Line #79 YMMV/WEIRDALYANKOVIC


1	!!YMMV items with their own pages:
2	[[index]]
3	* [[HilariousInHindsight/WeirdAlYankovic Hilarious in Hindsight]]
4	* [[ParodyDisplacement/WeirdAlYankovic Parody Displacement]]
5
6	!!YMMV items from specific albums:
7	* ''[[YMMV/WeirdAlYankovicAlbum "Weird Al" Yankovic]]'' (1983)
8	* ''YMMV/WeirdAlYankovicIn3D''
9	* ''YMMV/DareToBeStupid''
10	* ''YMMV/PolkaParty''
11	* ''YMMV/EvenWorse''
12	* ''YMMV/UHFOriginalMotionPictureSoundtrackAndOtherStuff''
13	* ''YMMV/OffTheDeepEnd''
14	* ''YMMV/{{Alapalooza}}''
15	* ''YMMV/BadHairDay''
16	* ''YMMV/RunningWithScissors''
17	* ''YMMV/PoodleHat''
18	* ''YMMV/StraightOuttaLynwood''
19	* ''YMMV/{{Alpocalypse}}''
20	* ''YMMV/MandatoryFun''
21
22	!!YMMV items for Al's Movies:
23	* ''YMMV/{{UHF}}''
24	* ''YMMV/TheCompleatAl''
25	* ''YMMV/WeirdTheAlYankovicStory''
26	[[/index]]
27	----
28	!!Other Examples:
29
30	* AudienceAlienatingEra: While he's retained a fervent fanbase throughout his career, his mainstream popularity noticeably dipped in the late 90s, starting with him drastically altering his appearance through laser eye surgery and his song parody schtick largely being seen as old hat. The critical and commercial failure of ''Music/PoodleHat'' in 2003 did not help matters either. It wouldn't be until 2006, when he released "White And Nerdy" (and at which his oldest fans were becoming nostalgic for him), that he'd bounce back and become more popular than ever.
31	* CommonKnowledge: It's often said that, although Al always gets permission from the original artist before creating a parody song, he's not legally obligated to since parody is a protected exemption to copyright law. However, in order for a work to count as a parody as defined in this context, it needs to be making criticism or commentary on the original, which most of Al's work [[note]]With a few exceptions such as [[Music/BillyRayCyrus "Achey Breaky Song"]], [[Music/LadyGaga "Perform This Way"]], and [[Music/{{Nirvana}} "Smells Like Nirvana"]][[/note]] doesn't do. Thus asking permission is good thing for Al to do from a legal standpoint and not just a personal one. It's also probably why Atlantic Records was able to block the release of "You're Pitiful", Al's parody of {{Music/James Blunt}}'s "Your Beautiful", which led to Al's famous TakeThat against the label in "White and Nerdy".
32	* CreatorWorship: As the current high priest of comedy, he has a surprisingly obsessive fanbase.
33	* CrossesTheLineTwice:
34	** His ‘Christmas’ songs, “The Night Santa Went Crazy” and “Christmas at Ground Zero”. These songs run on this trope.
35	** During his "Ridiculously Self Indulgent, Ill Advised Vanity Tour", the day after the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, he acknowledged that it was probably inappropriate, but chose to cover ''[[Music/TheSexPistols God Save the Queen]]''.
36	** His fake interview with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQd9jWYZky0 Kevin Federline]] is atypically harsh for Al, but that's what makes it so great.
37	--->'''Al:''' I hear you're touring now.\
38	'''Kevin Federline:''' I am touring, yes.\
39	'''Al:''' Uh huh. (''{{beat}}'') ''Why?''\
40	'''Kevin Federline:''' Uhm...\
41	'''Al:''' I mean, after 9/11 and Katrina, hasn't this country suffered enough?\
42	''[...]''\
43	'''Al:''' I understand that you're trying to get custody of your kids. I mean the kids you had with Britney, not the "practice" ones. So if you get custody, how will you be raising them? Will you be teaching them to inseminate and freeload the Federline way?\
44	'''Kevin Federline:''' I don't think I'll allow my kids to do it until after they're adults.\
45	'''Al:''' That's probably a good idea.\
46	''[...]''\
47	'''Al:''' For the record, exactly how much do you suck? \
48	'''Kevin Federline:''' Um, a lot, you know.\
49	'''Al:''' Would it be accurate to say that you're the biggest douchebag ever? And that your album is a crime against humanity?\
50	'''Kevin Federline:''' Um, yeah, pretty much.
