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The First Rickroll
Apr. 7th, 2008 04:20 amRickrolling kind of caught me off guard. Yes, I know, that's the point. But I only heard about it after it was a big enough fad to Be Noticed.
I was surprised because I have an affinity for "Never Gonna Give You Up" that goes back over a decade. In fact, I've paid special attention to it ever since I heard the following story, which I believe is the first known rickroll.
Now, this happened about ten years ago, when the internet was different. There was no YouTube. Hell, Google hadn't formed yet. The technology didn't really exist for rickrolling as we know it today. So the rickroll you will hear of may sound strange. Technology moves so fast, that this tale seems like steampunk—a slapdash reconstruction of a thoroughly modern phenomenon using the limited technology of times long past.
But I assure you that it is true.
This story was told to me by Brian Coleman (now of the Washington Improv Theater) and Chris Himes. At the time, they were both members of Recess, the sketch-comedy group of George Washington University. Once, in the mid '90s, the group attended a comedy festival (I think it was the National College Comedy Festival). It was there that the rickroll would first see the world.
Sometime during the weekend, Chris and Brian went to a party for the players. They expected something pretty lively and wacky, befitting the vibrant comedy minds attending. Instead, the scene was sedate, scripted with murmurred conversations and scored with the female singer-songwriters that flourished in alternative music at that time (and that would soon birth Lilith Fair).
Our heros realized they would be the ones to start things happening, to help everyone relax and have a little more fun. They devised a plan—Brian snuck to another room while Chris approached the stereo, careful not to raise suspicion. When they were in place, Chris faded down Tori Amos, and proclaimed, in his best announcer voice:
Chris faded the music back up, and the two sullenly sank back into the party.
The world was not yet ready for the rickroll.
Note: All links above are informational; nothing in this post links to Rick Astley except this: "Never Gonna Give You Up."
SunNYTX: 22:30, one error; MonNYTX: 4; MonNYSX: 4:30.
I was surprised because I have an affinity for "Never Gonna Give You Up" that goes back over a decade. In fact, I've paid special attention to it ever since I heard the following story, which I believe is the first known rickroll.
Now, this happened about ten years ago, when the internet was different. There was no YouTube. Hell, Google hadn't formed yet. The technology didn't really exist for rickrolling as we know it today. So the rickroll you will hear of may sound strange. Technology moves so fast, that this tale seems like steampunk—a slapdash reconstruction of a thoroughly modern phenomenon using the limited technology of times long past.
But I assure you that it is true.
This story was told to me by Brian Coleman (now of the Washington Improv Theater) and Chris Himes. At the time, they were both members of Recess, the sketch-comedy group of George Washington University. Once, in the mid '90s, the group attended a comedy festival (I think it was the National College Comedy Festival). It was there that the rickroll would first see the world.
Sometime during the weekend, Chris and Brian went to a party for the players. They expected something pretty lively and wacky, befitting the vibrant comedy minds attending. Instead, the scene was sedate, scripted with murmurred conversations and scored with the female singer-songwriters that flourished in alternative music at that time (and that would soon birth Lilith Fair).
Our heros realized they would be the ones to start things happening, to help everyone relax and have a little more fun. They devised a plan—Brian snuck to another room while Chris approached the stereo, careful not to raise suspicion. When they were in place, Chris faded down Tori Amos, and proclaimed, in his best announcer voice:
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Mister Rick Astley!From the hallway, appearing only in silhoutte, Brian sang, in his most soulful voice:
Never gonna give you up!Whatever they were expecting, it wasn't the ponderous silence that followed.
Never gonna let you down!
Never gonna run around and desert you!
Never gonna make you cry!
Never gonna say goodbye!
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you!
Chris faded the music back up, and the two sullenly sank back into the party.
The world was not yet ready for the rickroll.
Note: All links above are informational; nothing in this post links to Rick Astley except this: "Never Gonna Give You Up."
SunNYTX: 22:30, one error; MonNYTX: 4; MonNYSX: 4:30.