Classic or Dud: Weird Al Yankovic

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.”

"Ricky"? "I Love Rocky Road"? "Another One Rides The Bus"?

One thing I don't believe I'll ever get sick of if I live to be 100 years old: Weird Al gigantic pop hits of the day polka medleys. Polkamania is awesome. The gimmmick that keeps on giving! (And some of that shit like the Killers and Franz F sounds BETTER as polkas!)

I vaguely remember a Grammys-themed special Weird Al did for syndicated TV as a one-off back in 1985 or so. Much Prince mocking, as well as Kevin Cronin from REO Speedwagon as a guest star, scarily.

new album's pretty good, although a Cake pastiche might be the worst idea he's ever had. I do love "Confessions Part III", though.

I caught some VH1 in a hotel last week and there was some sort of "this week's countdown" going on - Al was in the top five!

It's on Even Worse.

Also think that "Smells Like Nirvana" is very actively about Nirvana, probably to the point of killing it. It does seem to be a gradually accelerating trend in his work though...

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.