The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Arts & Entertainment => Topic started by: pmcd9 on September 24, 2011, 01:42:34 pm
-
I had an epiphany last night while watching Weird Al Perform. I had always filed him away in a different place in my mind, probably because he does comedy music, but he's really one of my all time favorites regardless of style. He's up there with the Beatles and Queen, Radiohead, etc... He's easily in my top 10. I mean, how many artists do I have every single thing they've ever released?
I just felt like sharing that. I was just kinda wondering if I was alone here in my deep and abiding love of Weird Al.
Also, I told him I loved him (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmcd9/6177390229/in/photostream).
-
But do you have Weird Al ink (http://www.weirdal.com/fanart387.htm)?
-
I am SO STOKED about going to see him in 2 weeks. I can count on two hands the number of concerts I've seen, but this one was a can't miss.
We're seeing him in Charlotte even though Durham is about 3 times closer, because it's also about 3 times more expensive, and that's INCLUDING the cost of a hotel room. Performing Art Center, Y U no have reasonable prices?
-
Man, I dunno.
I don't need to re-evaluate Weird Al, he rocked when I was ten, he rocked when I was twenty, he rocks now.
My opinion of the Al is blissfully static. I have written probably sixty parody songs I haven't done shit with, of course.
-
And that's why this is my favorite place on the internet. I can trust you guys. I mentioned tonight how much I enjoyed the concert at a birthday dinner party I was at and was met with much indifference. Maaaan, if you are too cool for Weird Al, you are just too cool period.
-
If you are too cool for Weird Al, the cold is due to the fact that you are completely dead inside.
-
hey man, why you gotta hate on me for not liking weird al.
-
i became acquainted with weird al when i was a teenager. he sure did make fun of stuff good. over the years i have come to know of his musical/comedic genius.
i dont know if its because of the timing of him releasing material, or what, but my youngest brothers(19 and 21) both discovered weird al in their young teenage years, as well. i dont think they really appreciate him/his work like most of us do, but still.
-
It is okay, Dan.
When you get all this taking seriously bands ironically named after fonts out of your system, The Al will be waiting there for you.
Waiting for you to be ready for the awesome.
The awesome has time, the awesome does not judge, the awesome knows that sometimes the path to it takes some time.
All that matters to the awesome is that you get there eventually.
-
I cannot imagine ever enjoying Weird Al.
See, TNV have a silly name. I never even thought what their name meant. They are just a fun band with a goofy name.
But Al? Al's entire thing is a weird schtick where he takes other peoples' songs and changes the words. I do not see myself maturing into someone who likes that kind of thing.
I do not understand a worldview where having a silly band name is worth months and months of furious message board posts, but having a band where the whole thing is a joke is the coolest thing ever. Having a silly band that bangs out stupid chords is horrific, but having a band where the message seems to be "notice how silly mainstream rap is!" is awesome? I don't get it.
-
The difference between Post-Intelligencer New Roman and Weird Al is the difference between not taking things seriously as an affectation to seem cool and secretly seriously worrying about unserious you are seeming and... not taking things seriously just to have fun but doing it really really fuck*ng well because what's a fun time without going all out?
A lot of Al's covers are better performed than the originals and the guy's got a lot of great songs he wrote in the style of other bands without being direct parodies or totally original and just fuck*ng tremendously funny.
And his live shows use costume changes and multimedia songs between songs better than anyone in popular music basically ever? Yeah, basically ever.
It is the difference between The Fonz being cool because he desperately wants to be cool and Garrison Keillor being cool because he loves what he does and does it really fuck*ng well.
You'll get there, Dan, you'll see. I have faith in you. Al has faith in you. The Awesome has faith in you.
-
A lot of Al's covers are better performed than the originals and the guy's got a lot of great songs he wrote in the style of other bands
I don't like weird al, but yeah, that ain't really relevant. It is kinda hard (impossible) to do that unless you change the style of the song. Performing a copy of a song will never be better.
If I hear a cover of a song that is in the same style/genre as the original I turn it off immediately. Weird Al has more to offer, but that is still a silly thing to say.
-
i became acquainted with weird al when i was a teenager. he sure did make fun of stuff good. over the years i have come to know of his musical/comedic genius.
i dont know if its because of the timing of him releasing material, or what, but my youngest brothers(19 and 21) both discovered weird al in their young teenage years, as well. i dont think they really appreciate him/his work like most of us do, but still.
