fysigunkus | jay hathaway dot com

I’m sure this has happened to you at least once over the past couple of months. One of your friends sends you a link with an innocuous message, something like “Oh, hey, check out my new blog post when you get a chance.” You innocently click through, and you hear the opening strains of Rick Astley’s 1987 hit, “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Oh noes! You’ve just been Rickrolled!

Well, Rickrolling has had its day. In the parlance of the Internet, it’s jumped the shark, passing the peak of its popularity and entertainment value. Case in point: the New York Mets took an online poll to decide which song to play in the 8th inning at home games. Rickroll the Mets? Why not? Something like 5 million people voted for the song, and it won by a landslide. But when it played at the opening game of the season, the Shea Stadium faithful booed the crap out of it. People have had enough, and it’s time to move on.

So what’s next? I have one word for you: Buttmachine. Watch this video of a track by the spectacularly creative one-man-band called (what else?) That 1 Guy, and I think you’ll be persuaded that the Buttmachine is the meme of the future. It has everything that made Never Gonna Give You Up so appealing in the first place: you grudgingly admit that it’s catchy, and there’s a distinctive dance involved.

The next time you find yourself thinking, “Gee, if this were 2007, I would paste in the Rickroll link right about now.” … well, think again, compadre. It’s 2008, and you’re pasting in the Buttmachine.

Good night, and happy Buttmachining.