“Weird Al” Yankovic: scourge of pop culture

By Paul Bowers

Over the course of his twenty-plus-year career, “Weird Al” Yankovic has cranked out countless parodies of songs from nearly every genre. From “Amish Paradise” (a spoof of Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise”) to “Smells Like Nirvana” (from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”), he has made a name for himself by leeching off the success of popular musicians.

For the few of you who haven’t heard of him, Weird Al is a modern music icon whose name is synonymous with twisted humor, goofy hair, and a general irreverence toward pop culture. He has a knack for the absurd and the absolutely random, and it shows in every record he has recorded.

I can remember my middle school years, when my entire CD collection consisted of Weird Al records. I had never heard most of the songs he was poking fun at, but I faithfully memorized every lyric.

Now that I’m older and wiser (or at least older), I can better appreciate the parodies for their satirical slant on mainstream music. As it turns out, there’s more to Al than his goofy exterior.

Al got his start as a teenager in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s with his homemade recordings of songs like “My Bologna” (a spoof of “My Sharona” by The Knack). He quickly developed an underground following of fans who had heard his songs on the Dr. Demento Show, a syndicated radio program that played off-beat, warped songs. While pursuing a degree in architecture at California Polytechnic State University, he became a part-time DJ for the campus radio station. It was here that he earned the moniker of “Weird Al.” After graduating, he soon realized that his future was not in architecture, but in the music business.

And Al’s been going strong ever since then. Releasing over a dozen albums, he has become the best-known satirist of the American music scene. He’s made several award-winning music videos, starred in his own movie (“UHF”), and gained a large following of diehard fans.

Critics would say that Weird Al really hasn’t accomplished anything. All he’s really doing is pirating tunes from established musicians. But, in fact, about one half of the songs he has released are set to original music. Granted, there’s nothing groundbreaking in the instrumentation, but the lyrics are just plain brilliant.

Those who refuse to believe that Al has any skills should listen to “Genius in France,” a long, rambling song somewhere along the lines of a Frank Zappa tribute. See also “Christmas at Ground Zero,” a cheerful Christmas jingle about nuclear holocaust.

Weird Al is also known for his polka-style arrangements of famous songs, singing bizarre medleys of songs by P.O.D., the Spice Girls, and Green Day at warp speed to a backdrop of accordions and tubas. Even the most serious of songs sound hilarious when Al remixes them.

But still, nothing compares to his parodies. Both juveniles and the juvenile at heart can appreciate “Bedrock Anthem” (a spoof of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Give It Away”) or “Yoda” (a spoof of The Kinks’ “Lola”). And the bands that are parodied are almost always honored. Some groups, such as Nirvana, claim that they didn’t realize how successful they were until Al destroyed one of their songs.

The average guy who started out recording accordion tunes in a public bathroom is now a full-fledged artist, making albums and touring across the country. And why? Maybe it’s because people just think he’s funny. Or maybe it’s because his spoofs make a mockery of the arid, pompous mentality that permeates today’s music. It seems like every band in the recording industry is taking themselves too seriously. Sometimes, they get so caught up in acting cool that they forget what their music is all about. Weird Al represents the opposite end of the spectrum, making songs that lack any kind of substance or sex appeal

Weird Al Yankovic doesn’t receive nearly as much credit as he deserves. He uses his eccentric sense of humor to expose the arrogance of the modern musical community, and the result is outrageously funny.