I wonder if there's a generation gap here. I mean, I grew up listening to Weird Al, too, and I love it in part because it makes me laugh and in part because it makes me feel like a kid again. But I wonder if you had to be there. I wonder if you had to "know him when" he was just trying to get his tapes on Dr. Demento to truly appreciate the story of a class clown growing up to live the dream of getting millions of dollars just to be goofy and make people laugh.
The thing that amazes me about Al is that he really can emulate any musical style. He makes it look effortless, too. I can't find the interview now, but I remember reading that he really struggled with the lyrics for his parody of Lose Yourself because he wanted to make it sound as good as the original, but Eminem's rhymes were so tightly structured that it really challenged him as a writer*.
I don't know if you can "mature" into liking Weird Al. I think perhaps you have to be the kind of person who listened to him when you were still immature, and to be willing to let yourself devolve a bit to truly enjoy it.
*Edited due to memory fail.
-
oh good lord do I hate me some Garrison Keillor. How can you even compare that horrible snooty NPR humor to Weird Al. I can at least appreciate that Weird Al would have been funny to me maybe when I was younger.
Jesus Christ, Garrison Keillor.
I can't find the interview now, but I remember reading that he really struggled with the lyrics for his parody of Lose Yourself because he wanted to make it sound as good as the original, but Eminem's rhymes were so tightly structured that it really challenged him as a writer*.
I can appreciate this. I have heard the Al version of this song, and it didn't do that White People Rapping thing where they seem to think rapping just means the end of every line rhymes, with no meter or internal rhyme. That makes me glad.
-
Jesus Christ. It's music. It's to be listened to and enjoyed, not endlessly argued over as a result of the performers' ancillary cultural signifiers.
-
Just in case you guys have never seen this, it's the tamest, most upbeat VH1 Behind the Music ever.
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6D15FD3C0A330A60
The first part is worth watching if only because of what Mark Mothersbaugh says about Al. I LOL'd.
Also: The Weird Al Sex Tape (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S9N1oCX_nI).
-
Jesus Christ. It's music. It's to be listened to and enjoyed, not endlessly argued over as a result of the performers' ancillary cultural signifiers.
If only.
-
I don't get it.
Sad for you.
oh good lord do I hate me some Garrison Keillor.
It's even worse than I thought. You are obviously dead inside.
-
The difference between Post-Intelligencer New Roman and Weird Al is the difference between not taking things seriously as an affectation to seem cool and secretly seriously worrying about unserious you are seeming and... not taking things seriously just to have fun but doing it really really fuck*ng well because what's a fun time without going all out?
A lot of Al's covers are better performed than the originals and the guy's got a lot of great songs he wrote in the style of other bands without being direct parodies or totally original and just fuck*ng tremendously funny.
And his live shows use costume changes and multimedia songs between songs better than anyone in popular music basically ever? Yeah, basically ever.
It is the difference between The Fonz being cool because he desperately wants to be cool and Garrison Keillor being cool because he loves what he does and does it really fuck*ng well.
You'll get there, Dan, you'll see. I have faith in you. Al has faith in you. The Awesome has faith in you.
It's funny how you are talking about not taking things seriously and you are taking things so seriously.
It's the difference between something you like and something someone else likes, in the end.
-
Gracious!
(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/2766/walcrn.jpg)
I had to look pretty deep to determine that that photo is at least 2 years old and is, in fact, a wig job. But what a hell of a wig! When he holds still and isn't pulling a face, he actually...looks...well, kind of hot, to be honest. In that David Tennant kind of way that makes my knees buckle just a smidge.
-
It is okay, Dan.
When you get all this taking seriously bands ironically named after fonts out of your system, The Al will be waiting there for you.
I wonder if there's a generation gap here. I mean, I grew up listening to Weird Al, too, and I love it in part because it makes me laugh and in part because it makes me feel like a kid again. But I wonder if you had to be there. I wonder if you had to "know him when" he was just trying to get his tapes on Dr. Demento to truly appreciate the story of a class clown growing up to live the dream of getting millions of dollars just to be goofy and make people laugh.
I'm not so sure that's true. As evidenced last night, those were people who were plenty old enough to have been raised on Weird Al as I was. Also, there were plenty of people at the show that were Dan's age or younger.
This is just simply a case of different strokes for different folks.
Moreover, JL, you aren't old enough yourself to "know him when." How old again were you in 1976 when he first started appearing on Dr. Demento?
-
It's even worse than I thought. You are obviously dead inside.
