When someone tells you that they’re picking up the latest
album of a popular artist who has enjoyed commercial success since 1983, you’d
probably take that trip down memory lane remembering that was the same year
that Thriller hit #1, that Kiss first “unmasked” and performed without make-up,
or, digging deeper, that year that Quiet Riot’s “Mental Health” topped the US
Album charts. Cum on, feel the noise?! Oh, Dee…you couldn’t spell for shit even
then!
No, no no…1983 marked the release of a far more important
album…one that launched the career of mad genius Weird “Al” Yankovic! Yes, there’s a ton of press on him this week
as he’s in the middle of releasing 8 music videos in 8 days on various internet
video services. Of the three I’ve seen
thus far, they’re hysterical (parodies of Happy, Blurred Lines, and
Royals).
Let’s just say that a large portion of my childhood was
spent reading Mad Magazine (Cracked was for losers) and listening to the latest
Weird Al polka compilation of popular music.
There have been many times when I had that “Ah ha” moment as I heard the
original song and linked it to the parody I had been listening to for
years. It wasn’t until I was deep in my
teen years when I realized that his Hot Rocks Polka was exclusively Rolling
Stones material! Duh! Honestly, you haven't heard the Rolling Stones until you've listened to them in the originally intended polka style. Jagger could have used an accordion in their Sucking in the 70's tour.
His songs were featured in a number of movies, both live action
and cartoon; the theme for Spy Hard, As a kid growing up in the
80’s, who could forget that in the same cartoon where the word “shit” was
uttered, it also boasted an original by my musical hero!
And then came UHF, Weird Al’s 1989 movie that featured him
in the lead role, but my first knowledge of Michael Richard’s physical comedic
delivery as Stanly Spadowski. This film
is full of quotable lines including “You’re so stupid!”, “Twinkie Weiner
Sandwich”, and “You get to drink from the…FIREHOSE!”
And, in the 1990s, he had his own Saturday morning show
featuring Harvey the Wonder Hampster and Billy West, voice artist responsible
for Ren & Stimpy, Fry, Prof. Farnsword and Zoidberg on Futurama, the Red
M&M and the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee!
I mean, you can’t make this stuff up!
OK, he's a bit warped, but all in all, you’d have a hard time finding a musician/actor/writer
who has been artistically relevant across so many media outlets for as long as
Al has. And, you'd have a hard time finding a musician as revered as Al is by his peers. Dave Grohl said that he knew he'd made it as a musician when Weird "Al" parodied Smells Like Teen Spirit. And, Mark Knopfler and Guy Fletcher insisted they play their respective instruments on the Dire Straights parody of Money for Nothing:
(If you're into the shot-for-shot parodies, also check out his version of Michael Jackson's "Bad": Fat...just too many awesome videos to list here)
Regardless of where you became aware of this man, make sure you check out his page today and the next 4 after that to see what new videos he’s released. Also, make sure to check out this homage to tackiness which has a cast of stars you’re guaranteed to recognize. As nerdy becomes increasingly trendy, you’re going to have to know your Weird “Al” to keep up with the cool kids!
(If you're into the shot-for-shot parodies, also check out his version of Michael Jackson's "Bad": Fat...just too many awesome videos to list here)
Regardless of where you became aware of this man, make sure you check out his page today and the next 4 after that to see what new videos he’s released. Also, make sure to check out this homage to tackiness which has a cast of stars you’re guaranteed to recognize. As nerdy becomes increasingly trendy, you’re going to have to know your Weird “Al” to keep up with the cool kids!
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