― Bryan (Bryan), Thursday, 20 March 2003 15:09 (twenty-one years ago) link
― theodore fogelsanger, Thursday, 20 March 2003 19:03 (twenty-one years ago) link
― j fail (cenotaph), Thursday, 20 March 2003 19:06 (twenty-one years ago) link
― thomas de'aguirre (biteylove), Thursday, 20 March 2003 19:22 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Thursday, 20 March 2003 19:32 (twenty-one years ago) link
― chaki (chaki), Thursday, 20 March 2003 19:35 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 20 March 2003 23:25 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Fivvy (Fivvy), Friday, 21 March 2003 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― steve k (http://go.to/stevek) (stevek10), Friday, 21 March 2003 00:16 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Friday, 21 March 2003 00:25 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― theodore fogelsanger, Friday, 21 March 2003 00:43 (twenty-one years ago) link
I still think Polka Party! is one of his best albums. Or maybe it's just the reverb.
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Friday, 21 March 2003 02:52 (twenty-one years ago) link
this should say "throughout the 90's" - sorry
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Friday, 21 March 2003 02:53 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Joe (Joe), Friday, 21 March 2003 04:15 (twenty-one years ago) link
Classic for being like the sanest popstar ever.
― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 21 March 2003 06:34 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 21 March 2003 07:48 (twenty-one years ago) link
God, I loved UHF as a kid. Who could forget Conan the Librarian?
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 21 March 2003 10:51 (twenty-one years ago) link
Did Weird Al make any other films beside UHF?
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 21 March 2003 10:54 (twenty-one years ago) link
Listen to the outros to "Headline News" and "Achy Breaky Song". Definitely adding some stuff there.
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 21 March 2003 16:05 (twenty-one years ago) link
Cameo on Naked Gun comes to mind.
― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Friday, 21 March 2003 16:53 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Friday, 21 March 2003 17:28 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Alan Conceicao, Friday, 21 March 2003 17:38 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 21 March 2003 22:43 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Saturday, 3 May 2003 15:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 18 August 2005 01:28 (eighteen years ago) link
― Keith C (lync0), Thursday, 18 August 2005 02:02 (eighteen years ago) link
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.
― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Thursday, 18 August 2005 05:42 (eighteen years ago) link
― Cunga (Cunga), Thursday, 18 August 2005 06:13 (eighteen years ago) link
― huell howser (chaki), Thursday, 18 August 2005 06:30 (eighteen years ago) link
― joygoat (joygoat), Thursday, 18 August 2005 12:51 (eighteen years ago) link
(I was 12)
― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Thursday, 18 August 2005 12:56 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 18 August 2005 12:57 (eighteen years ago) link
"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.
― PB, Thursday, 18 August 2005 13:20 (eighteen years ago) link
I met him in a swamp down in DagobahWhere it bubbles all the time like a giant carbonated sodaS O D A, soda
I saw the little runt sitting there on a logI asked him his name and in a raspy voice he said "Yoda"Y O D A, YodaYo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
Well, I've been around, but I ain't never seenA guy who looks like a muppet, but he's wrinkled and greenOh, my YodaYo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
Well, I'm not dumb, but I can't understandHow he can lift me in the air just by raising his handOh, my YodaYo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
Well, I left home just a week beforeAnd I've never ever been a Jedi beforeBut Obi Wan, he set me straight, of courseHe said, "Go to Yoda and he'll show you the Force"
Well I'm not the kind that would argue with BenSo it looks like I'm gonna start all over againThough with my YodaYo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
YodaYo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
So I used the ForceI picked up a boxI lifted some rocksWhile I stood on my headWell, I won't forget what Yoda said
He said, "Luke, stay away from the darker sideAnd if you start to go astray, let the Force be your guide"Oh, my YodaYo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
"I know Darth Vader's really got you annoyedBut remember, if you kill him, then you'll be unemployed"Oh, my YodaYo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
Well, I heard my friends really got in a messSo I'm gonna have to leave Yoda I guessBut I know that I'll be coming back some dayI'll be playing this part 'till I'm old and gray
The long-term contract I had to signSays I'll be making these movies till the end of timeWith my YodaYo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo YodaYoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
― 57 7th (calstars), Thursday, 18 August 2005 13:27 (eighteen years ago) link
Mr. Popeilby Al Yankovic
I need a VegematicI need a Pocket FishermanI need a handy applianceThat'll scramble an egg while it's still inside its shell
Operators are standing byHow does that make you feelHelp meMr. Popeil
I wanna shine some penniesI wanna mend some leatherI wanna Krazy-Glue my head to the bottom of a big steel girder
Please, no C.O.D.'sDon't miss out on this dealAh, help meMr. Popeil
Help meMr. PopeilMr. PopeilMr. Popeil
WoahIt slices, it dicesLook at that tomatoYou could even cut a tin can with itBut you wouldn't want to
Mr. Popeil, I'm in troubleNeed your assistance on the doubleOh no, now how am I gonna makeMy old vinyl car top look like newMr. PopeilTell me, what am I supposed to do
Mr. PopeilMr. Popeil
Now how much would you payBut wait, there's moreIt's not sold in any store
Now how much would you payDon't answer yetJust look what else you get
Now how much would you payIf you order todayYou get a Ginsu knife and a smokeless Ashtray
Now how much would you payNow how much would you payMr. Popeil, Mr. PopeilMr. Popeil, Mr. PopeilMr. Popeil, Mr. PopeilMr. Popeil, Mr. Popeil
Make me buy a Garden WeaselMake me buy a Bamboo SteamerMake me take advantageOf this amazing TV offerCall our toll-free numberWe'll make you such a deal
Aw, help meMr. Popeil, I want itMr. Popeil, well, I need itMr. Popeil, I got to got to got to have itMr. PopeilMr. PopeilHey
― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:32 (eighteen years ago) link
― dan. (dan.), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:39 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:41 (eighteen years ago) link
His UHF is one of the ultimate movies for 10-12 yr old dorks.
