You know that feeling of sheer joy you get when you put on your winter coat for the first time and discover money in the pockets? Seriously, it's awesome. Well, I feel that way when I get caught up on some sort of pop culture movement. For the purposes of today, I'm talking about the Rick Roll.
On April Fool's Day this year, my husband and a bunch of his friends were Rick Rolled when they clicked on a link about Kentucky basketball on kentuckysportsradio.com. (I had never heard of the Rick Roll, but apparently it's been around since 2007!) The article was preparing UK fans for the Final Four game and the link they clicked read something like this: If you are a Kentucky fan, this is not what you want to hear before the game against UConn. Then, instead of the link taking them to player stats or something like that, it took them to a YouTube video of Rick Astley singing Never Gonna Give You Up.
I think it's hilarious. Setting someone up to see something they're really interested in and then slamming them instead with an 80's video, complete with a skinny white guy snapping and side stepping in denim from head to toe, is amazing. So I tried to Rick Roll my brother that same day.
But here's the thing: my brother loves the 80's. He reminisces fondly on his Michael Jackson mesh tank top and sweet rat tail. He can name the title and artist of almost every 80's song within just the first few notes, be it Bon Jovi or Bananarama. And he worked Hammer pants throughout the entire late 80's, probably still dreams about them at night, to tell you the truth.
So how do you Rick Roll a guy like that? He left me a voicemail yesterday saying, "I don't get it. Never Gonna Give You Up is an awesome song. How is that a prank?"
Sound off folks. Good prank or bad? Is the prank in the fact that you are simply gearing someone up to see something else, or does the person also have to hate the switcheroo? And more importantly, how sweet is Rick Astley's hair in this video? And those shades? The crazy dance moves? Seriously.
7 comments:
Rick Rolling is terrific in and of itself, if only because of the surprise factor and the ridiculousness of it all. But bonus points if you can find something that makes your brother roll his eyes or cover his ears.
By the way, you're REALLY good at this. Not sure how I didn't come across this before. I'm proud to have forked your yard.
OMG Todd! I seriously almost blogged about the time we forked YOUR yard! Same wavelength today, pal.
AWESOME on three levels...
I too have never heard of a Rick Roll
It is totally hilarious that it brings you to a Rick Astley
song
and I agree with your bro that "Never gonna give you up" is a pretty sweet tune!
You guys are way late to the rick rolled game. Hilarious! I think it was more of a techie/nerd thing a few years ago so maybe you're just too cool to have heard about it.
I was one of the victims of said prank on April 1 and had known about the concept of "Rick Rolling" long before that day. This was the first time I had fallen victim though, at least with any success. My anticipation of the Uconn game coupled with my dread of what was behind that link only made it sweeter when that video came on. I was actually relieved to hear that song playing and listened to it all the way through. Good stuff Alecia.
Hahahaha. I didn't even know I'd been pranked. At least I got to watch a sweet video.
And I share genes with a man who thinks that is a cool song? Wow.
Kelly from Georgia
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