Classic or Dud: Weird Al Yankovic

I would say he has had several "Headline News", with all those tabloid stories to the melody of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" was classic. Same about the way he turned "MacArthur Park" into "Jurassic Park". "Amish Paradise" wasn't too bad either.

Still waiting for him to do an Eminem parody though, media phenomenons like Eminem are usually what inspire him more than anything else.

The first letter to the editor I ever wrote was to Rolling Stone re:the greatness of Weird Al.

The first mix tape anyone ever made me was of Weird Al. So he is kind of a fundamental base of music....and my taste in humor at that time. I preferred parody to the real thing most all the time.

However, he does too many songs about Santa acting mean. He had a depressing Saturday morning program that was a d-d-dud, worse than "The Mad Scientist Toon Club" if you can imagine. I hate the argument "he tries too hard" but I get that feeling from WA sometimes, esp. when he's acting. Like "Look how wacky I am!" But when you add it up at the end of the day, the man is just rad.

I stick by my controversial statement on the work of Wierd Al Yankovic. You liked the Headline News bit? All of the news stories he was parodying were stale by the time of the song's release. Mr Miccio's previous statement about Al having become a kareoke artist is pretty much exemplfied by the Flintstones, Amish Paradise, and Jurassic Park stuff, he really added nothing sonically to the songs he was parodying. Unlike Smells Like Nirvana, where the guitar solo is replicated by the sound of Al gargling water and an army of kazoos.

I still think Polka Party! is one of his best albums. Or maybe it's just the reverb.

this should say "throughout the 90's" - sorry

Classic for being like the sanest popstar ever.

i have a friend who's a huge collector, i've heard tales of al's college days at cal poly san luis obispo when al would hold 2 hour accordian/polka concerts in the men's room. pretty legendary stuff.

God, I loved UHF as a kid. Who could forget Conan the Librarian?

Did Weird Al make any other films beside UHF?

Listen to the outros to "Headline News" and "Achy Breaky Song". Definitely adding some stuff there.

Cameo on Naked Gun comes to mind.

The Survivor rip-off "Theme From Rocky XIII" is also excellent, and reconfiguring of the The Brady Bunch theme to "The Safety Dance" is shockingly easy.

he's classic though, of course, especially for the un-mean-spiritedness of his parodies. "smells like nirvana" is smarter than any frank zappa song ever.

(I was 12)

"Another One Rides the Bus".....
"Grapefruit Diet"....
"Muh-muh-muh-my bologna".....
"I've churned butter once or twice"....

Genius.

Also, that's awful what happened to his parents.

I met him in a swamp down in Dagobah
Where it bubbles all the time like a giant carbonated soda
S O D A, soda

I saw the little runt sitting there on a log
I asked him his name and in a raspy voice he said "Yoda"
Y O D A, Yoda
Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

Well, I've been around, but I ain't never seen
A guy who looks like a muppet, but he's wrinkled and green
Oh, my Yoda
Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

Well, I'm not dumb, but I can't understand
How he can lift me in the air just by raising his hand
Oh, my Yoda
Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

Well, I left home just a week before
And I've never ever been a Jedi before
But Obi Wan, he set me straight, of course
He said, "Go to Yoda and he'll show you the Force"

Well I'm not the kind that would argue with Ben
So it looks like I'm gonna start all over again
Though with my Yoda
Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

Yoda
Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

So I used the Force
I picked up a box
I lifted some rocks
While I stood on my head
Well, I won't forget what Yoda said

He said, "Luke, stay away from the darker side
And if you start to go astray, let the Force be your guide"
Oh, my Yoda
Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

"I know Darth Vader's really got you annoyed
But remember, if you kill him, then you'll be unemployed"
Oh, my Yoda
Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

Well, I heard my friends really got in a mess
So I'm gonna have to leave Yoda I guess
But I know that I'll be coming back some day
I'll be playing this part 'till I'm old and gray

The long-term contract I had to sign
Says I'll be making these movies till the end of time
With my Yoda
Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda

Mr. Popeil
by Al Yankovic

I need a Vegematic
I need a Pocket Fisherman
I need a handy appliance
That'll scramble an egg while it's still inside its shell

Operators are standing by
How does that make you feel
Help me
Mr. Popeil

I wanna shine some pennies
I wanna mend some leather
I wanna Krazy-Glue my head to the bottom of a big steel girder

Please, no C.O.D.'s
Don't miss out on this deal
Ah, help me
Mr. Popeil

Help me
Mr. Popeil
Mr. Popeil
Mr. Popeil

Woah
It slices, it dices
Look at that tomato
You could even cut a tin can with it
But you wouldn't want to

Mr. Popeil, I'm in trouble
Need your assistance on the double
Oh no, now how am I gonna make
My old vinyl car top look like new
Mr. Popeil
Tell me, what am I supposed to do

Mr. Popeil
Mr. Popeil

Now how much would you pay
But wait, there's more
It's not sold in any store

Now how much would you pay
Don't answer yet
Just look what else you get

Now how much would you pay
If you order today
You get a Ginsu knife and a smokeless Ashtray

Now how much would you pay
Now how much would you pay
Mr. Popeil, Mr. Popeil
Mr. Popeil, Mr. Popeil
Mr. Popeil, Mr. Popeil
Mr. Popeil, Mr. Popeil

Make me buy a Garden Weasel
Make me buy a Bamboo Steamer
Make me take advantage
Of this amazing TV offer
Call our toll-free number
We'll make you such a deal

Aw, help me
Mr. Popeil, I want it
Mr. Popeil, well, I need it
Mr. Popeil, I got to got to got to have it
Mr. Popeil
Mr. Popeil
Hey

His UHF is one of the ultimate movies for 10-12 yr old dorks.

