Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Yihal! And a merry Rickrollmas to you, too.

So, His Royal Hottness in a Fez Kent Holle just e-mailed me some splendid YouTubery, with the warning of "Rick Rolling" on the YouTube front page. What, I wondered, is Rick Rolling, besides a catchy pseudonym for a lounge musician?

Two minutes later and with Urban Dictionary to the rescue, I felt a peculiar mixture of shame regarding my prior ignorance, and pride that I'm not sufficiently geeky to know about Rickrolling in the first place. Does this emotion have a name? If not, I'd like to introduce the term 'yihal,' which is a handy acronym for Yes, I Have a Life. Depending on how you say 'yihal,' it can either convey pride ("Yihal! I've still never seen goatse!") or shame ("Yihal, I can't believe I missed the whole LonelyGirl15 thing"). Said in a neutral fashion on its own, 'yihal' can simply mean simultaneous shame and pride about one's lack of popcult knowledge.

Yihal.

And by the way, what on earth is wrong with liking 80s-era Rick Astley? Yes, he seemed like an awfully sweet boy, but aren't awfully sweet boys allowed to croon soulfully from time to time? Are they not people like the rest of us? When you prick them, do they not bleed? Let us not demand our pound of flesh of Rick Astley, folks; let him be. Yihal, and I think Astley had it going on for a 21 year old. He had great hair, for example.

Moral of this tale: ain't no Rickrolling on The Astrid Frontier today. Go in peace.

9 comments:

  1. Yihal! Sounds like Woo-ha! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BcVdkgY9ZQ

    Yeah you almost lost me with that other post on Rick Astley. I had to think a minute before I could connect the song with the pie chart. We all know those old 80's tunes but sometimes never associate the names. Michael McDonald is another name that pops up from this era but slightly more familiar... at least for me. Anytime I hear one of his songs I'm like, "that's a Michael McDonald cut!"

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  2. You got me educated tonight, because I too had no clue. Yihal!

    Thank you for this educational post.

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  3. @ Cliff:

    You put Busta Rhymes and Michael McDonald together in the same comment? I think my brains officially sloshed out of my ears. Very messy, but also amusing.

    And what is it with all those fisheye lenses in hiphop videos? I seem to recall Miss Elliott had that going on, too. Same video producer?

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  4. @ Celes:

    Glad to know I could be your source of edutainment for an evening! Feel free to check out Busta Rhymes and Michael McDonald on YouTube next, but not necessarily simultaneously.

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  5. Yeah, I didn't even realize I did that! But now that you mention,put Busta, Mr. McDonald, and maybe Celene Dion together and you'd have a murder mix. It could happen too. I've seen stranger combos.

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  6. Fisheye lens? I just though Busta distorted time and space around him.

    YIIIIII-HAL! *Dixie car horn*
    "Bout that time, them Duke boys found themselves in trouble..." *freeze frame*

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  7. Hmm... are Busta and Michael the next Bing Crosby and David Bowie?

    I can't wait to hear what holiday carol they team up on. Perhaps "Away in a Manger" or "Snoopy's Christmas."

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  8. @ Cliff:

    "put Busta, Mr. McDonald, and maybe Celene Dion together and you'd have a murder mix."

    You are a demonic, diabolical man. Hooray!

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  9. @ Kent:

    "I just though Busta distorted time and space around him."

    He does -- but the lens sure helps.

    "Hmm... are Busta and Michael the next Bing Crosby and David Bowie? I can't wait to hear what holiday carol they team up on. Perhaps 'Away in a Manger' or 'Snoopy's Christmas.'"

    Good God; first Cliff, now you! WILL THE DIABOLICALNESS NEVER END?!

    I, for one, hope not.

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