"Weird Al" Yankovic: Difference between revisions

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Line 11: He sent three songs to ''[[The Dr. Demento Show]]'', "Belvedere Cruisin'", "Dr. D Superstar" (never aired), and "My Bologna", a parody of "My Sharona" by ''[[The Knack]]''. ''[[The Knack]]'''s lead singer heard "My Bologna", contacted Al, and got "My Bologna" released as a single. Despite a slow start, including a disastrous opening for ''[[Missing Persons]]'', Weird Al released his first album on Scotti Bros. Records in 1983. In 1989, Weird Al starred in the film ''[[UHF (film)\|UHF]]'', and he had a short-lived [[CBS]] "kids' show" in the 1990s, ''[[The Weird Al Show]]''. He provided the voice of the Squid Hat on ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy ~~and~~& Mandy]]''. He has been involved with the ''[[Transformers]]'' franchise twice: his song "Dare To Be Stupid" was played in the [[Transformers: The Movie\|1986 movie]], and he provided the voice of Wreck-Gar in ''[[Transformers Animated]]''. He had a recent cameo (as himself) in the ''[[Scooby-Doo]]'' crossover episode of ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold\|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'', where he [[Improbable Weapon User\|defeated the Joker with his accordion]]. Usually releases a new album and goes on tour once every 2-3 years, thus John Garabedian of ''Open House Party'' has stated that "Every album is his comeback album, and then he goes away until the next one..." However, after the release of 2014's ''Mandatory Fun'' (and the end of his multi-album contract with his label), Al announced that all his future releases would be individual tracks posted directly to the Web. Line 19: On August 27, 2018, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the ceremony, he requested that [[Donald Trump\|no one smash it with a pickaxe, unless he does "something unfathomably monstrous and evil".]] [[Captain Obvious\|Responsible for]] the [["Weird Al" Effect]], where a parody remains popular long after the original, and his habit of using pop cultural metaphors (AKA [[Person as Verb\|"Pulling a Weird Al"]]) led to his being the former trope namer for that. Since there are a ''lot'' of songs floating around LimeWire and other peer-to-peer networks [[Misattributed Song\|falsely attributed]] to Al, [http://www.com-www.com/weirdal/notbyal.html The Not Al List] was created to catalog these. A lot of these songs are raunchy, offensive, and the lead vocal vaguely sounds like Al, so since [[Small Reference Pools\|Al is the most-visible parody musician]], his name gets attached to them, despite having subject matter and lyrics he would never touch. Even with the occasional subtext, he still aims to be a family friendly performer. Line 241: {{quote\|''Well, I sure hope I do better'' ''Next weekend on ''[[The Price Is Right]]'' '' }} * [[Hitler Cam]]: Used in "One More Minute" at the end, where Al rips out 'his' (plastic) heart.▼ ** Also the cover of and promotional videos ("Transmission 1" through "Transmission 4") for 2014's ''Mandatory Fun''.▼ * [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: "I Remember Larry" which has Larry being murdered by the target of many of his malicious gags, with the target making it sound like it was only another malicious gag. * [[Hypocritical Humor]]: "Amish Paradise" contains the line "I know I'm a million times as humble as thou art" Line 280 ⟶ 278: * [[It Will Never Catch On]]: Al's first show with his band was opening for Missing Persons. It was a disaster, with people booing them offstage and Al wondering if he should give up music. * [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]]: [[Played for Laughs]] (obviously) in "Party in the C.I.A." * [[Jaywalking Will Ruin Your Life]]: "Don't Download This Song"▼ * [[Jumping the Shark]]: [[In-Universe\|A line in "Couch Potato"]] says that ''[[King of Queens]]'' did this. In the first minute. But only because [[Richard Simmons\|Richard]] [[Camp Gay\|Simmons]] [[Very False Advertising\|wasn't]] [[Incredibly Lame Pun\|in it]]. Line 291 ⟶ 288: Al reportedly didn't realize just how harsh this was until the album was released. To make up for it, proceeds for the song were donated to Billy Ray Cyrus's charity of choice (United Cerebral Palsy Association). * [[Love Martyr]]: "You Don't Love Me Anymore" takes this trope to extremes. ▲* [[~~Hitler~~Low-Angle ~~Cam~~Shot]]: Used in "One More Minute" at the end, where Al rips out 'his' (plastic) heart. ▲** Also the cover of and promotional videos ("Transmission 1" through "Transmission 4") for 2014's ''Mandatory Fun''. * [[Lyrical Dissonance]]: "Christmas At Ground Zero". Also "Good Old Days", a James Taylor-esque folk ballad about childhood. However, this particular childhood involved torturing rats with