
The Weirdly Enduring Appeal of Weird Al Yankovic - nkurz
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/magazine/weird-al-yankovic.html
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geocrasher
Al didn't make it in music because he's funny. He made it because he's an
amazing human being and incredibly musically talented. He could have made it
in any genre in music but he chose comedy because that's what he loves.

He and his band are as legitimate as any other band they can play any genre or
they want to.

I was privileged to see him live a couple of years ago in his ill-advised
vanity tour. It was incredible show, and it made me really appreciate him as
an artist and musician. Plus he's had the same band since the 80s and he's
stuck with him and he's stuck with them.

~~~
m463
But he is funny.

Your comment reminds me of the time the Harlem Globetrotters were accused of
being comedians, but not very good basketball players. Then they held a
serious game and disproved that accusation.

~~~
geocrasher
Oh yes he definitely IS funny :) My point is that he didn't _make it_ because
he's funny. Lots of funny people aren't successful.

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mcv
A couple of years ago my wife treated my to a Weird Al concert in the Melkweg
in Amsterdam. It started with _Tacky_ , but Al wasn't on stage yet. Instead he
appeared on screen, singing and walking through the streets of Amsterdam,
pushing someone into a canal in front of the venue, and then he entered and
moments later appeared on stage, where he seamlessly finished the song.

It was absolutely the most spectacular opening of a concert I'd ever seen. And
after that, the concert just kept getting better and better. It was a unique
experience. Particularly the encore with the Star Wars songs.

~~~
m463
I remember reading that when Steve Martin first did stand-up comedy he would
frequently go out in the audience, and sometimes take the audience with him
places. non-standard performances are fascinating.

~~~
Loughla
Completely unrelated to that comment - I saw Steve Martin and Martin Short
last year when they were on tour together.

Many laughs about The Three Amigos.

But my absolute favorite moment, and it will remain so for the rest of my
life, of on-stage performance was when they were ramping the crowd up at the
start of the show by mentioning and calling back to various things they've
done. They listed all of their very popular movies, skits, songs, whatever, to
raucous applause.

Until Martin Short talked about "Clifford". I lost my mind cheering, expecting
everyone else to. I love that movie. It's so dumb and hilarious. Literally 0
other people even clapped. Just me, in a room of 2000 people, losing my mind.

And Martin Short looked up at me and said, "Of course that would come from the
cheap seats."

Just amazing.

~~~
ohbleek
Thank you for sharing this story! I have regretted not going to that tour for
years now. I just didn’t have the money but I wish i had found it because I
would have been in those cheap seats screaming for Clifford too!

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01100011
He's in the same vein as Zappa in my book. They both forged unique and
entertaining personas, and, rare for rock stars, they did it sober. We need
more role models who show you can be in control of your mind and still be
cool. You can _choose_ to be weird, and amazing creativity can come from your
natural mind.

I'm not trying to demonize drug use. I've done my fair share. But I hate the
notion that rock music _requires_ it. It places a huge burden on people just
looking to make a living doing what they love.

~~~
Mediterraneo10
Unfortunately, if Yankovic is so comparable to Zappa, then one might predict a
steep decline in his popularity after his death. While Zappa is still
considered a major figure, most of his output has never quite entered the
wider rock canon and is not widely listened to today. I get the impression
that Zappa is about as niche now as Captain Beefheart.

As for bands being sober role models, I used to think that about Rush, which
had a reputation for most of its career as the thinking man’s rock band whose
members did not have hard drug problems, tattoos or other unkemptness. But
then it gradually became known that in the 1980s the guitarist had a cocaine
problem. (And he also began extolling the virtues of ecstasy in interviews
which, though arguably a soft drug, might have made some people uneasy.) So,
for other clean-looking bands, appearances may be deceptive.

~~~
yellowstuff
Sadly, it's hard for me to imagine Weird Al will have much appeal to younger
generations. If you've heard "Bad" 1000 times then his parody of it is
hilarious, if you've heard "Bad" once on an oldies station maybe the parody
still sounds goofy and funny, but you won't have the context to totally get
the joke.

~~~
squidfood
In the early 80s, I knew "Yoda" before I knew "Lola". Thanks to Disney's
persistence, my kids now know and giggle at "Yoda" (picked up from the
internet, not me) and only vaguely know that it came from some old song
somewhere.

~~~
dgritsko
For me it's 90's/Amish Paradise/Gangster's Paradise.

------
Mountain_Skies
Weird Al has avoided the temptation of taking the low road and being mean
spirited in his parodies. He makes fun of people and groups but it's always
playful. No doubt some can look back at some of his earlier work through a
contemporary lens and find something to be fashionably offended by but
everyone knows in their heart he wasn't trying to make anyone unhappy for his
own benefit.

