Music Monday: "Weird" Al Yankovic

With a career spanning five decades, starting when he was a teen, it's amazing that this artist has never been more popular than he is right now. This one's only going to be a taste, as his catalog is huge, but it's still going to be one of the longer posts in this series. It's Music Monday, and we're talking about "Weird" Al Yankovic.

For all of my love of "Weird" Al, researching this post has really driven home to me the point that his lyrics, especially in the earlier years, are really astoundingly idiotic. Sorry. Just scan the sample lyrics in this post and you'll get the idea.

Al's careed started when he was 16 year's old, and almost by accident. When novelty song radio host Dr. Demento visited his school, Al gave him a tape with some songs he recorded in his bedroom, singing and playing the accordion. Demento played the first song on the tape, "Belvedere Cruisin,"which got some good responses from listeners, and made the connection between singer and host. I'm only going to play songs posted to WAY's youtube channel, as there is one, and it has a bunch, so neither "Belvedere Cruisin" nor Yankovic's first hit, "My Bologna," will be making an appearance.

"Weird Al" Yankovic (self titled album)

Yankovic's first album was self titled, and while it had several singles, including the aforementioned "My Bologna" and the well remembered "Another One Rides The Bus," only one of them made it to MTV and also to the official youtube channel. This is a song about ice cream, and it is a parody of one of the greatest rock anthems of all times, Joan Jett's "I Love Rock'n'Roll." This is I Love Rocky Road:

Sample lyric:

They tell me ice cream junkies are all the same
All the soda jerkers know my name
When their supply is gone
Then I'll be movin' on

"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D

Yankovic's second album is when I first became aware of him, and first became a fan. For a teenage nerd in the 1980's, loving "Weird" Al wasn't even a decision. It was a natural and obvious thing. And it all started with this song, and this video. A nearly shot for shot remake of the Michael Jackson song "Beat It," and the first of several MJ songs Yankovic would parody, it was a legit hit, and one that had massive airplay on MTV. It also featured a line I've been wondering about for decades. And yesterday, while researching this post, I found out why it's there! The line is "Well don't you know that other kids are starvin' in Japan." Which, weird. Japanese kids are doing fine! According to the fine folks at Genius.com, it was supposed to be "Starvin' in Iran," but it was changed due to the Iraq/Iran war. This is the song that may have launched a thousand eating disorders. This is Eat It:

Sample lyric:

So eat it
I don't care if you're full
Just eat it, eat it
Open up your mouth and feed it
Have some more yogurt
Have some more Spam
It doesn't matter if it's fresh or canned

The album's second song to be featured here is a parody of The Greg Kihn Band's "Jeopardy." Which, really, if you're gonna give your song the same name as a well known tv quiz show, you gotta expect Weird Al to parody it. And that's how we got this one, the delightful I Lost On Jeopardy:

Sample lyric:

I took Potpourri for one hundred
And then my head started to spin
Well, I'm givin' up. Don Pardo
Just tell me now what I didn't win

Dare To Be Stupid

Of the album's two best known songs, only one has an official video for some reason, so I won't be featuring the amusing "Yoda." I will, however, happily share the incredibly 80's cover of Madonna's classic "Like A Virgin." This is Like A Surgeon:

Sample lyric:

Hey, like a surgeon
Cuttin' for the very first time
Like a surgeon
Organ transplants are my line

Polka Party

Okay, look. "Weird" Al loves polka. I, however, like you, so I won't subject you to polka. Moving on!