hacksaws, burning down a corner store and brutally beating the shop owner, and taking a girl from high school to a dance, and shaving her bald and abandoning her in the desert. Line 301 ⟶ 300: "Party in the CIA" * [[Major Injury Underreaction]]: In "A Complicated Song", he is merely frustrated about being beheaded. ▲* [[~~Jaywalking~~Major ~~Will Ruin Your Life~~Misdemeanor]]: "Don't Download This Song" * [[M. C. Escher]]: In "White and Nerdy", Al explains he is Al's favorite [[Punny Name\|MC]]. * [[Manipulative Editing]]: ''Al TV''{{'}}s fake interviews, where Al adds weird questions to a famous person's answers ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIaO7sRjyxw original]/[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPwBdnknGIs edited]). And sometimes, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepM8VCGN7c the interviewee acts weird enough to help!]. * [[Memetic Badass]]: [[In-Universe\|In-song]] example -- [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLnapb-30hA Charles Nelson Reilly]. * [[Memetic Outfit]]: Earlier in his career, there was a particular pair of horrendously ugly pants given to Al that he wore at every concert (which can be seen on his first album cover). He eventually ditched them. Later, he was known for his large collection of Hawaiian-print shirts and Vans sneakers. He still pulls these out, though not as frequently. Line 386 ⟶ 385: * [[Poke the Poodle]]: "Young, Dumb & Ugly" is a song about this. * [[Posthumous Narration]]: In "Melanie". * [[Prank Call]]: His 1996 parody of [[TLC (band)\|TLC]]'s "Waterfalls", [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwHYenKngQs "Phony Calls"], is not only all about this trope, it incorporates a snippet of one of Bart's phone calls from ''[[The Simpsons (animation)\|The Simpsons]]''. * [[Precision F-Strike]]: In "Jerry Springer"; appropriately, Yankovic himself doesn't use the word, but guest vocalist * [[Precision F-Strike]]: In "Jerry Springer"; appropriately, Yankovic himself doesn't use the word, but guest vocalist [[Tress MacNeille]] does during a portion of the song parodying a typical episode of the show: {{quote\|'''Tress MacNeille''': Woofie, you ''bitch!''}} * [[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!]]: "I! HATE! '''SAUERKRAUT!'''" Line 411 ⟶ 410: * [[Shave and a Haircut]]: Often appears near the end of the polka medleys. * [[Shoulders of Doom]]: When performing "Dog Eat Dog", a style parody of [[Talking Heads (band)\|Talking Heads]], Al wears a suit with ''massive'' shoulder pads as a spoof of David Byrne's [[Memetic Outfit]]. He also wears it briefly in the "UHF" video. * [[Shout-Out]]: These lines from "Amish Paradise": ~~{{quote\|''[[Gilligan's Island\|There's no phone, no lights, no motorcar,]]''~~ ~~''[[Gilligan's Island\|Not a single luxury!]]''~~ ~~''[[Gilligan's Island\|Like]] [[Robinson Crusoe\|Robinson Ca-rusoe,]]''~~ ~~''[[Gilligan's Island\|It's as primitive as can be!]]'' }}~~ According to [https://web.archive.org/web/20141006123424/http://www.weirdal.com/aaarchive.htm#0400 Word of] [[Word of God\|Al]], "Slime Creatures from Outer Space" includes a line from an ''[[SCTV]]'' sketch, and the vinyl of ''Dare to Be Stupid'' had "[[Talking Heads (band)\|More Songs About TV and Food]]" etched into the inner groove. "Alpocalypse" has a song called "CNR" which contains a shout-out to Jim Croce. There is even a [[Shout-Out]] '''TO''' Al out there. [[Chamillionaire]]'s remix of "Ridin'" called "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JfHXU0yv-0 Ridin' Overseas]" mentions "White And Nerdy". (1:59 in the linked video) ~~{{quote\|''A year later, after "White And Nerdy",''~~ ~~''On the grind, still tryin', still flyin' birdies.'' }}~~ "Running With Scissors" has two shout-outs to Monty Python. "The Truck Drivin' Song" to "The Lumberjack Song" (both about a man in a masculine occupation who likes to dress in ladies' clothing) and in "Albuquerque" a donut shop that has no donuts (referencing the "Cheese Shop" sketch). ** "White and Nerdy" also mentions ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''. * [[Shown Their Work]]: About the songs and artists he parodies. ** "Trigger Happy" and "Pancreas", his [[The Beach Boys\|Beach Boys]] homages; the former song has elements of "Fun, Fun, Fun", "Catch A Wave", "No-Go Showboat", "Surfin USA", and "Little Deuce Coupe" in it; the latter has elements of "Our Prayer", "Do You Like Worms", "God Only Knows", "I Know There's An Answer", "Wind Chimes", "Heroes and Villains", and "Good Vibrations", all in one song. Line 513 ⟶ 500: {{reflist}} [[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼ [[Category:Musicians]] [[Category:The Eighties]] ~~[[Category:Music]]~~ ▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]] [[Category:Actors]] [[Category:Singer-songwriter]]