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The Weird Al Yankovic Appreciation Thread


Gonzo

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Copied this off Spotify to my phone this morning before work (my copy will be in the mailbox when I get home). Between use of "spastic" as an insult in "Word Crimes" and the entirety of "Inactive" I expect a shitstorm from the easily offended.

Also, top 3.polka medley. But I could have gone for a Bohrmian style full length polkafication of "Get Lucky."

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I hate that the free Spotify mobile app will not let you play an album properly and force you to "shuffle play." It's why I only ever use Spotify on my desktop.

There's only a BUTTON for Shuffle, but if you just hit play on the first track it'll run the album.

And the Word Crimes video was totally worth burning mobile data to see right away.

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I wanna watch that "Happy" parody, but I want to only watch the parts with Kristen Schall.

 

Steven Hyden has a piece on Weird Al on Grantland where Al admits waiting until he has enough stuff for an album really hamstrings him.

 

I'm not a big fan of the song parodies because I've never heard the songs themselves - I've never heard "Happy" or "Fancy." I do like his original homage stuff. I'm a fan of Frank Zappa, and "Genius in France" is a really good lift of Zappa's compositional style, which isn't easy. Weird Al has some really top-notch musicians working with him. I bet I'd love the Pixies-inspired track.

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I wanna watch that "Happy" parody, but I want to only watch the parts with Kristen Schall.

 

Steven Hyden has a piece on Weird Al on Grantland where Al admits waiting until he has enough stuff for an album really hamstrings him.

 

I'm not a big fan of the song parodies because I've never heard the songs themselves - I've never heard "Happy" or "Fancy." I do like his original homage stuff. I'm a fan of Frank Zappa, and "Genius in France" is a really good lift of Zappa's compositional style, which isn't easy. Weird Al has some really top-notch musicians working with him. I bet I'd love the Pixies-inspired track.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21fc7j_weird-al-yankovic-first-world-problems_music

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I wanna watch that "Happy" parody, but I want to only watch the parts with Kristen Schall.

 

Steven Hyden has a piece on Weird Al on Grantland where Al admits waiting until he has enough stuff for an album really hamstrings him.

 

I'm not a big fan of the song parodies because I've never heard the songs themselves - I've never heard "Happy" or "Fancy." I do like his original homage stuff. I'm a fan of Frank Zappa, and "Genius in France" is a really good lift of Zappa's compositional style, which isn't easy. Weird Al has some really top-notch musicians working with him. I bet I'd love the Pixies-inspired track.

The Zappa stuff I've played (or attempted to play) is some of the hardest material I've ever attempted. I agree, Al's band is world class.

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Weird Al is the best. There are an infinite amount of his songs that he does that I like way more than the originals.

The only thing I've heard from the new album is "First World Problems." This is essentially a spoof of every Pixies song but in one song. It's so brilliant.

The best part about Al is that he obviously loves music. He loves figuring out what makes songs work, how to deconstruct them, and then how to remake them within the confines of his own oddball humor.

I'm hard-pressed to think of anything he's done that wouldn't be rated more than PG. That's so awesome.

He's a really timeless part of American culture. A true hero and inspiration.

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Today's Video

 

 

"Foil" (parody of Lorde's "Royals")

 

Bonus points for the 54 year old man being able to pull of the exact same hair as Lorde.

 

He's clearly found the fountain of youth or something.

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I swear I'm not trolling this thread, but I watched that "Word Crimes" video and it's terrible.

 

I wanted to like it, too, considering I make my living as a copy editor and my paper's "senior reporter" doesn't know the difference between it's and its. And I agree that anyone who says "I could care less" needs a beating. I dunno whether it's because I've never heard the song he's parodying, but it's just awful. Different strokes.

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See I was about to ask if it was because you didn't like "Blurred Lines" because I have run into that issue before where if the song Al is parodying is one I hate - it is really hard for me to like the parody

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I swear I have never heard it. Somehow. Or "Happy" or that other one. I'm an old man out of touch with today's young people.

 

I have never heard anything from "Frozen," though I've been tempted to watch Pearl Jam's cover of that one song just to see what its deal is.

 

Al apparently did one of his "style parodies" of one of my very favorite bands, Southern Culture on the Skids. That's quite an honor for a little band like SCOTS. Coudn't happen to nicer people. Edit: Just heard it - "Lame Claim to Fame" - such a flattering cop of their sound.

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I don't think there are any tracks on the album that I actively dislike.

 

Jackson Park Express is just. . .strange. But it has grown on me quite a bit after a few listens. Actually to the point that I hope it gets a video.

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