Classic or Dud: Weird Al Yankovic

Dude presumably meant kid-friendly more than childish

I mean, the idea that Andy samberg isn't childish

I like Lonely Island a lot and the suggestion that they are better than Weird Al makes me stabby

otm that is so wrongheaded I can't even

Ok if you're going to damn weird al for not going for the throat, I'd advise not making a running of gag of different words in place of Weird

Running gag, rather

i'm pretty sure lonely island themselves would scoff at the idea that they're better or more adult than weird al

the turn at 'o and btw i cracked the code' in 'foil' is so great. how i know i'm old: his classic rock parodies consistently my fave now - 'bob', 'craigslist', 'mission statement'.

to me just the way that Yankovic's parody best songs hold up as songs *in their own right*, often with fully-fleshed out narratives...to me that alone puts him above all those guys right away

I played 'foil' for a few coworkers who had never even heard of Lourde and they all dug it as a song in and of itself, because it was funny that second verse conspiracy hook is so good

I do miss when al would have spike jones sounds throughout the songs, not down with the increasing karaokeness of his backing tracks for the last, uh, twenty years

Lol and apparently I expressed this sentiment on this thread a decade ago

Still stands, bring back the squelches

al does pastiche better than lonely island for sure

al does polka better than lonley island point game set match

"Foil" is so expertly done. It tricks you into thinking it's going to be a weak joke, then turns amazing.

yessss "foil" was my favorite non polka.

I can't think of a single Lonely Island song I've ever wanted to hear (or video I've wanted to watch) twice.

if you don't want to watch Threw It On The Ground at least nine times a year for the rest of your life, smh

Reggie Watts and Flight of the Concords are both legit unfunny dogshit

To call anything about Reggie Watts' non-sequitur diarrhea stream "deft" is some serious just trying to justify your shitty taste in comedy

"Word Crimes" = song of the year so far

Reggie Watts lonely island and conchords can't hold a candle to my dick.

anyone that likes weird al would certainly enjoy my dick

did you name it "bermuda" schvantz?

Reggie Watts shits all over his haters' posts itt. Love that dude.

The Crash Test Dummies parody + "Dare to Be Stupid" are classic

all these critics in al's demo who are all 'OMG BUT LONELY ISLAND IS BETTER' are getting serious side-eye from me

like i mean 'jack sparrow' is good but michael bolton makes it work!

IT'S NOT LIKE STICKING RICHARD MARX IN THERE WOULD HAVE MADE THE JOKE LAND SIMILARLY

benny mardones maybe

I liked Reggie Watts for about five minutes the first time I ever saw him. Now I find him a boil on society's ass cheek. Same with Lonely Island for the most part. I have so little exposure to Conchords that I can't really weigh in.

Weird Al and My Dick CHAMPS 4 LYFE

this isn't anything about Weird Al but part of why Lonely Island's best stuff works is cuz they know how to riff off specific rap tropes (whether they enjoy it or not,) it's not solely "OMG white guys rapping how hilaaaarious"

It's not that all

*at all

The fact that Weird Al is not a "hip-hop-appropriating, adults-only, Saturday Night Live-sponsored" act is probably why he's had a three-decade career, I think

do kids these days like weird al or is it just millenials / gen x'rs listening to this?

This is hilarious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lIrggalp3o

That Carl Wilson article suuuucked. Is that "Semicolon" song where Lonely Planet is supposedly doing a better job with grammar humor?

i don't think weird al did that great of a job with "grammar humor" tbh
he resorted to calling people who make errors in their writing stupid mouthbreathers
i thought part of weird al's thing was that he was funny, but not mean?

eh lots of his songs take on an extreme perspective or unreliable narrator that insults people as part of the premise.

i was just hoping i could play this song as a fun intro to my classes in the fall and i can't because of the stupid mouthbreather thing
which means it's only good for the "grammar nazis", who are not my people

oh well

LL is my people, word crimes is def mean spirited

some dude is right in that Al is assuming the role of a grammar nazi for the purposes of this song, an extra layer to the onion that might not be suitable for playing in class should anyone not pick up on that.

Al recorded a full version of Eat It Unplugged at a radio station last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=260i9fJE_Z0

there's a far more serious reason not to play that song to kids

maybe
but i still find it disappointing he wouldn't skewer the nazis rather than the people who make the errors
that would take too much maneuvering i guess

i love weird al
this thing just bummed me out a little

(my students aren't kids btw)

to anyone learning appropriate use of English

btw i may as well plug the playlist i made of Weird Al deep cuts: http://narrowcast.blogspot.com/2014/07/deep-album-cuts-vol-22-weird-al-yankovic.html

i just thought it might be a fun mood-lightener
nothing sinks spirits like talking about prepositional phrases
anyway that's my 2 cents

Oh great, now I have to add Weird Al in a k.d. lang wig to the spank bank.

omg

the title of the next ILE gay thread has arrived

xps: Good list! Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota is probably my personal favorite of his.

Oh, we couldn't wait to get there
So we drove straight through for three whole days and nights
Of course, we stopped for more pickled wieners now and then
The scenery was just so pretty, boy I wish the kids could've seen it
But you can't see out of the side of the car because the windows are completely covered with the decals from all the places where we've already been

Buy Me A Condo is probably the deep cut that gets stuck in my head the most, probably because it impressed me the most when I was 8. I didn't know who Bob Marley or Jackson Brown were.

one of my favorite things about Mandatory Fun is how Weird Al chops a full minute off of songs like "Royals" and "Happy" that went on way too long in the original versions.