Rick Astley and Mr. Met: A match made in heaven?
(Credit: Sarah Harbin/CNET Networks)The title of this post was inspired by Deadspin commenter BlastItBiggs.
After April Fool's Day, it got horribly gauche to practice the art of "Rickrolling"--tricking people into watching the video for Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," or surprising someone by playing the corny pop song. The goofy Internet fad was so utterly overblown on 4/1/08 that the Web seemed to collectively agree that nobody should ever subject anybody to it again.
The New York Mets, however might have to deal with it for a little while longer.
Innocently enough, the baseball team decided to hold an online contest to determine the tune for its traditional eighth-inning sing-along. Despite the fact that the "Stephen Colbert Bridge" debacle should've taught the world a lesson about the perils of online polls, the contest included a write-in option. Prank-friendly geek hubs Digg and Fark linked to the poll, and sure enough, "Never Gonna Give You Up" came out on top.
MetsBlog.com reported that the song played at 4:03 p.m. EDT during the Mets' season opener against the Philadelphia Phillies, who ended up beating the Mets 5-2.
But this might be the only Mets game to get Rickrolled. Gawker Media sports blog Deadspin reported that when the Digging and Farking masses flooded the contest with votes for "Never Gonna Give You Up," the powers-that-be at Shea Stadium decided to issue a mulligan, sort of.
"Rather than commit to that as the new eighth-inning tune since it probably doesn't reflect the fan base's wishes, the Mets will play the top six selections once apiece during the first six games of their home stand," a New York Daily News article linked on Deadspin read. "The one that draws the largest crowd response will stick." Hey, Rick's still got a chance.
And considering the Mets haven't won a World Series since Rick Astley was popular the first time around, "Never Gonna Give You Up" might be a good choice regardless.
CNET News.com's Tom Krazit contributed to this report by noticing the Rickroll mention as he obsessively hit "reload" on MetsBlog.com all afternoon hoping to learn that his beloved Kings of Queens had actually won a game. Sorry, dude.
On Friday morning, YouTube announced the second annual iteration of its YouTube Video Awards. What? Awards?
The video-sharing service, owned by Google since 2006, awarded accolades in categories like "Adorable," "Creative," and "Comedy" to original videos hosted on its site that were uploaded in 2007, as voted on by users. The prizes, per YouTube, are "bragging rights, a trophy, and a special invitation to an event later this year."
Okay, so the videos are kind of amusing. The "Adorable" category winner is a video of a baby who falls over every time he laughs (wonder what'll happen when his friends find out about that in 10 years), the "Creative" winner is that "Human Tetris" thing you've seen a million times, and the "Music" winner is none other than that "Chocolate Rain" video that everyone was watching last year.
But the culture of YouTube doesn't really lend itself that well to awards. YouTube, for better or worse, is a cultural hub rather than strictly a creative outpost; there's plenty of cool, original content there, and it's no surprise that Google would want to highlight the good stuff rather than the goofy prank videos and pirated content that propelled it to the upper echelon of the Web.
Content on YouTube, however, doesn't necessarily become popular because it's high-quality or original--just look at the Rickroll phenomenon, an '80s music video that has been seen millions of times because people get a kick out of tricking their friends into watching it. Or the current hot clip, a British public service announcement with a hilarious twist.
Or, for that matter, this week's number-one YouTube video: Barack Obama's most recent speech.
Some people are never satisfied with the Nintendo DS. Despite all its success over the years, various gamers can't wait to give it an overhaul, whether it's a Guitar Hero mashup or some ungodly Swarovski treatment.
Korg and AQ Interactive, however, are at least coming up with a new use for the handheld that isn't completely bizarre. (Whether there'll be a demand for it is another matter.) The two are partnering to develop a virtual version of the Korg MS-10--the vintage synthesizer of the big-hair '80s--specifically for the DS.
And lest you think this is some lame hack, Tech Digest says the "Korg DS-10 is "a fully functioning, absolutely 100 percent official synth, drum machine, and sequencer." Controlled by touch screen and stylus, it will join the ever-expanding ranks of mini-studios that can make anyone a pocket DJ--which may or may not be such a good thing.
Two decades ago this week--on March 12, 1988--the corny pop song "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
What does this have to do with the Internet? Oh, just about everything.
For those of you who actually have lives and don't pay attention to the latest iteration of goofy Internet phenomena (think "all your base are belong to us," "the Internet is a series of tubes," or lolcats), Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" is the Web equivalent of the old, "Is your refrigerator running?" prank call.
The gag known as "Rickrolling" consists of sending someone a link that purports to be something good, only to have it direct that person to the cheesy video for the '80s pop song.
If it sounds pointless and stupid, that's because it is. The practice is believed to have started in the 4chan (warning: content may not be safe for work) online forums, the same den of virtual infamy that allegedly brought forth lolcats as well as a good portion of the anti-Scientology hacker activity that went on earlier this year.
On Wednesday, avid members of the Digg community celebrated the song's 20th anniversary of hitting the top spot on Billboard with an extensive comment thread of the song's cringeworthy lyrics.
But there are far simpler ways to celebrate. Just go ahead and trick someone into watching that video. Everyone's pumped about the presence of the Speed Racer and Incredible Hulk trailers on the Web--use that to your advantage!
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