Oh, and by the way, that was a joke in case you were taking me too seriously. I probably wouldn't have liked Garrison Keillor at your age either. Although, I think you would like a lot of the music he plays.
-
Yes, just like the pmcd, I am exaggerating my position in this thread for comic effect.
I thought I was being very obvious about this.
I guess that is the thing I am worst at on the internet, tipping my hand that I am exaggerating a position I believe for comic effect.
Should I experiment with emoticons?
-
I'm not so sure that's true. As evidenced last night, those were people who were plenty old enough to have been raised on Weird Al as I was. Also, there were plenty of people at the show that were Dan's age or younger.
This is just simply a case of different strokes for different folks.
Moreover, JL, you aren't old enough yourself to "know him when." How old again were you in 1976 when he first started appearing on Dr. Demento?
Yeah, I was 3 years away from even being born then. But Al is 10 years older than my brother, who is 10 years older than me, so when he was in his early twenties, my brother was just the right age to be listening to Dr. Demento, so I literally was listening to Weird Al when I was still in diapers.
I was actually exposed to a lot of music that many people my age don't even remember -- stuff from just before I was born up through the time I was in Kindergarten (1977/78 - 1984). My brother had the radio on all the time, I still remember the first time I heard "Jump." I was about five years old, and it came on the radio, and we stood in front of the full-length mirror in the hallway. Every time David Lee Roth sang the word "jump" we would leap into the air to see who could get further off the ground.
Certainly, many people my age know that song, but I get the impression from talking to folks that they think of hair bands as "before their time" instead of "I remember that." Same with the '84 presidential election -- I remember it clearly even though I was pretty young; Dad let me stay up late to watch the election returns and explained in great detail how the Electoral College works. (I was five.) Pedro -- I suspect like most people born in 1979 -- is only aware of Reagan's re-election because he was taught its importance later; I remember watching it happen in front of me.
Still, your point is valid. Lots and lots of people like WAY who were not part of "the early years" or whatever. I was just looking for a pattern, as usual, but maybe there isn't one. Maybe musical taste just can't be accounted for.
After all, I don't really care for The Rolling Stones.
-
Yes, just like the pmcd, I am exaggerating my position in this thread for comic effect.
I thought I was being very obvious about this.
I guess that is the thing I am worst at on the internet, tipping my hand that I am exaggerating a position I believe for comic effect.
Should I experiment with emoticons?
I just figured you were doing that thing you did last time, when you tried to convince Dan he shouldn't like the band he likes.
I never really got into Al. I think maybe I don't like jokey music, except for Allan Sherman (http://youtu.be/3PWYk3o-Hr4) (put a date on that).
-
That is beautiful, Nabu. I am going to have to look into that further. Reminds me of Danny Kaye, a bit.
Without googling the song or the artist, I'd guess...1956?
-
You know what's even better than Al's music? When he used to take over MTV for a couple hours at a time, call it "Al TV," and do all kind of goofy MTV-parody stuff. That shit was funny. For instance, this interview with Keith Richards. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXaiAT-3TVM)
-
AL-TV was amazing.
It was like a peek into an alternate world where popular culture made sense to me.
http://youtu.be/EDTGyjO56UI (http://youtu.be/EDTGyjO56UI)
-
I'll go so far as to say that Weird Al fans are a cult, like Trekkies maybe. We are a nerd cult. It's not for everyone, but that's alright.
I think maybe I don't like jokey music, except for Allan Sherman (http://youtu.be/3PWYk3o-Hr4) (put a date on that).
I'm pretty sure my case isn't typical, but I was spoonfed comedy records as a child by my mother. The main godhead of comedy music in my mind is and will always be Spike Jones (http://youtu.be/rCs0RgRspng). Even Weird Al agrees (http://youtu.be/8GQ9Al0VmBE).
"Dare to be Stupid" got me laid.
Awesome! Mashed potatoes can be your friend.
-
yeah, the more I thought about it, I do kind of think it is a thing you have to be into by a certain age.
I actually, Paul, thought about Star Trek in this discussion. I really liked it when I was younger, and recently I watched it and I couldn't stand it. I was really disappointed, because I have always thought of myself as a Trekkie... in middle school I literally read the Star Trek Encyclopedia cover to cover multiple times. I actually read things like that about Star Trek far more than I ever watched the show, which is a pattern in almost everything else I enjoy. Weird.
I love TMBG. I haven't listened to them in a while, but a few months ago I listened to Dial-a-Song and really enjoyed it. But I don't know if I would like TMBG if I were exposed to them for the first time tomorrow.