~~~
samvaran
Another anecdote to illustrate that - he doesn't truly legally have to ask
permission to do these parodies, but out of courtesy and respect, he always
does. And he'll usually refrain from making a parody if a song if the artist
has a genuine reason why (e.g. Paul McCartney didn't have an issue with him
parodying "Live and Let Die", but Weird Al was trying to turn it into "Chicken
Pot Pie" and McCartney, a staunch vegetarian, didn't love that idea).

~~~
bdowling
To parody without a license you can only take the minimum amount of the source
to bring to mind the original. See, e.g., _Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc._
, 510 U.S. 569 (1994). So, Yankovic probably does need a license from the
owner of the composition, because his versions usually borrow the entire
source song and don’t change the tune or arrangement. Also, many of Yankovic's
songs aren't parodies but take a well-known song and take the lyrics in a
completely different direction.

As I understand it, he does also seek permission of the original artist, who
isn’t always the owner of the copyright, as a professional courtesy.

~~~
wtallis
> you can only take the minimum amount of the source to bring to mind the
> original.

That's not what the ruling you refer to says, and it's not what the statute
says. The ruling's text is at
[https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/92-1292.ZS.html](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/92-1292.ZS.html)
and mentions nothing along the lines of "minimum". The Supreme Court held in
that particular case that the portion of the lyrics copied was not excessive,
and left it up to the lower court to decide whether repeating the bass riff
was excessive.

The statute's general guidelines are that all four of the following factors
must be taken into account when determining fair use:

 _(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a
commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the
copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the
copyrighted work._

Factor (3) is the only one that deals with how much of the source material can
be used, and it also does not support your assertion. And those rules aren't
just for parodies.

~~~
bdowling
See CPLX’s reply. Fair use is irrelevant if Weird Al is paying for a license,
even a compulsory license.

------
Lammy
HN readers will probably appreciate Weird Al's "It's All About The Pentiums"
(nee Benjamins) from 1999, an incredibly nostalgic time capsule of the late
'90s dot-com era in computing:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpMvS1Q1sos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpMvS1Q1sos)

~~~
Maakuth
I imagine many are also able to identify with "White and Nerdy":
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw)

~~~
mark-r
I've got some kind of greatest hits compilation of his, and I'm really
disappointed that wasn't included.

------
jedberg
The following acts have had a top 40 hit in every decade since the 80s (80s,
90s, 00s, 10s):

U2

Michael Jackson

Madonna

 _and "Weird Al" Yankovic_

Ironically, Al has parodied the other three. :)

~~~
bigyikes
Gentle reminder that the 20’s are now a “decade since the 80s” ;)

~~~
ce4
And technically, 2020 is part of the 10's, the decade starts only with 2021.
:)

~~~
karatinversion
No, 2020 is part of the 2020's, just like 1600 is part of the 1600's. You
would have a point if he had referred to 'the 203rd decade' \- but no one
does.

~~~
ponyfleisch
Wow. A linguistical off-by-one bug. I have never noticed that before.

Interestingly, Wikipedia contradicts itself here:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1600s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1600s)

> The period from 1600 to 1699, synonymous with the 17th century

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century)

> The 17th century was the century that lasted from January 1, 1601, to
> December 31, 1700.

I think this is going to annoy me until I forget about it.

~~~
mcv
Never noticed it? This was a big topic around the turn of the millennium. Was
the turn of the millennium the same as the turn of the odometer (2000) or was
it the actual start of the third millennium AD (2001)?

~~~
ponyfleisch
Yes, I was aware that years not being zero-indexed can create confusion, but I
never noticed this particular consequence of that.

------
dehrmann
There's really only space for one Weird Al, but he nailed it. He's a talented
musician, solid songwriter, has more musical range than any artist I can think
of, is backed by a solid team, and seems to genuinely love doing what he does.

------
pdkl95
> Things geeks say, number 37

> "I liked the Weird Al version better"

[https://www.lorebrandcomics.com/number-37.html](https://www.lorebrandcomics.com/number-37.html)

Over the last ~3 decades I've had the privilege of hearing several hundred
bands perform in a wide variety of style. While this included a _lot_ of very
talented musicians and many memorable performances, one of my favorite live
events - by far - was seeing Weird Al and his band perform for free at the
Santa Clara County Fair.

------
randfish
One of the best, most beautifully written articles I've read during this dark
timeline. So glad someone submitted it here. Highly recommend listening to the
audio version.

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scottlocklin
One of my touches with greatness; I met Weird Al. He was besties with my
college roomie's wife in high school, so I met him at the wedding. I was a
sleep deprived grad student, and without his pencil moustache he looks exactly
like my pal Tal, who came from a vastly different non wide-bandgap
semiconductor social circle, so I had a fairly surreal conversation with him,
"Tal? How do you know Mike?" "I'm not Tal, I'm Al."

He was a pretty cool guy; no pretense about him, and he could have totally
trolled me, but was just real nice about it.

------
pfarrell
Like Spike Jones before him, you need exceptional musicianship to get to
comedy. I took my 11 year old son to his first big concert, last August. Weird
Al was playing the Greek at Berkeley with Strings Attached. I cherish that
night. The concert shirt has become a mainstay in his wardrobe.

I also love that Lin Manuel Miranda was a huge fan which led to the Hamilton
Polka.

------
EdwardDiego
Weird Al's satire has never felt mean-spirited, and he's genuinely musically
talented.

And I can never stop hearing "Living in the Fridge" when the radio plays
Aerosmith's Living on the Edge

------
waffletower
I heard Al Yankovic's first radio airing of "My Bologna" live on Dr. Demento
back in 1979. He went to the same college as both my parents. Everything lined
up for me to like this guy and think he was great. However, by the time I
heard "Eat It" I thought his gimmick was over. I was amazed that he would get
media attention in the 90s and the question lingers with each passing decade.
I completely agree that the appeal is weird as I have found Al's shtick to be
banal for decades.