Even Worse

Every time I write one of these things, I learn something about the artists. Which is sometimes great, and sometimes not so great. And example of the latter is that listening to Al Yankovic's songs may very well lead to an eating disorder. Let go of the fat jokes, Weird Al. This song, the only notable one from the album, is another Michael Jackson cover, and it is all about one's weight. Also, the video is more than a little problematic from a racial point of you. This is Fat:

Sample lyric:

Well, I've never used a phone booth
And I've never seen my toes
When I'm goin' to the movies
I take up seven rows

UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff

Probably Yankovic's most famous movie role was in the cult classic UHF. And, of course, he did the soundtrack. And also included some other songs in the album, including this one, another terrific remake of the original song's video (Dire Straight's Money for Nothing), to go along with the parody song. This song is a mashup of the original song and the theme song to the sitcom "Beverly Hillbillies." This is Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies:

Sample lyric:

Before you know it, all the kinfolk are-a-sayin'
Yeah, buddy, move away from there
That little Clampet got his own cement pond
That little Clampet, he's a millionaire

Off the Deep End

We are now in the 1990's, and Weird Al's still going strong. This album has only one really strong song, but it's quite strong, and the video is great - an almost shot for shot remake of Nirvana's "Smell's Like Teen Spirit" video. It is entirely disrespectful of the original (and trust that there will be a Nirvana post in this series), but I still like it. This is Smells Like Nirvana:

Sample lyric:

Now I'm mumblin', and I'm screamin'
And I don't know what I'm singin'
Crank the volume, ears are bleedin'
I still don't know what I'm singin'

Alapalooza

This is another one song album, as far as I'm concerned. But the one song is a pretty great parody, and one I kinda like more than at least one of the original songs. This is a parody of RHCP's "Under the Bridge" and "Give It Away," and it's all about The Flintstones. This is Bedrock Anthem:

Sample lyric:

Sometimes I feel, like I need a vacation
Sometimes I feel, like I wanna go
To the city of cavemen, the city of Bedrock
I'd be a Flintstone, now I'll tell you why

Bad Hair Day

Until this point in his career, Yankovic reached out to artists or their representatives to get permission to do parody songs of their work, and it has worked out fine. Until this album, where the reps and the artist were not in sync, and the artist was upset. Which is a shame, as it's a pretty great parody. And apparently, even he regrets being upset about it. Following this incident, Al always makes sure to get explicit permission from the artists - even though it's not legally required, as parody is protected under fair use laws in the US. This is a parody of Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise. This is

:
Sample lyric:

A local boy kicked me in the butt last week
I just smiled at him and turned the other cheek
I really don't care, in fact I wish him well
'Cause I'll be laughing my head off when he's burning in Hell

You can really tell how the times move on in music and pop culture while following "Weird" Al's career. This song's music is very much mid 1990's, and the topic is a mid 1990's movie. This is a parody of "Lump" by The Presidents of the United States of America. And I hate that it slut shames Jenny. This is Gump:

Sample lyric:

Gump sat alone on a bench in the park
"My name is Forrest," he'd casually remark
Waiting for the bus with his hands in his pockets
He just kept saying life is like a box of chocolates

Running with Scissors

The first song in this album is another film parody, and one with a somewhat unique backstory: it was written, for the most part, before Yankovic saw the film in question, The Phantom menace. Internet spoilers were enough to tell pretty much the entire story of the (terrible) film. This is a parody of "American Pie" by Don McLean. This is The Saga Begins:

Sample lyric:

My, my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

It is hard to imagine that there was a point when "Pentium" represented the peak of pc processing. But, yeah. I still vaguely remember that. Also, this song has a line about not being afraid of Y2K. Wow. Dated song is dated. It is based on "It's All About the Benjamins" by Puff Daddy. This is It's All About The Pentiums:

Sample lyric:

Upgrade my system at least twice a day
I'm strictly plug-and-play, I ain't afraid of Y2K
I'm down with Bill Gates, I call him Money for short
I phone him up at home and I make him do my tech support

Poodle Hat

This is an album that happened.

