The lyrics in "Prisencolinensinainciusol" are gibberish, but the idea is that they are supposed to sound like English -- specifically English as sung by performers like Bob Dylan -- to non-English speakers. I would argue that they also sound like English to native English speakers too, just an unintelligble form of English.
It occurred to me this morning that they also sound a bit like something else:
Y'AI 'NG'NGAH, YOG-SOTHOTH H'EE-L'GEB F'AI THRODOG UAAAH
OGTHROD AI'F GEB'L-EE'H YOG-SOTHOTH 'NGAH'NG AI'Y ZHRO
That's from The Case of Charles Dexter Ward* by HP Lovecraft.
Imagine that some crazed wizard sets an incantation to a bostin beat and puts it on the internet, where it goes viral. People start sharing it on social media, celebrities pick it up and share it, and now it's being played hundreds of times a day and the original video has millions of views.
Is that enough power to make something happen? What does it do? How do you stop it? Not even Delta Green has the clout to shut down Twitter...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*I should also at this point recommend BBC Radio 4's adaptation of Lovecraft's story. It's very clever and manages to surprise, even if you're familiar with the original stories. I've rattled through 50+ episodes in the past few days and I am disappointed there aren't more.
That is such a brilliant story idea, with a definite Dr Who vibe to it as well.
ReplyDeleteI can second your praise for the Radio 4 Lovecraft tales. I listened to the last two parts over New Years and was delightfully creeped out by them. I admire their use of the medium to heighten its unnerving atmosphere (such as the mysterious 'bonus episode', which I did go back and listen to --- and did hear the message!)
This is a great idea. Heck, there are some songs that I really like, that I've heard since I was a teenager, that I've never bothered to learn the actual words to, and so I still fill them in with the same gibberish I always have. It probably wouldn't be too hard to get me to happily chant some eldritch invocations.
ReplyDelete