51	* EpicRiff: Apart from parodying songs that are famous for Epic Riffs themselves ("Smells Like Nirvana," "Beverly Hillbillies/ Money for Nothing*"), a few of Al's originals fit this as well. "I'll Sue Ya," "Dare to be Stupid," "You Make Me," and Music/TheWhiteStripes flavored "CNR" all come to mind.
52	* FandomEnragingMisconception:
53	** It's "YANK-oh-VICK," ''not'' "YANK-oh-VITCH"!
54	** And [[MisattributedSong do not EVER credit him for any novelty song he didn't write,]] especially if it's profane, or about drug/alcohol use, or sex (the content in Weird Al's songs tend to be [=PG=] at worst, so those tend to not be used).
55	** Al and Frankie Yankovic were not related.
56	* GeniusBonus: Some of Al's albums contain style parodies of classic artists that may seem out of place for the era, but said artist had done something to bring them renewed notoriety at the time. For example, "Off the Deep End" contains a Music/BeachBoys style parody, as they were enjoying a resurgence in popularity in 1992. "Straight Outta Lynwood" then contains a homage to Music/BrianWilson, owing to him [[Music/SmileTheBeachBoys finally completing SMiLE in 2004]]. "Mandatory Fun" contained a Music/CatStevens style parody in response to him returning to recording and touring after a nearly 30 year hiatus.
57	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: As early as "Eat It" Al got a following in Japan, leading to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJEvTCqToCk this performance in a local show]]. He would also perform [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOYcomjwYcg a version of "Jurassic Park" in Japanese.]]
58	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct:
59	** Al doesn't often do straight covers. When he does, though, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRvuMiONJA4 it's glorious]].
60	** ''White and Nerdy'' proved Al's rap skills aren't anything to scoff at. Chamillionaire, whose song ''Ridin' Dirty'' Al was parodying, was reportedly stunned that Weird Al of all people could rap like that.
61	** He can also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0QbbnIYa0M seriously rock that squeezebox]].
62	** In regards to acting, Al usually appears as himself or in roles that just let him [[LargeHam ham it up]]. ''WesternAnimation/BatmanVsRobin'' however casts him as Dollmaker, an unhinged serial killer who targets children and who is treated completely seriously. And he is ''terrifying'', [[OneSceneWonder stealing the film with only a few minutes of screentime]].
63	* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: His "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" parody song "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" is beloved by Jewish people. It helps that he consulted with his Jewish drummer, Jay "Bermuda" Schwartz, and the lyrics show that Al did his research.
64	* MisattributedSong:
65	** Al's page on Website/{{Wikipedia}} has an entire ''section'' devoted to the various parodies that he didn't do but are attributed to him, complete with a screen shot of Limewire.
66	** [[http://weirdaltribute.bandcamp.com/track/weird-al-didnt-write-this-song "Weird Al Didn't Write This Song"]] by Devo Spice addresses this.
67	* OnceOriginalNowCommon: In these days when anyone can put a parody song on Website/YouTube, some people don't get what's so great about Al.
68	* QuirkyWork: Certainly a Weird Humorous American Thing, as it's a guy playing song parodies about often banal themes such as food and television, mish-mashing various songs into a polka, and producing wacky music videos and television specials. Despite the absurdity of his work, he’s done all of it clean and sober. Al's friend and college [[note]]California Polytechnic State University, or "Cal Poly" for short[[/note]] classmate Joel Miller said in Al's Behind The Music episode that he thinks drugs would make Al ''normal''. In spite of this, we have the mindfuck of "Everything You Know is Wrong" and the sheer garbled insanity of "Albuquerque."