Garrison Keillor just drives me up the wall. I am trying to come up with an example of why he drives me crazy, and I cannot think of one. For some reason it is particularly offensive to me that LFM would like him. His humor just seems so... cornily snobby? Self-satisfied?
I love NPR, but Prairie Home Companion is everything that kind of bugs me about NPR rolled into one show.
I think one of my favorite little jokes in The Wire is when two of the drug-runners are driving around Philidelphia, and the first station they find on the dial is NPR. PHC is on, and one of them says something like "is this what [people] listen to in Philly??" And then for the rest of the scene, through all of the tense things that happen, Garrison Keillor is in the background.
LFM, the problem is that sometimes you say crazy things and are completely serious, and sometimes you say crazy things and you are being silly. I often wonder how we would interact in real life. I always imagine we would get along a lot better if we met in Bushwick over a beer. One day this should happen.
-
I love TMBG. I haven't listened to them in a while, but a few months ago I listened to Dial-a-Song and really enjoyed it. But I don't know if I would like TMBG if I were exposed to them for the first time tomorrow.
I think this proves my point about different strokes perfectly. I have tried and tried to like TMBG (mostly because there are a lot of fans on this board), but it just ain't happening. I don't find them funny and their music is annoying to me.
I'll bet those snobs I had dinner with last night love TMBG
I think one of my favorite little jokes in The Wire is when two of the drug-runners are driving around Philidelphia, and the first station they find on the dial is NPR. PHC is on, and one of them says something like "is this what [people] listen to in Philly??" And then for the rest of the scene, through all of the tense things that happen, Garrison Keillor is in the background.
That scene totally cracked me up. It's one of my favorite scenes in the whole series.
-
As long as it ain't a PBR, brother, I will buy you that beer.
You are a rad dude, you just sometimes remind me so much of myself ten years ago that sometimes I end up needling/joshing with my younger self through you sometimes.
But yeah, in person it is a lot more obvious the difference between when I am exaggerating my opinion times three for fun and when I am actually being a Man with The Anxiety.
Maybe something along the lines of a Saranac Black and Tan, inexpensive but not painfully cheap, brewed in Utica a half hour drive from where I was brewed.
-
good lord do I hate me some PBR. I am really annoyed with myself because this guy was mean to me about not liking cheap beer the other day, and i should have gotten into it with him.
I think a lot about how much money I could be saving if i didn't drink nice beer, though.
-
I always imagine we would get along a lot better if we met in Bushwick over a beer. One day this should happen.
I would like to be eavesdropping from the next table when this happens.
I was a huge Garrison Keillor fan back when the show first started but I can't stand it anymore. I felt like a point came when he was so famous, no one would say "no" to him anymore and tell him stuff like, people really don't listen to the show to hear him sing. Sometimes it's better if things that you love don't go on forever.
-
See? We agree on not liking cheap beer as some kind of fuck*ng pose!
I would'a helped you fight him!
-
to be honest, most of my friends like cheap beer because they like it, and because it is cheap. They have a "there's a time and a place" attitude towards cheap beer. This guy, though, was being a dick about it.
If I had thought it through a little more, I would have pointed out how funny it is that a guy who agonizes about how local his meat should be drinks mass-market swill beer.
(I'm sure he has some ready-made response about how local AB-InBev is, to which I would have pointed out that Monsanto is also a local company-- maybe he should support them instead of buying organic/local produce!)
-
I'll go so far as to say that Weird Al fans are a cult, like Trekkies maybe. We are a nerd cult. It's not for everyone, but that's alright.
I'm pretty sure my case isn't typical, but I was spoonfed comedy records as a child by my mother. The main godhead of comedy music in my mind is and will always be Spike Jones (http://youtu.be/rCs0RgRspng). Even Weird Al agrees (http://youtu.be/8GQ9Al0VmBE).
I caved and googled Allan Sherman, and realized that I do know some of his stuff, but had just never connected his name with it. I was kind of semi-close on the date, too -- eight years off. I have been listening to a lot of stuff from the middle of the 20th century lately, though, so if I hadn't been within a decade I'd have been very disappointed.
We had a record when I was a kid called "Funny Bone Favorites," we listened to it all the time. It had "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" on it, and "Leader of the Laundromat," and "The Monster Mash," and some other great tunes..."Ahab the Arab," which would never ever get played these days. And "Abba Dabba Honeymoon," which I still remember all the words to, oddly.
