Vice Diddley Tribute: Funny Because It's Not True

Oh, those irrepressible scamps at Vice. The Brooklyn-based magazine’s website features a tribute (of sorts) to the recently deceased bluesman

Oh, those irrepressible scamps at Vice. The Brooklyn-based magazine’s website features a tribute (of sorts) to the recently deceased bluesman Bo Diddley that, from headline to kicker, is one long piss-take.

The post, which is un-bylined but could’ve been written by The Onion‘s hilariously misinformed gossip columnist Jackie Harvey, is headlined "NEW YORK – R.I.P. BOO." It only gets sillier from there:

Sorry we haven’t had too many new posts today, we’re all still reeling from the news that legendary bluesman Boo Diddly died today at the age of 69. Diddly’s ragged no-nonsense guitar-playing had a profound impact on our musical sensibilities from the time the blistering opening riff of "Sneakin’ Around" first graced our young ears, and it hurts to have such a vital figure of our teen years stolen from us while still at the prime of his game. If you need us for the rest of the day, we’ll be at home in mourning.

Let’s see, where to begin: The misspelling of Mr. Diddley’s name? The citation of a song by another artist? The intentionally incorrect age of the deceased? Or, if you prefer to just skim, how about the picture of Chuck Berry where Mr. Diddley should be? (The Web site’s editors clearly know this, since the image is called chuckberry.jpg.)

While Vice is having a bit of (admittedly eccentric) fun, not all of the site’s commenters seem to get it: "That’s Chuck Berry. You must not be able to see through your tears. And it’s ‘Diddley’, not ‘Diddly’," corrects a reader named Carrie. Another named Tim offers a correction as well: "The man you’re thinking of is Bo Diddley. The ‘Boo’ Diddley you’re speaking of was an enemy in the Super Mario Bros. series."

A real tribute to Mr. Diddley, by MTV News’ Kurt Loder, can be found here.

Vice Diddley Tribute: Funny Because It's Not True