~~~
nicklaf
Check out some of his newer stuff. Wonderful musically and also often also
brilliant satire. E.g.:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM8PT1eAvY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM8PT1eAvY)

~~~
DrScump
His recent "Word Crimes" video is incredible artistry:

[https://youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc](https://youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc)

------
ggm
He refused to do "My Corona" and I think, was probably right.

I would totally buy an album of Weird Al playing Jimmy Shand scots accordion
tunes.

~~~
geocrasher
He did "My Bologna" in the early 80's.

~~~
schoen
Yep!

[https://www.metrolyrics.com/bologna-lyrics-weird-al-
yankovic...](https://www.metrolyrics.com/bologna-lyrics-weird-al-
yankovic.html)

That was on a Weird Al tape that I had back then. I still think of his
versions of the songs on that tape (like "Another One Rides the Bus") as the
"real" versions. I had almost never heard any of the things he was parodying
anywhere else.

It must have been his self-titled album, released in 1983:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic_(album...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic_\(album\)#Track_listing)

~~~
toyg
I don't think my kids will ever listen to "Beat It" by Michael Jackson, Weird
Al's "Eat it" is their favourite song ever. Same for "Another One Rides The
Bus".

------
b0rsuk
People often criticize clones and parodies as cheap and derivative, but I
think to make a good clone you have to understand the original and what makes
it tick. Not just what is the original like, but why is it like that, where
did it came from and what inspired it.

~~~
toyg
Also, a lot of pop music is successful for reasons that have little to do with
musical skills - good promotion, lifestyle, media presence, etc... Parody
lives and dies on quality alone.

------
DonHopkins
Here's a recent HN discussion about the story behind Weird Al's "World
Crimes": Jarrett Heather presents: Word Crimes (2014)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22820457](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22820457)

------
hnu0847
I've always liked Weird Al's music but feel like most of his biggest hits were
made during an era of "monoculture". As sources of entertainment continue to
grow, it seems like it will be increasingly difficult to create a parody that
resonates with as many people simply because people's entertainment
preferences are so much more varied than they have been at any point in
history. That said he's very talented and I'm sure he could be successful
creating something other than parodies if he wanted to.

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davidw
Don't feel like dealing with the paywall, so I'm not sure if it's mentioned,
but his movie UHF is ... not bad. It's got some funny scenes, and an early
Michael Richards (aka Kramer from Seinfeld).

~~~
xzlzx
Add a . after .com

~~~
wvenable
Why does this work?!?

~~~
sexy_seedbox
[https://superuser.com/a/1467966](https://superuser.com/a/1467966)

------
bombledmonk
I'm surprised the corporate culture parody song Mission Statement didn't come
up. Every person who's ever been in a corporation should watch.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyV_UG60dD4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyV_UG60dD4)

------
samkater
I can’t fly without thinking of Weird Al’s lyrics of “I got my tray table up,
and my seat-back in the full upright position.” It has been well over a decade
since I’ve actually heard the song, though. His lyrics have a weird staying-
power in the mind.

------
RandallBrown
My high school girlfriend got me backstage passes to a Weird Al concert. Her
dad was Weird Al's manager's insurance agent. Why Weird Al's manager bought
insurance from an agent in a smallish town in Michigan, I'll never know, but
it was pretty awesome to meet him after the show.

Last year I went to the opening show of his "Ill Advised Vanity Tour" where he
only played his original songs. It was amazing seeing him up on stage just
playing music without all the costume changes and videos playing in the
background. Totally different feel, but still the same awesome Weird Al.

------
annoyingnoob
I really enjoyed Al's children's book, 'When I grow up'. Very talented, and
yet seems down to earth.

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tyingq
I'm not a huge fan of Yankovic, but I was a fan of the Dr Demento show, which
is often credited with getting Weird Al (and many others) his initial
exposure.

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flipcoder
I'm glad to see he's still popular since I imagine he has a lot more
competition these days with youtubers doing their own parodies.

------
mixmastamyk
Just saw him for the first time at the Greek theatre in LA last summer :-).

~~~
nullc
Weird Al does a _great_ live performance.

I caught that tour in Berkeley. And I thought it was good-- but he's done
better: The "strings attached" idea was fine enough and I'm glad he did it.
But if that's the bar for you I expect you'll be pleasantly surprised by
future tours.

[As someone who's seen Weird Al in concert ...uhh... 6 times? I think that's
right.]

------
calmworm
“He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life.” -Homer J. Simpson

