In the Style Of: Difference between revisions

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** Weird Al says that he tends to pick songs that sound better as polka tunes. He's right.
** Weird Al says that he tends to pick songs that sound better as polka tunes. He's right.
** To add an additional layer, his polka style uses traditional instruments, but draws much of its presentation from the style of comedic orchestration found in such things as the works of [[Spike Jones]]. Common comedic elements in his polkas include the [[Minsky Pickup]], the traditional vaudeville ending riff (does it have a name?), "[[Shave and a Haircut]]", and even a direct reference to Jones via the opening riff of his version of "[[Der Fuehrer's Face]]".
** To add an additional layer, his polka style uses traditional instruments, but draws much of its presentation from the style of comedic orchestration found in such things as the works of [[Spike Jones]]. Common comedic elements in his polkas include the [[Minsky Pickup]], the traditional vaudeville ending riff (does it have a name?), "[[Shave and a Haircut]]", and even a direct reference to Jones via the opening riff of his version of "[[Der Fuehrer's Face]]".
** He also occasionally writes pastiches or "style parodies" of specific bands, the most famous probably being his [[Devo]] parody/tribute, "Dare To Be Stupid", which Mark Mothersbaugh called, "the perfect Devo song". Mothersbaugh was interviewed for Weird Al's ''[[Behind The Music]]''' special and said the song was "beautiful ... and I hate him for it, basically."
** He also occasionally writes pastiches or "style parodies" of specific bands, the most famous probably being his [[Devo]] parody/tribute, "Dare To Be Stupid", which Mark Mothersbaugh called, "the perfect Devo song". Mothersbaugh was interviewed for Weird Al's ''[[Behind the Music]]'' special and said the song was "beautiful ... and I hate him for it, basically."
*** Occasionally? At least half of any given Weird Al record will typically be originals (6 or so songs), plus a polka medley and four or five parodies.
*** Occasionally? At least half of any given Weird Al record will typically be originals (6 or so songs), plus a polka medley and four or five parodies.
*** As further evidence, his online release ''Internet Leaks'' consists of one parody and four pastiches. While the exact inspiration for "Skipper Dan" has been debated (it's likely either [[Weezer]] or [[Fountains Of Wayne]], [[Take a Third Option|possibly]] [[X Meets Y|both]]), there's no doubt that "Craigslist" is [[The Doors]] (see below), "CNR" is [[The White Stripes]], and "Ringtone" is [[Queen]].
*** As further evidence, his online release ''Internet Leaks'' consists of one parody and four pastiches. While the exact inspiration for "Skipper Dan" has been debated (it's likely either [[Weezer]] or [[Fountains Of Wayne]], [[Take a Third Option|possibly]] [[X Meets Y|both]]), there's no doubt that "Craigslist" is [[The Doors]] (see below), "CNR" is [[The White Stripes]], and "Ringtone" is [[Queen]].
** In June 2009, Al released "Craigslist", which is a Doors pastiche. (Just to add verisimilitude, Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek plays on it.)
** In June 2009, Al released "Craigslist", which is a [[The Doors|Doors]] pastiche. (Just to add verisimilitude, Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek plays on it.)
*** "Genius in France" is a pastiche of [[Frank Zappa]]. Frank's son Dweezil (who has spent the last few years touring the world playing his father's music with painstaking accuracy) provided a guitar solo and backing vocals.
*** "Genius in France" is a pastiche of [[Frank Zappa]]. Frank's son Dweezil (who has spent the last few years touring the world playing his father's music with painstaking accuracy) provided a guitar solo and backing vocals.
*** Oh, there are way more examples. It's actually somewhat harder to find originals of his that aren't some sort of pastiche or tribute (and some are apparently cleverly hidden so that nobody but Al knows exactly which band he was going for). Here are some more:
*** Oh, there are way more examples. It's actually somewhat harder to find originals of his that aren't some sort of pastiche or tribute (and some are apparently cleverly hidden so that nobody but Al knows exactly which band he was going for). Here are some more:
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