Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down…
If I directed you to click here with the promise that doing so would bring you, say, compromising footage of an attractive celebrity, or maybe a hilarious clip of a monkey jockey winning a potbellied pig race, or even a music video featuring vintage footage of Gerald Ford tarmac missteps, would you follow the link? Go ahead, ponder your options. Take your time, I’ll wait right here. Feel free to click at any time.
Did you swallow the bait? Congratulations! You’ve been Rickrolled! Now that you are officially part of an Internet phenomenon that has been growing steadily over the past year, hurry up and Rickroll your uninitiated friends before the trend catches their ears and eyes. It’s easy to do: simply post a hyperlink with a tantalizing title, but use the URL for a YouTube clip of Rick Astley’s 1988 pop smash Never Gonna Give You Up. Then sit back and smile at the thought of your loved ones sitting entranced before Astley’s signature moves (or move, as the case may be).
Why Rick Astley? No one seems to know for sure, including Astley himself, who was recently interviewed by David Sarno of the Los Angeles Times. He is certainly amused, though, especially at the antics of anti-Scientology group Anonymous, who have staged protests in which demonstrators have warbled Never Gonna Give You Up in unison. Astley seems well aware of the dry wit that lurks behind using a lightweight, essentially message-less pop song as a vehicle for social unrest. Meanwhile, Rickrolling for the simple sake of pulling a harmless prank continues unabated, reaching a highlight of sorts when YouTube mischievously Rickrolled the links to all of their Featured Videos on April 1. Sarno notes that the popularity of Rickrolling has inspired knockoff Internet memes such as the Fresh Prince Roll, which gives me an idea…
The next time you feel an urge to send a deceitful link to someone (and really, who doesn’t have this kind of compulsion on a daily basis?), send them here. Tee-hee! You’ve been Gregrolled!
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Eric Greenberg
on Apr. 7th, 2008
Glad to hear that Rick is having fun with it. It’s always cool when celebrities don’t take themselves too seriously.
Fubiz
on Apr. 9th, 2008
Rickrolling week!
Eric Greenberg
on Apr. 11th, 2008
Looks like the New York Mets have been Rick Rolled! Just saw this link in USA Today’s “Pop Candy” blog…
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=4628658&page=1
Ralph F
on Apr. 28th, 2008
I like this one better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KANI2dpXLw
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