Those who have cited In 3-D are right on, I still listen to that to this day and love it. The s/t and large chunks of Dare To Be Stupid and Polka Party are solid also.

There are two secret weapons to Al: 1) his backing band is shockingly tight and dead-on, and occasionally generates hotter performances than the originals (cf, the Survivor one) 2) the non-parody songs. If they weren't "funny" tunes on records full of parodies, you can bet a lot more people would be talking about the following excellent rock and roll songs: "Dare To Be Stupid," "Mr. Popeil," "Attack of the Radioactive Hamsters From A Planet Near Mars," "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead," "Nature Trail To Hell," "You Make Me," "Velvet Elvis," "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota," "Trigger Happy," "Frank's 2000 Inch TV," "Waffle King," and maybe "Everything You Know Is Wrong."

I would buy a compilation of that exact track order, I think.

TS: Rick Derringer on "Eat It" versus Eddie Van Halen on "Beat It."

Add "Slime Creatures From Outer Space", which is the best Thomas Dolby record not made by
Thomas Dolby, to that list.

“You don't want to err on the side of Weird Al Yankovic. The idea of being weird is as quaint as a gaslight lamp, of course. Like calling mental institutions Laughing Academies. I suppose that's an example of humor obscuring truth. I use it more like psychological realism. I don’t take pleasure in Ingmar Bergman movies or bleak music that aggressively exterminates hope, like Nico albums. All humor falls between Weird Al and Nico.”

Or even
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HViOGy9idI

Wonder if Weird Al was familiar with this? Probably.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dro6Ysjd5RQ

omg we watched WEIRD a couple of weeks ago - fucking loved it. it was so fucking funny & stupid & so perfectly Weird Al & just made me love him all over again

and i had zero expectations going in, kind of expected it to suck in a charming way lol

Weird Al rules

Weird Al is obviously a good guy which is why it’s gobsmacking to see an Instagram post of his taken down. Who among us has not cozied up to a murderous drug lord?

Weird was pretty good, but UHF is one of the best comedies of all time. Two films in two different leagues.

Opposite for me. I loved UHF when I was 15, but I revisited it 3 or 4 years ago and it was agonizing to get through. otoh WEIRD was absurd and hilarious and met me exactly where I am right now.

UHF was great for its time. Weird is great now.

I love UHF, there are still gags that come to mind all the time.

Here's Al doing a classic rock garage jam with a bunch of comedians from the State:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdrhWm2mRRE

i think ilxor is otm... will be interesting to try UHF again soon.

UHF holds up fuiud

I first saw UHF at the age of 14 and thought it was the funniest movie ever made

Saw it later at 17 and was embarrassed that ever I liked it in the first place

But I recently caught about half of it on TV and thought it was really funny again

I still think it's funny, but I think one of the things that made it even funnier when I was a kid was not being familiar with a lot of the stuff it was spoofing. Like, I remember being kind of disappointed when I saw Close Encounters later and found out what UHF's the mashed potatoes scene was referencing.

Loved Weird too.

I also didn't understand many of the references when I watched UHF but that movie has so many non-sequitors I never assumed anything was a reference!

ditto for the "Dare to be Stupid" video, which as a kid just looked like a pile of funny and random stuff but I've now come to realize contains like four dozen Devo references. he must've been a real fan. it's pretty awesome that he must've heard Oh, No! It's Devo and been like, "okay, THAT I can do" and proceeded to whip up a tune better than anything on the album (and I really like that album!)

I think I may have said this before, but I generally prefer his songs that take on an artist's style like "Dare to be Stupid", "Mr. Popeil", "Velvet Elvis" vs the straight up parodies of existing songs.

Which is the genius twist of the movie.

yeah a lot of his style parodies are straight up brilliant. they walk a fine line between tribute and parody while also being generally good songs on their own. I remember a buddy of mine who hated CAKE thinking "Close But No Cigar" was really great because "that's what all their songs sound like to me". but those of us who liked them thought it was a good tune too. I imagine that's not easy to do.

With the style parodies he usually gets to heart of the band's subject matter and tone. Casual listeners who maybe only know a handful of Devo songs would be unaware that so much of their post-Whip It output was dominated by these kind of advice songs where the lyrics use mangled aphorisms to say you gotta do this and you gotta do that or else this thing will happen. Ditto with his They Might Be Giants one - you can tell he's more than a casual fan. "Frank's 2000 inch TV" really kind of gets Michael Stipe in his yearning stream of consciousness style, like the opening lines and the bit where Al sings he's "going to get one of my own real soon" which (other than being ridiculous) is both upliftingly hopeful and quite sad, because you know he won't.

On the other hand, "Ringtone" isn't really a particularly good Queen parody but it's still a great, funny song.

“Virus Alert” nails glam era Sparks so perfectly.

I'm still waiting for a Primus one

Self-parody: the bane of parodists throughout history.

what makes the TMBG one so weird is I think he actually does get to the heart of what makes Linnell's songwriting so unique - but the lyrics are just a stream of goofy shit. so he gets the difficult part right, but whiffs on the easy part.

Feels like with the accordion solo Al is having fun challenging them a bit on the virtuosity.

otm re his style parodies being sublime, sometimes to a point that must frighten the artists. mothersbaugh called dare to be stupid "the most beautiful thing i had ever heard". (my fave song about reaganism, too, tho i'm sure it isn't meant to be.) similarly-- this is v dorky of me-- i think i prefer "germs" to both "closer" and "terrible lie".

Maybe this is over-thinking it but hear me out. The lyrics and the vocals are more typical of Gerald Casale songs - esp. on New Traditionalists, so maybe that's why Mothersbaugh gave that response.