OT: Weird Al gets Tacky

[GK]

No, I think I catch your drift, I just disagree.  I doubt very much that Weird Al is trying to ridicule the songs he parodies.

That kinda goes against the definition of parody, don't you think?

Strictly speaking it goes against some dictionary definitions of it - but 'ridicule' almost always implies contempt and mockery, whereas parody can be a good-natured jab.

You are really splitting hairs there. There is no such thing as parody without an element of ridicule and trying to pretend otherwise would just be downright silly.

[Stonent]

Apparently there is another "Happy" parody by someone else.  This one has a cameo by Joan Rivers.

[andtfoot]

"Word Crimes", the parody of Robin Thicke's hit which is also on his new album, is absolute genius.

Really hope there's a video.

[tom66]

Apparently, it is a single take:

While it looks like there MIGHT have been an edit somewhere, I absolutely guarantee you, that was all done in ONE CONTINUOUS SHOT. That was a bit of a challenge for me, because I start the video on a 5th floor fire escape, and I reappear on street level wearing completely different clothes. That means - for EVERY TAKE - as soon as the camera was off me I had to run down 5 flights of stairs WHILE CHANGING MY CLOTHES so I could be on camera again at the end. Definitely got my workout THAT day!

[rolycat]

Awesome. Thanks, andtfoot.

 

[free_electron]

The video style reminds a little of "OK GO"

MIND BLOWN!

Someone on twitter also pointed out this one:

A y video where they take hammers to vacuum tubes gets top marks from me 

[Shock]

This is my favorite from a few years back.

[Marco]

You are really splitting hairs there. There is no such thing as parody without an element of ridicule and trying to pretend otherwise would just be downright silly.

It can be a parody of the lyrics, it can be a parody of the video ... and of course it can simply be called a parody because those have special legal protection. Just a for instance he didn't do a parody of American Pie because he thought it was a bad song in my estimation (he has said he is a fan of Don McLean) and it's not a bad song in my opinion.

Even if you disagree his repertoire is very wide ... to reiterate,  if you think everything he's ever parodied is god awful you have an awfully elitist taste in music.

[SirNick]

While this doesn't technically address the inspiration behind the parodies, it does hint at the mutual respect between Weird Al and his "targets":

Michael Jackson was a big fan of Yankovic, and Yankovic claimed Jackson "had always been very supportive" of his work.

Dave Grohl of Nirvana said that the band felt they had "made it" after Yankovic recorded "Smells Like Nirvana" ... Yankovic stated that when he called Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain to ask if he could parody the song, Cobain gave him permission, then paused and asked, "Um... it's not gonna be about food, is it?" Yankovic responded with, "No, it'll be about how no one can understand your lyrics."  ... Additionally, Cobain described Yankovic as "a musical genius".

Mark Knopfler approved Yankovic's parody of the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing" ... on the provision that Knopfler himself be allowed to play lead guitar on the parody.

The Presidents of the United States of America were so pleased with "Gump", Yankovic's parody of their song "Lump", that they ended the song with his last line instead of their own ... on the live recording of "Lump".

Don McLean was reportedly pleased with "The Saga Begins", a parody of "American Pie", and told Yankovic that the parody's lyrics sometimes enter his mind during live performances.

Chamillionaire was also very pleased, even putting Yankovic's parody "White & Nerdy" (a parody of "Ridin'") on his official MySpace page before it was on Yankovic's own page. Chamillionaire stated in an interview, "He's actually rapping pretty good on it, it's crazy [...] I didn't know he could rap like that. It's really an honor when he does that. [...] Weird Al is not gonna do a parody of your song if you're not doing it big. ... That parody was the reason I won the Grammy, because it made the record so big it was undeniable. It was so big overseas that people were telling me they had heard my version of Weird Al's song."

Gaga considered herself "a huge Weird Al fan",[71] and she stated that the parody was a "rite of passage" for her musical career and considered the song "very empowering".

(All quoted from the Wikipedia page.)

[Junction Runner]

"Word Crimes", the parody of Robin Thicke's hit which is also on his new album, is absolute genius.

Really hope there's a video.

My reaction while listening to this song:

Different song but gets the point across XD

[Junction Runner]

This is my favorite from a few years back.

Oh man that was great too.

[justanothercanuck]

I'm a big WAY fan, but his past couple albums seem to be going with the status quo of "two good songs surrounded by 18 crap songs".

That said, I really like "Word Crimes" and "Handy". 

[deth502]

I'm a big WAY fan, but his past couple albums seem to be going with the status quo of "two good songs surrounded by 18 crap songs".

