, often paired with the written spellings "BYAH!" or "YEARGH!" in titles and captions[2]. ### Is Howard Dean Scream still popular? It is a classic reference that comes back whenever a politician has a hot-mic moment, and Dean himself reenacted it onstage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia[3]. ## References 1. [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1610039]() 2. [https://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484765/remixers-tweak-howard-deans-scary-scream.jhtml]() 3. [https://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-democratic-convention-2016-live-dean-revives-dean-scream-at-1469584382-htmlstory.html]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/howard-dean-scream]() 5. [https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57319361/is-n.h-speech-perrys-dean-scream/]() 6. [https://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001840708_deantv21.html]() 7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5FzCeV0ZFc]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/howard-dean-scream Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library