Weird Al is just incredible

in #music6 years ago (edited)

This will likely end up being something I do on a regular basis because this man is a genius in so many ways. I first encountred him right around the time that I think most people did (my age) and that was when he was really having some fun with just about anything that Michael Jackson.

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"Fat" was not the first song I encountered by him, it was actually "Eat it" but that doesn't really matter. Weird Al and Michael actually had a wonderful real-life relationship and Michael went on to say that he was actually quite honored that Al chose to mimic his songs. Many years later, the boys in Nirvana (it was Cobain) said something along the lines of that "they knew they had made it when Weird Al wanted to parody one of their songs - that was a true measure of success."

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Those weren't Kurt's exact words by the way, I couldn't find the exact quote, but the sentiment should still be understandable.

I loved Al, I still do. I remember I had his albums on RECORD, that's how long I have been a fan. I think one of my favorites by him is "One more Minute" which is actually an original song that I would never have heard had he not parodied (with permission) the more famous songs by bands like Nirvana and especially Michael Jackson.

What started out as something just comedic, actually revealed a talent for songwriting and singing that many times surpasses the people he is poking fun at. Weird Al almost never attacks anyone on a personal level and his humor is normally about something completely innocent like food or in Nirvana's case - the very real situation that existed in that none of the fans could understand the lyrics of their songs.

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There are so many great songs by this man and all along the way he managed to always be family-friendly and very rarely swears not just in his songs but in real life also. There are doco's out there about how the people in his "crew" were constantly trying to get him to do drugs and go to strip clubs and other such things but Al never went with them or did any drugs. He simply didn't want to. Amazing. I'm not even famous or rich and I like both of those things.

This video is quite long because it parodies the entire Michael Jackson video and if you weren't alive back then (or paying attention) MJ had a penchant for not just making videos but making small films surrounding his songs. If i am not mistaken he was one of the first people to ever do that and even if he isn't, it was my first memory of it.

Weird Al is still alive and kicking even though unfortunately, his friend and muse Michael Jackson is not. There has only ever been one person that didn't like having their song parodied and that was Coolio, who is kind of goon anyway (imo). If you are unfamiliar with Yankovich's work, i highly suggest you look into it. If you are familiar, i would be very interested in hearing your favorites.

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Weird Al was pretty much the best thing that ever happened to me when I was a kid. I used to listen to him on the Dr. Demento show when I was a kid, along with songs like "I wanna be a lifeguard" by Blotto.

I was such a fan of Weird Al that my wife bought me tickets to see him in concert for my 40th birthday. Front row! It may sound really weird, but it brought tears to my eyes when he started singing 'Dare To Be Stupid'. I felt exactly like I did at 7 or 8 years old with that tape recorder!

oh that would be so amazing. I hope he did the "One more Minute" with the scarves and came right up to you. haha. "Dare to be Stupid" is one of those songs that passed many non-fans by. It was actually featured in a Transformers cartoon... but i am sure you already knew that.

Yeah man, he came back to LA a few months ago I think it was. I almost bought more tickets but couldn't really justify it. Oh, and I think I watched everything Transformers ever made back in the 80s. None of my friends even knew what that song was. I think a lot of people don't know his 100% Weird Al songs. Most common folk only know the parodies.

haha! No, I was actually kind of sad. He didn't do One More Minute (which I can sing every lyric of). That is one of my all time favorites as well. He fit in a lot of the old songs but he was also trying to promote his new album at the time, "Mandatory Fun"

Me and my wife both love Weird Al. His tour hits our city next year, but its outdoors in the summer so I'm not sure if we'll go or not.

Its amazing that he's maintained such a high level of quality over four decades and has outlasted the popularity of everyone he's ever parodied. Not only are his parodies amazing, but some of his original songs are really good too. "Albuquerque" is one of our favorites and frequently pops up when we go on long drives.

I do remember that Eminem was another artist who didn't like Weird Al covering his stuff and the release of Couch Potato (parody of Lose Yourself) was held up due to Eminem's complaints.

Albuquerque is AMAZING and it took me a while to spell that correctly. It really showcases Al's vocal talents both as a singer and as a writer. "and everyone on the plane died! Except me......... why? Because I had my tray table stowed, and my seat was in the fully upright position!" I think i am going to go on W.A.Y. binge watch today. great stuff.

Oh, i did not know that about Eminem. I bet he regrets that choice but Marshall does take himself extremely seriously.

Cool topic. Yes, the Michael Jackson and Nirvana song are great. I also like his version of Madonna, Like A Surgeon. :)

cuttin' for the very first time! yeah, that's a classic :)

Weird Al has been my favorite artist for a long time, and he will probably stay that way.

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im a big fan of michael jackson and when he gone i cried so much i live his dancing thank you fore sharing this post

yeah there were a lot of people that were very badly affected by that. The last film of his (released after his death) is so tragic. I think Michael was a very troubled individual, but there is no denying his immense talent. I think it is awful how the world turned on him though.

Happy New Year to you and your cute doggie!

Have a wonderful year!

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