69	* RefrainFromAssuming: Usually his parodies turn the original title phrase into something wacky and indicative of the parody's subject matter. If he can't manage that, this usually happens:
70	** "Ricky" is sometimes known as "Hey Ricky", a misunderstanding similar to the source material.
71	** "(This Song's Just) Six Words Long" is often referred to as "This Song Is Just Six Words Long", which makes sense considering those are the actual [[WritersCannotDoMath seven words]] sung in the chorus.
72	** Because "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*" (Yes, the asterisk is a legally-required part of the name) is such a unnatural mouthful, most people assume the song is just called "Beverly Hillbillies", which would likely be the title had the lawyers not gotten involved.
73	** "The Plumbing Song" is mistaken for the title "Don't Forget My Plumber", which is the play on the title of the main song the parody is based on, Music/MilliVanilli's "Don't Forget My Number".
74	** "Bedrock Anthem" is referred to in a million ways, perhaps the most common being "City of Bedrock" and "Yabba-Dabba-Doo Now".
75	** "The Saga Begins" is sometimes referred to as "Soon I'm Gonna Be a Jedi".
76	** "A Complicated Song" is more commonly referred to as "Constipated", based on the first chorus.
77	** Likewise, "Ode to a Superhero" is far more commonly called "You're the Spider-Man" or just "Spider-Man".
78	** An unusual retroactive case involves "White & Nerdy". While pretty much everyone knows the parody by its actual name, you can argue the name's length has made more people assume the original Music/{{Chamillionaire}} song is called "Ridin' Dirty" when it's actually called "Ridin'". Unfortunately, "White &" is not nearly as indicative of a title, so there wasn't really a way around this.
79	* SignatureSong: "Eat It", although "White and Nerdy" is a close second. Among fans, "Albuquerque" is generally the favorite, and a bombastic rendition of it usually closes out Al's live concerts.
80	* SpiritualSuccessor:
81	** ''Face to Face with "Weird Al" Yankovic'', a WebOriginal which sees Al "interviewing" celebrities, is this to ''Al TV''.
82	** "Handy" is this to "Hardware Store". And more directly to the unreleased "I'll Repair For You".
83	** In fact; Weird Al's oeuvre is full of Spiritual Successors....
84	*** The big super-long, really epic song ('Nature Trail To Hell', 'The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota', 'Albuquerque', 'Genius In France').
85	*** TV-Themed List Songs ('The Brady Bunch' starts this way, 'Can't Watch This', 'Couch Potato', 'Syndicated Inc.', etc.)
86	*** Songs where the guy's a TV addict who's watching shows he hates ('Can't Watch This', 'Couch Potato').
87	*** TV Theme lyrics to the tune of pop-songs ('The Brady Bunch', 'Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies').
88	*** Fat jokes ('Fat' and 'Grapefruit Diet').
89	*** Trashy talk shows ('Talk Soup', 'Jerry Springer' - the latter overlaps a little bit with the "tv addict" category, as the narrator is a viewer of the title show who admits how trashy and exploitative it is, but keeps on watching anyway).
90	*** Silly, LargeHam-sung Blues songs ('Chuck & Diane', 'Generic Blues').
91	*** AlienInvasion by Kaiju-sized things ('Slime Creatures From Outer Space' and 'Attack Of The Radioactive Hamsters From A Planet Near Mars').
92	*** Odes to a specific food ('My Bologna', 'I Love Rocky Road', 'Addicted To Spuds', 'The White Stuff', 'Spam').
93	*** Tracks only a few seconds long ('Let Me Be Your Hog', 'Bite Me', 'Harvey The Wonder Hamster', 'Stupid Haircut').
94	** The polka medleys are all {{in the style of}} Music/SpikeJones's "travesties" (ie, play the lyrics straight, make the music goofy).
95	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
96	** Al parodies (or style parodies) artists from all across the musical spectrum, giving equal due to whoever is popular at the time. As a result, his albums end up becoming rather tidy time capsules for the sounds that were popular at the time of their release. Add in the many pop culture references from the era and it completes the portrait.