That said, I really like "Word Crimes" and "Handy".

it happens. thats why you see so many one hit wonders. a band comes up, trying to make it big, they have worked for years perfecting their songs and trying to get a break. then they do, they hit the big time.  they record the songs they have been doing for the last 10+ years and are a huge hit.  then reality sets in. they have contracts that require them to put out an album every 2 years. only 2 years to write, record, mix, release, ect... all new material that they had previously taken YEARS just to write. their 2nd and 3rd albums are completed as per their contract, but suck accordingly, and you never hear from them again.

when you get into the REAL big time, like weird al, black sabbath, iron maiden, megadeth, metallica, the stones, maddona, billy joel, elton john, ect.. the people that have the talent to put out album after album after album of good new content under very tight time constraints (and dont forget the all the time spent touring too) its a miracle to just get 2-3 well written "good" songs per album.

[GK]

You are really splitting hairs there. There is no such thing as parody without an element of ridicule and trying to pretend otherwise would just be downright silly.

It can be a parody of the lyrics, it can be a parody of the video ... and of course it can simply be called a parody because those have special legal protection. Just a for instance he didn't do a parody of American Pie because he thought it was a bad song in my estimation (he has said he is a fan of Don McLean) and it's not a bad song in my opinion.

Even if you disagree his repertoire is very wide ... to reiterate,  if you think everything he's ever parodied is god awful you have an awfully elitist taste in music.

Yes, that's right, the guy is really a tribute artist. I can see the light now.

And yawn.... I made a general comment about the musical quality of the tunes he parodies. Yes, in my estimation, they are generally god-awful. I am genuinely sorry if that continues to cause you grief. Maybe you could try pulling that pineapple out of your rear.

[GK]

While this doesn't technically address the inspiration behind the parodies, it does hint at the mutual respect between Weird Al and his "targets":

Michael Jackson was a big fan of Yankovic, and Yankovic claimed Jackson "had always been very supportive" of his work.

Dave Grohl of Nirvana said that the band felt they had "made it" after Yankovic recorded "Smells Like Nirvana" ... Yankovic stated that when he called Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain to ask if he could parody the song, Cobain gave him permission, then paused and asked, "Um... it's not gonna be about food, is it?" Yankovic responded with, "No, it'll be about how no one can understand your lyrics."  ... Additionally, Cobain described Yankovic as "a musical genius".

Mark Knopfler approved Yankovic's parody of the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing" ... on the provision that Knopfler himself be allowed to play lead guitar on the parody.

The Presidents of the United States of America were so pleased with "Gump", Yankovic's parody of their song "Lump", that they ended the song with his last line instead of their own ... on the live recording of "Lump".

Don McLean was reportedly pleased with "The Saga Begins", a parody of "American Pie", and told Yankovic that the parody's lyrics sometimes enter his mind during live performances.

Chamillionaire was also very pleased, even putting Yankovic's parody "White & Nerdy" (a parody of "Ridin'") on his official MySpace page before it was on Yankovic's own page. Chamillionaire stated in an interview, "He's actually rapping pretty good on it, it's crazy [...] I didn't know he could rap like that. It's really an honor when he does that. [...] Weird Al is not gonna do a parody of your song if you're not doing it big. ... That parody was the reason I won the Grammy, because it made the record so big it was undeniable. It was so big overseas that people were telling me they had heard my version of Weird Al's song."

Gaga considered herself "a huge Weird Al fan",[71] and she stated that the parody was a "rite of passage" for her musical career and considered the song "very empowering".

(All quoted from the Wikipedia page.)

 

How does any of that support your stubborn opposition to my benign claim that fans of Weird Al should see equal cause to laugh at themselves in much of his stuff?

That capacity isn't even beyond the original artists - even the god-awful ones.

[SirNick]

Because of the stubborn premise that the original music is worthy of mockery in the first place.  Just because it is chosen for parody (selected due to popularity, or merely whim) doesn't imply that the original wasn't credible to begin with.  Of course, musical taste is subjective so you're free to form your own opinions, but I think many of us here would have no shame in listening to the songs that were parodied.  It's not that we don't "get the joke", or can't laugh at ourselves, it's that there's nothing funny there at all.

Remember, WAY's lyrics aren't usually making fun of the song or the artist.  They're often about something else entirely, just riding on the same melody.  Hearing a familiar song out of context is part of what makes it funny, but it's also more likely to appeal to listeners that have already heard (and possibly like -- LOLZ!!!11) the original.  The artists that like the parodies are in this camp.  You would assume they like their own music, but they also like the parody as it's own product.

So.  Don't like the music?  That's fine.  But insisting that the rest of us are failing to understand our folly implies that we like a parody of a song we don't like, which is often just not true.  And even when it is, we can enjoy the reinterpretation on the basis of it being clever in its own right, without being daft.  << You seem to be fond of these, so this one's for you.

