Gen Z created their own version of Rickrolling using Weezer on TikTok

Gen Z created their own version of Rickrolling using Weezer on TikTok
We can definitely make the Blue Album art from this image. Photo: Rich Fury

Buddy Holly” has become the new “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Gen Z managed to conjure up their own way of trolling their parents, friends, and even the deceased Margaret Thatcher with the new TikTok trend “Yo, you just got Weezered,” with the goal of recreating Weezer’s self-titled album art by any means necessary. The trend is very reminiscent of the late 2000s meme called “Rickrolling,” a popular bait-and-switch prank using Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

There’s two ways to go about Weezering someone. The first includes baiting an unsuspecting parent or friend into sending a blank blue image. This can be achieved by asking them about the color of the sky or about their favorite color. From there, individuals screen record themselves editing and adding the band members and album title through PicsArt, while “Buddy Holly” plays in the background.

The second route includes taking an already existing image and using basic iPhone image editing tools to get to the album art. This way allows anyone to be the target of Weezering, from Taylor Swift to Matthew Morrison as Mr. Shue on Glee. It often requires adjusting the image settings to great lengths–zooming in and cropping the image, then toggling with with the balance, brightness, saturation and contrast to get that signature shade of blue.

One of the most popular uses shows a TikToker “Weezering” some bozo who was messaging them “respond quicker bitch” repeatedly. The biggest stretch occurred on a picture of Ronald Reagan on the anniversary of his death, which required an extensive amount of editing. Weezer even got in on the action, recreating the album art using the album itself. No, not the obvious use of the blue background, but with the eye of lead singer Rivers Cuomo.

It’s nice to know some things never change.

 
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