― kingfish fucked up his login (kingfish 2.0), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:44 (eighteen years ago) link
― 57 7th (calstars), Thursday, 18 August 2005 16:34 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 18 August 2005 16:37 (eighteen years ago) link
― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Thursday, 18 August 2005 20:14 (eighteen years ago) link
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."
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 6 October 2005 03:03 (eighteen years ago) link
― Marmot 4-Tay: Hold these goddamn chickens! (marmotwolof), Thursday, 27 July 2006 19:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Thursday, 27 July 2006 21:00 (seventeen years ago) link
Add "Slime Creatures From Outer Space", which is the best Thomas Dolby record not made by Thomas Dolby, to that list.
― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Thursday, 27 July 2006 21:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― Mr. Bribsly (drich), Friday, 28 July 2006 00:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Friday, 28 July 2006 01:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 18 October 2006 03:33 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 18 October 2006 03:40 (seventeen years ago) link
“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.”
― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Wednesday, 18 October 2006 03:51 (seventeen years ago) link
This thread needs:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gRdFaQd1fY
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 27 November 2022 22:31 (one year ago) link
Or evenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HViOGy9idI
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 27 November 2022 22:34 (one year ago) link
Wonder if Weird Al was familiar with this? Probably.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dro6Ysjd5RQ
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 27 November 2022 22:35 (one year ago) link
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 againand i had zero expectations going in, kind of expected it to suck in a charming way lolWeird Al rules
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 27 November 2022 23:10 (one year ago) link
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?
― Josefa, Monday, 28 November 2022 00:10 (one year ago) link
Weird was pretty good, but UHF is one of the best comedies of all time. Two films in two different leagues.
― ilxor, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 05:16 (one year ago) link
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.
― ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 05:26 (one year ago) link
UHF was great for its time. Weird is great now.
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 06:06 (one year ago) link
I love UHF, there are still gags that come to mind all the time.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 13:37 (one year ago) link
Here's Al doing a classic rock garage jam with a bunch of comedians from the State:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdrhWm2mRRE
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 16:06 (one year ago) link
i think ilxor is otm... will be interesting to try UHF again soon.
― maf you one two (maffew12), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 16:51 (one year ago) link
UHF holds up fuiud
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 17:12 (one year ago) link
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
― frogbs, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 18:30 (one year ago) link
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.
― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 19:53 (one year ago) link
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!
― Vinnie, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 23:30 (one year ago) link
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!)
― frogbs, Monday, 5 December 2022 16:57 (one year ago) link
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.
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Monday, 5 December 2022 17:04 (one year ago) link
Which is the genius twist of the movie.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 5 December 2022 17:44 (one year ago) link
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.
― frogbs, Monday, 5 December 2022 18:11 (one year ago) link
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.
― everything, Monday, 5 December 2022 20:45 (one year ago) link
“Virus Alert” nails glam era Sparks so perfectly.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 5 December 2022 20:46 (one year ago) link
I'm still waiting for a Primus one
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 5 December 2022 21:10 (one year ago) link
Self-parody: the bane of parodists throughout history.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 5 December 2022 21:14 (one year ago) link
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.
― frogbs, Monday, 5 December 2022 21:44 (one year ago) link
Feels like with the accordion solo Al is having fun challenging them a bit on the virtuosity.
― everything, Monday, 5 December 2022 22:03 (one year ago) link
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".
― difficult listening hour, Monday, 5 December 2022 22:25 (one year ago) link
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.
― everything, Tuesday, 6 December 2022 00:41 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9_bOS5oIns
The last verse of this should bring any human with a heart to their knees. Slappin chorus too
― H.P, Tuesday, 28 May 2024 11:23 (three weeks ago) link