[GK]

Because of the stubborn premise that the original music is worthy of mockery in the first place.  Just because it is chosen for parody (selected due to popularity, or merely whim) doesn't imply that the original wasn't credible to begin with.  Of course, musical taste is subjective so you're free to form your own opinions, but I think many of us here would have no shame in listening to the songs that were parodied.  It's not that we don't "get the joke", or can't laugh at ourselves, it's that there's nothing funny there at all.

Remember, WAY's lyrics aren't usually making fun of the song or the artist.  They're often about something else entirely, just riding on the same melody.  Hearing a familiar song out of context is part of what makes it funny, but it's also more likely to appeal to listeners that have already heard (and possibly like -- LOLZ!!!11) the original.  The artists that like the parodies are in this camp.  You would assume they like their own music, but they also like the parody as it's own product.

So.  Don't like the music?  That's fine.  But insisting that the rest of us are failing to understand our folly implies that we like a parody of a song we don't like, which is often just not true.  << You seem to be fond of these, so this one's for you.

Do you know what a strawman argument is?

Much of the original material IS worthy of mockery. If you think that (just for example) crap like Happy or that controversial song essentially about bashing up and sexually subjugating your girlfriend that was the basis for that limp parody Word Crimes (a wasted opportunity) aren't worthy of mockery in every conceivable sense then you don't merely have bad taste - you live in an alternate universe.

[Stonent]

Today's video: Foil!

[rolycat]

Much of the original material IS worthy of mockery. If you think that (just for example) crap like Happy or that controversial song essentially about bashing up and sexually subjugating your girlfriend that was the basis for that limp parody Word Crimes (a wasted opportunity) aren't worthy of mockery in every conceivable sense then don't merely have bad taste - you live in an alternate universe.

'Happy' is a deliberately simple tune which was composed for a children's cartoon film. It's fun, uplifting and extremely catchy. Just because you don't like it doesn't make it 'crap' in anyone's estimation but your own.

As for "Word Crimes", I found the lyrics to Robin Thicke's original sleazy and unpleasant, although scarcely the rapist's charter which some people claim it to be. It had already been parodied by numerous artists, and Weird Al found a witty and entertaining angle.

We get it. You don't like "Weird Al" Yankovic's humour or his music. Or apparently any popular music composed in the last thirty years. But please stop explaining to everyone else how stupid they are because they happen to disagree.

[SirNick]

Do you know what a strawman argument is?

Yes.  The Internet's default criticism for any opposing point of view.

You win.

[GK]

We get it. You don't like "Weird Al" Yankovic's humour or his music. Or apparently any popular music composed in the last thirty years. But please stop explaining to everyone else how stupid they are because they happen to disagree.

No, you really don't get it. It's besides the point, but since you bring it up, I find some of "Weird Al's" (abbreviated for no reason other than saving keystrokes) humor moderately amusing and the rest inoffensive. I don't live in a twilight zone of relativism where appreciation for music is an entirely one sided subjective affair and all is equal. I have plenty popular music in my collection, recorded less than 30 years ago, that is quite bad (poor musicianship by any objective standard) and really shouldn't be there anymore, but remains an occasional guilty pleasure nonetheless (mostly nostalgia). As a consequence I can't laugh along with a parody of terrible music without laughing, to some degree, at myself, unless the music is unequivocally and abominably bad. To my advantage nothing in my collection is as musically shit as Blurred Lines or Happy.

Word Crimes, lyrically, as a song in its own right, it may be "witty and entertaining", but a cutting parody of the original it isn't. You can consider that just my "opinion". I hope expressing such it isn't too offensive in this Weird Al Yankovic = God/Genius thread.

As for Happy, just because you find it "fun, uplifting and extremely catchy", doesn't make it so in anyone's estimation but your own. So there! Now does that make a point worth anything? What is your objective in this logically bunk and self-righteous line of admonishment? Except for the prepubescent it's a bloody awful tune that has made is far enough in the mainstream that it now deserves judgement on a level beyond that of a mere children cartoon song, FFS, which is the exact reason it has become a target for parodies, including Yancovic's, as a vehicle for poking fun at contemporary (pop) culture. If you like the song than fine, just don't take yourself so bloody seriously.




 

[free_electron]

'foil' is hilarious !

[rolycat]

No, you really don't get it. It's besides the point, but ...
...
Blah, Blah, Word Crimes, Blah Blah Blah...
...

(TL;DR)

Saw your forum post
It's really fantastic
That was sarcastic...
...
Never mind, I give up
Really now, I give up

[Kjetil]

I really love his suit in the new one

This is my clear favorite among his other songs:

is also epic, and with lots of subtle points

[marshallh]