An ode to Weird Al
Alfred "Weird Al" Yankovic is known in particular for his
humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often
parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. Since his
first-aired song parody in 1979, he has sold more than 12 million
albums—more than any other comedy act in history, recorded
more than 150 parody and original songs,
and has performed more than 1,000 live shows.
Al's first accordion lesson, which sparked his career in music,
was on October 22, 1966, a day before his seventh birthday. A
door-to-door salesman traveling through Lynwood offered the
Yankovic parents a choice of accordion or guitar lessons at a local
music school. Yankovic claims the reason his parents chose
accordion over guitar was "They figured there should be at least
one more accordion-playing Yankovic in the world", referring to
Frankie Yankovic, to whom he is no relation.
Yankovic began kindergarten a year earlier than most children,
and he skipped the second grade. "My classmates seemed to think I
was some kind of
rocket scientist so I was labeled a nerd early on", he recalls.
He claims to have been a straight-A student throughout high school,
which earned him the honor of becoming valedictorian of his senior
class and he was fairly active in his school's extracurricular
programs.
Yankovic claims he has no intention of writing "serious
music". In his reasoning, "There's enough people that do
unfunny music. I'll leave the serious stuff to Paris Hilton and
Kevin Federline."
Yankovic is the sole writer for all his songs, and for "legal
and personal reasons" does not accept parody submissions or ideas
from fans. There exists, however, one exception to this rule in the
case of "Like a Surgeon".
Madonna was reportedly talking with a friend and happened to wonder
aloud when Yankovic was going to turn her "Like a Virgin" into
"Like a Surgeon."
Yankovic and his band essentially play the original song with
new lyrics. Instead of using instrumental versions of the original
songs, Yankovic and his band transcribe the original song by ear
and re-record the song for Yankovic's parody version.
While Yankovic's music generally does not parody the song or the
artist of the original song, Yankovic's music videos will sometimes
incorporate parodies of many elements of the original song's music
video, or otherwise spoof the general style of the music. Most
notably, the video for "Smells Like
Nirvana" uses an extremely similar set to Nirvana's "Smells
Like Teen Spirit", including using several of the same actors.
Under the "fair use" provision of U.S. copyright
law, affirmed by the United States Supreme Court, one does not
need permission to record a parody. However, as a personal rule,
and as a means of maintaining good relationships within the music
community, Yankovic has always requested permission from the
original artist before recording his parodies.
The song "The Saga Begins"
(a parody of Don McLean's "American Pie") accurately states the
entire plot of The Phantom Menace, despite being written before the
film's release. Yankovic got the plot details from rumor
websites.
One of Yankovic's most controversial parodies was 1996's "Amish
Paradise", based on "Gangsta's Paradise" by hip-hop artist
Coolio, which, in turn, was based on "Pastime Paradise" by Stevie
Wonder. Reportedly, Coolio's label gave Yankovic the impression
that Coolio had granted permission to record the parody, but Coolio
maintains that he never did.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is a self-proclaimed Yankovic
fan, but when Yankovic wished to create a polka medley of Led
Zeppelin songs, Page refused. Yankovic was, however, allowed the
very rare opportunity to re-record a sample of "Black Dog" for a
segment of "Trapped in the
Drive-Thru".
In 1989, Yankovic starred in a full-length feature film,
co-written by himself and manager Jay Levey, and filmed in Tulsa,
Oklahoma called UHF. The film has
since become a cult classic, with out-of-print copies of the VHS
version selling for up to $100 on eBay until the release of the DVD
in 2002. UHF shows the creation of Yankovic's signature
food—the Twinkie Wiener Sandwich. The snack consists of an
overturned Twinkie split open as a makeshift bun, a hot dog, and
Easy Cheese. Yankovic has stated that he has switched to using tofu
hot dogs since becoming a vegetarian, but still enjoys the
occasional Twinkie Wiener Sandwich.
Credits: All of the above text is from Wikipedia.org. All videos
are hosted on YouTube.
N 44 AB.CDE W 088 FG.HIJ
- 1A pancreases are dancing in a circle
while you hear woo woo woo woo.
- The young junkyard slave is just N
years old.
- Celebrity Mud Wrestling is on at P:30pm. B = P - N
- C fingers are pointing at the smoking
convict.
- Al's drive-thru order total is $K.LM. D =
L
- There were E kids in Al's Glee
Club.
- Al would rather get F00,000 papercuts
on his face then spend one more minute with you.
- Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1G99
- The heart beats H times before it slips
out of Dr. Al's hands.
- 7.I is the lowest score the ice skater
receives.
- J girl scouts are selling cookies.
Each video will provide you with a clue to solving the puzzle.
Cache is a small camoflaged tin with room for small items.
BYOP.
Winter Friendliness Rating: Will get buried
in the snow.
Congratulations ImDutch on the FTF!