Good times.
-
"Ahab the Arab," which would never ever get played these days
You're right, that musical style is hella passe these days.
-
I like Keillor, and he's a heck of a good writer, but the show isn't as fun to listen to as it used to be. But it's still better than pretty much anything on the radio on a weekend afternoon. And the music (except for his singing) is excellent.
-
but having a band where the message seems to be "notice how silly mainstream rap is!" is awesome? I don't get it.
I'm not exactly a Weird Al fan so maybe I don't really get it, but I never got this from Weird Al. I get more of a goofy dude poking fun at popular music while at the same time respecting the craft. Am I wrong here?
I do get that however from those Jeff Tweedy covers of pop songs. I mean, some of those are terrible songs, but he just comes off like a dick. Like, "here's some silly music, let's all laugh at this silly music, and then let's get all serious for the next Wilco record." Dick. Again, maybe I don't get it. I'm not exactly a Jeff Tweedy, either.
I never really got into Al. I think maybe I don't like jokey music
I can enjoy jokey music but it's not something I'll typically listen to. I like TMBG ok, but they have a handful of songs that I absolutely love and that are basically perfect. And then there's Particle Man. I don't hate it, I even kinda like it, but it's not Ana Ng (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEjutUbgpH8). I don't know what in my brain separates the two, because Ana Ng is totally goofy like all their songs are, but something does.
Oh, and by the way, that was a joke in case you were taking me too seriously. I probably wouldn't have liked Garrison Keillor at your age either. Although, I think you would like a lot of the music he plays.
I loved Garrison Keillor as a teenager and even in my early 20s, but I can't bear even two minutes of PHC today. Maybe I change, maybe they change, who knows?
I was a huge Garrison Keillor fan back when the show first started but I can't stand it anymore. I felt like a point came when he was so famous, no one would say "no" to him anymore and tell him stuff like, people really don't listen to the show to hear him sing. Sometimes it's better if things that you love don't go on forever.
Interesting. I wasn't around when the show first started, but I wonder when the decline started.
-
Interesting. I wasn't around when the show first started, but I wonder when the decline started.
But like you say - did I change or did they change? I can't be sure.
-
I always kinda got that from GK (not GKA). Dude, your show is awesome and is chock-full of cool shit . . . other than your singing.
-
What a great show. You were right, Paul. Al is a great entertainer. We had a blast. I almost passed out when he was doing "Craigslist," my nerd crush meter is a code purple right about now. I just want to touch his hair.
-
I just watched his Comedy Central special. I was surprised how few of the songs I recognized. I wouldn't have known what Perform This Way was a parody of had it not been for the whole confusion over the permissions and whatnot a while back. I was surprised he wore the prosthetic chin for Fat in a live show. That's attention to detail. But what was with the cheerleaders for Smells Like Nirvana?
-
The Yoda Chant punishes.
-
But what was with the cheerleaders for Smells Like Nirvana
There are cheerleaders in the Nirvana Smells like Teen Spirit video.
-
There are cheerleaders in the Nirvana Smells like Teen Spirit video.
Ah. That would explain it. I've never seen the video.
-
The Yoda Chant punishes.
Yes. Yes, it does.
After the show we went to an 80s themed bar. I had on my regular clothes -- a blousey, animal-print, slightly off the shoulder top, a pair of black "skinny" jeans, and high heels styled to look like Chuck Taylor low-tops. I saw a gaggle of college-girl types dressed like Cyndi Lauper wannabes and realized that I had dressed on-theme by accident.
Pedro was totally shocked at how many 80s pop songs I knew by heart that he had only heard once or twice. I guess he didn't believe me when I told him I got a wider slice of the 80s than most people my age because I was paying attention to what my teen brother and cousins were doing.
Thinking back to the show, I sort of feel like I'm caught up on pop culture now because I've seen it get picked on. Pedro had to explain what "TMZ" was. But of course I totally loved seeing the old stuff. We noted last night that Al has outlasted many artists he's parodied, including REM.
-
then and now (http://mad.blog.dccomics.com/2011/10/19/celebrity-snaps-weird-al-yankovic-then-and-now/)
-
then and now (http://mad.blog.dccomics.com/2011/10/19/celebrity-snaps-weird-al-yankovic-then-and-now/)
How funny is it that the Mad editors mention that the difference between the pictures is that Al wasn't plugging his CD in Mad in '93 but don't mention the other difference is that Mad didn't start running ads until 2001.