Man Who Adds Track Lists To YouTube Comments Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Arthur Fartley of Cumbria was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today for, according to the committee, his “lifelong, selfless devotion to updating and adding track lists to YouTube DJ mix uploads for the benefit of humankind.”

Fartley, 58, who has spent decades in online forums cataloging track ID’s with laser precision, was surprised when committee members arrived at his door. “At first I thought it was the TV license,” he told reporters, rubbing a sleep-deprived eye. “I haven’t paid that, but then they said they were here about the DJ mixes, and I said, look, I’ve got all of these on vinyl. I’m not pirating anything, I just know what they are from reading the NTS forums and hearing rumors.”

Internet users praised Fartley for bringing order to chaos, and for sparing listeners the tedious task of fast-forwarding through mixes to identify elusive IDs. “He does it for the people,” wrote one user, adding that nothing has saved more relationships than being able to identify a tune someone heard at 3 a.m.

Fartley, who posts timestamps and full track lists in YouTube comments with the composure of a man cataloging an endangered species, admitted a complicating detail. “When I see someone else trying to offer a track list, I track him down and I want to cause harm to him,” he said, chuckling nervously. “So I’m not exactly peaceful all the time.”

The Nobel Committee, which announced the award without addressing the confession, said Fartley’s work “brought relief to many hearts and playlists.”

Some famous DJs had mixed reactions. “It’s nice, but I literally made that tune he identified in my room before the mix, how did he know the name of it? I never told anyone.”