I know writing on this subject is incredibly played, but I just wanted to show that Rickrolling wasn't always terribly annoying, and at one point provided legitimate humor. Misunderstanding of the joke has led people to believe humor arises out of being Rickroll'd, instead of the angry and frustrated reactions of others.
If Rickrolling needs to be explained to you, welcome to the Internet. If you hear of a video that only those who belong to the few remaing groups it is socially acceptible to hate should enjoy, don't let your curiosity get the best of you. It is the equivalent of your mom telling you not to touch a hot stove, but if the stove had recently been smothered in feces.
Like all internet memes, Rickrolling came about through an extremely labored process of inside jokes, puns, and weird people with too much time on their hands. The phenomenon as we know it started when excitable nerds were given a link to a
Grand Theft Auto IV trailer. Taking the bait, they rubbed their probably sweaty hands together in anticipation. They were surprised by this 80's hit chosen solely for its obscurity, sappiness, and shockingly poor video production. Somehow unable to believe that a stranger on the Internet would lie to them, they filled the thread with curses directed at this stranger, the stranger's mother, Rick Astley, and the 80's in general. Everyone agreed that this was hilarious.
As the joke slowly gained momentum, its use spread throughout the Internet. Links of supposed sex tapes, sneak peeks of movies, and impossible human feats were all presented as bait to the gullible masses. Getting Rickroll'd was appropriately frustrating, and expletive-filled comment sections provided the entertainment that inspired jerks to send the video to others.
When the joke made its way to the real world, everything went downhill. On TV and radio shows, a brief introduction of almost any unrelated clip preceded Rick Astley's song. These attempts are close to succeeding, but most instances missed one key ingredient: anticipation. If "Never Gonna Give You Up" is shown to you instead of a clip of
LA Ink on
The Soup, you might be confused, but not angry. If these people desired to know what happened on
LA Ink, they would watch the show, instead of a show that makes fun of them for liking it. If you're listening to an NPR nature show and listen to the song instead of a clip of a Tasmanian devil, you will probably wonder who changed your radio station, and proceed to throw away your apparently broken radio. I am working under the assumption that the only people who listen to nature shows on NPR are easily confused old people. Watching angry old people would actually be pretty funny, but their reactions weren't recorded. The point I'm trying to make is that Rickrolls only provide the appropriate entertainment if it is an angering let down, and everyone gets to see your rage-fueled reaction.
I think this meme reached its peak and final huzzah when an online poll resulted in the song being played during the eighth inning sing-along at a Mets game. The anticipation was there, because this sing-along is a regular event. The confusion and outrage were there, because when large groups of drunk people are ready to sing, it had better be "Livin' On A Prayer" or "Sweet Caroline." Since the stadium was filled with drunken New Yorkers, which may be the only group more likely to tell you exactly what it thinks than anonymous nerds, the reaction was hilarious. Best of all, it was captured on tape.
The joke, and any humor that could be found in it, was brutally murdered during the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Rick Astley himself lipsynched to the song on a float, while onlookers cheered, and newscasters chuckled that chuckle that must be learned at some point of journalism school, because they all do it. Nancy Pelosi proceeded to dig the prank's body out of its grave and put it through a wood chipper, showing it in the middle of a video that no one wanted to watch in the first place.
Ironically, the video's reckless overuse has almost brought it back to its original purpose. It is safe to say that anyone who knew of its once humorous past hates seeing it, since it will inevitably bring reactions such as, "Isn't this that Rickrolling thing that those kids love?" and, "I can't believe I've been Rickroll'd! This is so much fun!" In fact, you could say that this entire post is the rage-fueled reaction of someone who anticipated the humorous use of an internet meme, and was disappointed. For all I know, poor uses of the joke are in reality incredibly complex uses by those who enjoy angering nerds by ruining their fun.
