The song was driven by a busy rhythm track and a synthesized string section strongly reminiscent of late-'70s disco productions, while Astley's distinctive voice boomed over the top. Perhaps the most memorable flourish on "Never Gonna Give You Up" is the way Astley handles the chorus, which alternates rapid-fire 16th notes with longer, off-the-beat triplets; his delivery is impeccably smooth, navigating the rhythmically shifting melody with ease.No argument here -- those triplets are the shit. While its technical features are endearing enough, "Never Gonna Give You Up" is also lyrically reassuring, a bulwark in these trying emotional times. "Inside we both know what's been goin' on," Astley sings: "We know the game, and we're gonna play it."
Who can remain unshaken by such romantic calls-to-arms? Frankly, I'm at a point in my life where I'd really like to be told by someone that I'm "never gonna [be] give[n] ... up [on]," though I'd prefer that that "someone" be (a) female, (b) under the age of thirty, and (c) not ironically appropriated by a viral web meme. Sadly, these criteria more or less render Rick Astley a nonstarter.
Still, in my more vulnerable moments of web-surfing I kind of foster this inchoate hope to be rickrolled, i.e., I click on every hyperlink in sight under the delusion that maybe, say, NYTimes.com will rickroll me. It's like the trope of the lonely guy who, on his birthday, periodically flings open the front door in hopes of being "surprised" by a bouquet of flowers or festively-wrapped fruit basket or singing telegram or enormous cardboard check courtesy of the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol, only to find his stoop unadorned.
So to cut to the chase, earlier today I rickrolled myself, and when the YouTube video ended I clicked "play again," and there's simply no saying when it's all going to end.
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