97	*** ''"Weird Al" Yankovic'' from 1983 is a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness but it still qualifies. The album is composed of power pop, bubblegum, heartland rock and early New Wave. Some songs mention discotheques and 8-tracks which were fading at the time of its release, and they weren't done so in a nostalgic context.
98	*** ''In 3-D'', ''Dare to Be Stupid'' and ''Polka Party'' from 1984/85/86 are composed mostly of New Wave, over-the-top electropop and bar rock.
99	*** 1986's "Christmas at Ground Zero" captures the tail end of the Cold War fear of nuclear war, as exemplified by ''Film/TheDayAfter'' and ''Film/{{Threads}}''. Not long after, The U.S. and Soviet Union would start talks on arms control, and the latter would collapse outright in 1991. Additionally, it's also dated to pre-9/11, since after the attacks the term "Ground Zero" came to refer to the former site of the Twin Towers rather the epicenter of nuclear explosion, though this usage has faded since the World Trade Center was rebuilt and more time has passed since 9/11.
100	*** ''Even Worse'' and ''UHF: Official Motion Picture Soundtrack and Some Other Stuff'' from 1988/89 are composed of arena-oriented dance pop, hair metal, hip hop and teen pop.
101	*** ''Off the Deep End'' and ''Alapaoolza'' from 1992/93 are composed of heavy metal, hip hop, dance pop, jangle pop with single {{Music/Nirvana}} and Music/NewKidsOnTheBlock parodies symbolizing both the rise of grunge and 80's teen pop acts taking their dying gasp.
102	*** ''Bad Hair Day'' from 1996 is composed of hip hop, alternative rock, grunge, college rock and R&B.
103	*** ''Running With Scissors'' from 1999 is composed of hip hop, bubblegum pop, adult contemporary, alternative rock, country, and the "revival" genres like neo-swing ("Grapefruit Diet") and third-wave ska ("Your Horoscope For Today").
104	*** ''Poodle Hat'' and ''Straight Outta Lynwood'' from 2003 and 2006 are composed of hip-hop, ringtone rap, punk rock, emo rock and R&B, with some ribbing of popular ''Series/AmericanIdol'' launched acts thrown in.
105	*** 2011's ''Alpocalypse'' is composed of hip hop, dance pop and bubblegum teen pop. In addition, the album's title is in reference to the 2011 and 2012 doomsday predictions.
106	*** 2014's ''Mandatory Fun'' saw Al attempting to downplay this as much as possible: while the song parodies themselves are from contemporary R&B ("Word Crimes" and "Tacky"), indie pop ("Foil"), alternative rock ("Inactive") and TrapMusic ("Handy"), the style parodies that make up most of the album are from older or more timeless genres such as rock ("Lame Claim to Fame", "My Own Eyes", and "First World Problems"), folk ("Mission Statement" and "Jackson Park Express"), and {{football fight song}}s ("Sports Song").
107	** All of his parodies hark back to some (possibly forgotten) hit or the era it came from. "Headline News", however, is not only a parody but recounts a few of the big news stories of the early 1990's. The song never appeared on a regular studio album, possibly because of how quickly Al knew it would feel dated. To wit:
108	*** The "Kid who took a trip to Singapore" is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Fay Michael P. Fay]].
109	*** The "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonya_harding#Attack_on_Nancy_Kerrigan Girl who swore that someday she would be a figure skating champion]]" is Usefulnotes/TonyaHarding.
110	*** The "Guy who made his wife so mad one night that she [[GroinAttack cut off his wiener]]" is about [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_and_Lorena_Bobbitt John and Lorena Bobbitt]].
111	* VindicatedByHistory: Al was not a critical darling and his work was largely relegated to niche appeal in the first two decades of his career. Once his cult fanbase became old enough to influence pop culture themselves, Al became one of the most well-respected comedy acts of the late 20th/early 21st century.

Context YMMV / WEIRDALYANKOVIC