Straight Outta Lynwood

This one is pretty much the "Weird" Al Yankovic anthem. The topic "I am nerdier than you" is the same as it was in the Pentiums song, but this is much better execution of the same general idea. It's based on "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire. The video is especially noted for featuring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele when the two were Mad TV cast members, before Key & Peele, and before Jordan Peele became one of the world's leading filmmakers. This is White & Nerdy:

Sample lyric:

First in my class here at MIT
Got skills, I'm a champion at D&D
M.C. Escher—that's my favorite "M.C."
Keep your 40, I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin, to the contrary
You'll find that they're quite stationary

The second song from the album is one of Yankovic's few attempts at serious satire. It's a song about big name artists complaining about piracy while living in the lap of luxury. Which is more than a bit problematic. But his heart in the the right place here. While Yankovic has had original songs since his very first album, this is the first one to make it onto the list, which says something about his growth as a writer. Also, the names of the pirate software mentioned are hilariously dated. This is Don't Download This Song:

Sample lyric:

Once in awhile, maybe you will feel the urge
To break international copyright law
By downloading MP3s from file-sharing sites
Like Morpheus, or Grokster, or LimeWire, or Kazaa
But deep in your heart, you know the guilt would drive you mad
And the shame would leave a permanent scar
’Cause you start out stealing songs, then you're robbing liquor stores
And selling crack and running over school kids with your car

Alpocalypse

The only song I want to highlight from this album is one that remains timely, seven years later, as family members continue to forward absolute crap. Sure, much of it arrives via whatsapp and facebook now, but it is still crap being forwarded. This is another entirely original song. This is Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me:

Sample lyric:

Yeah, you keep on telling me life is short
And it's hard to disagree with what you say
But if time is so precious, why are you wasting mine?
Cause I'm always reading, always deleting
Every useless piece of garbage you send my way

Mandatory Fun

2014's Mandatory isn't just Yankovic's latest album. It may, in fact, be his last. Not because he's retiring. Far from it. It's just that Yankovic doesn't think the album is a relevant format. And, to an extent, I agree. Well, I agree when it comes to him. Because, well, even he will agree that his albums have had a lot of filler. Now, he can make each song the best possible, and release when ready. Ironically, it is also the album from which I will be featuring the most songs. And it was Weird Al's first album to hit number one, which is both a tribute to his popularity, and a consequence of the wane of album sales. He's had bigger sellers, but they were released at a times when more albums were sold.

The first song I'll feature from this album is a parody of Iggy Azalea's "Fancy," but the protagonist of this version isn't fancy at all. Instead, he's Handy:

Sample lyric:

I'm so handy, you already know
I'll fix your plumbing when your toilets overflow
I'm so handy, I'll bring you up to code
When your dishwasher's about to explode

---

The next song is much better, to my mind. Both because the original is so much better, and because the lyrics are an actual parody. It's a song about a certain material that is great both for packing food and for protection from whatever evil conspiracy you happen to believe in. It's based on "Royals" by Lorde, and it is Foil:

Sample lyric:

And still the government won't admit they faked the whole moon landing
Thought control rays, psychotronic scanning
Don't mind that, I'm protected cause I made this hat

---

Next is a song I have several problems with. First, it's based on a super rapey, hella problematic song which I deeply dislike. And the lyrics are extremely condescending. As I go further and further in this post, I realize that Weird Al is... well, he's kind of an exclusionary asshole, which is one of the worst kinds of nerds. Shrug. This is based on Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." It's Word Crimes:

Sample lyric:

If you can't write in the proper way
If you don't know how to conjugate
Maybe you flunked that class
And maybe now you find
That people mock you online
(Everybody wise up!)

---

Speaking of being an exclusionary, judgmental asshole, there's this song. But this one has a group of comedy all-stars in the video, and the poppy goodness of Pharrell's "Happy," so I kinda have to forgive it. This is Tacky:

Sample lyric:

It might seem crazy, wearing stripes and plaid
I Instagram every meal I've had
All my used liquor bottles are on display
We can go to see a show, but I'll make you pay

Related posts

Music Monday: The Angry Women Of Country Music
Music Monday: They Might Be Giants
Music Monday: The Smiths
Music Monday: Janelle Monáe
Music Monday: Garfunkel and Oates
Music Monday: Jonathan Coulton
Music Monday: Amanda Palmer