Still ‘Weird’ After All These Years
Pop parody patriarch “Weird Al” back on tour
By James Draper
Staff Writer
Elvis Presley still holds the title of ‘King of Rock and Roll.’ Michael
Jackson will always be the ‘King of Pop.’ But if you’ve
never heard of the ‘Sultan of Satire,’ well, that’s pretty
weird.
For more than 30 years “Weird Al” Yankovic has dominated the
genre of pop culture parody, from early spoofs like “Another One Rides
the Bus” riffing on Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” to
his answer to country music fans in “Achy Breaky Song” or the
boy band-era homage “eBay” spoofing the Backstreet Boys.
He certainly doesn’t limit himself to ribbing Madonna with “Like
a Surgeon.” His albums also feature style parodies of bands like Devo,
Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine alongside original tracks like “Hardware
Store” and accordion-rocking, polka-infused mash-ups of everyone from
the Spice Girls to 50 Cent.
Back on a nationwide tour this summer, leading up to his first European
venture in the fall, “Weird Al” took time to speak with The Gladewater
Mirror before he heads to Texas later this month.
JD: You had a great quote a few years ago with the release
of “Poodle
Hat” (2003) when you said people always refer to your records as “comeback
albums,” but you’ve been out there the whole time. You’re
on tour right now – what’s the crowd response as you get out
there this summer?
WA: The crowd response has been great. Record sales have been down simply
because that’s the nature of the business, but inversely the touring
is better than ever. The crowds are great, very enthusiastic. It’s
just a real treat to be on stage every night. The fans are really into it,
and we’re all having a great time.
JD: With this current tour, are you still getting out there every night
in the Jedi costume?
WA: We still are. There’s a lot of costumes in the tour. There’s
a lot of production value. I’m still in the fat suit. I’ve still
got the Jedi robes. I’m still rockin’ the Kurt Cobain wig. We’re
doing it all, every single night.
JD: I guess it goes without saying, but how often do people come up and
try to give you ideas?
WA: Well, that’s sort of the bane of my existence. I can’t
hardly walk outside without somebody walking up to me and saying, “Hey,
Al, I’ve got this great idea for a song I wrote” or “I’ve
been holding onto this parody since the third grade just hoping I’d
run into you in the frozen food section of the grocery store.” I’ve
had to make it a personal policy just never to accept ideas from other people.
“Weird Al” has recorded 12 studio albums since his self-titled
debut in 1983 along with multiple compilation albums and top singles. His
albums have achieved Gold or Platinum status 30 times, and he has three Grammy
wins and 11 nominations to his name.
A 13th album is currently in production, but “Weird Al” is
understandably tight-lipped about what’s in store.
JD: When’s the last time you’ve really looked at the vast body
of work you’ve put out there since 1979?
 |
| “Weird Al” Yankovic has produced more than
100 comedy tracks since he first recorded “My Bologna” (a
parody of The Knacks “My Sharona”) in 1979 in the bathroom
of the college radio station where he worked a weekly DJ shift. Since
then, he’s pulled in three Grammy’s and multiple nominations
for his songs, directed numerous music videos for himself and other
artists, created a cult classic movie (“UHF” in 1989) and
continued to tour.
Seth Olenick/Courtesy photo |
WA: (laughing) Yeah, it’s a lot of tunes. It’s a big oeuvre.
JD: Are we going to hear on this next album a Justin Bieber “Bagel,
Bagel” parody or a “Fat Romance” parody of Lady Gaga?
WA: Well, even if I knew all of the songs I was doing on the next album,
which I currently don’t, I wouldn’t be at liberty to tell you
because I do like to keep things a surprise and a secret until they’re
actually unveiled.
JD: When can we look for the next album?
WA: I wish I had an answer for you. I’m three quarters done with
it. I’ve got three more songs to write and record. Hopefully that will
happen in the not-too-distant future, and other than that I can’t tell
ya’... Here’s how it works with me. I decide on 12 ideas, and
I write 12 songs, and I record 12 songs, and I put 12 songs out. There’s
no filler. There’s no vault with unused “Weird Al” songs
in it. I do all my editing in the concept stage. If I have a concept and
I see it works, I see it to completion and that’s what you get.
JD: Of your songs over the years, are there any that just wrote themselves?
WA: No, I wish they had! That would make life a whole lot easier on me.
Some of the ideas are spontaneous, but the actual writing does involve a
certain amount of work, and it never gets really easier. I’m used to
doing it, and I’m comfortable doing it, but it is still time-consuming,
and it involves a lot of thought, and it doesn’t just flow freely from
me. It’s the hardest part of what I do, but it’s also the most
gratifying.
JD: Do you have a song that you like that it seemed that people never responded
to?
WA: Not sure how to answer that, really. There are some songs that we do
live in concert that don’t get a huge crowd response, then people come
up to me after the show and say, “I can’t believe you played
that song, that’s my favorite all-time song, and I didn’t think
you’d be playing it.” So people react and respond to things on
different levels so it’s hard for me to say. Sometimes – just
because they’re not laughing at it doesn’t mean they’re
not enjoying it.
JD: I know you’re probably getting tired of this question, but with
everybody getting on YouTube nowadays, a lot of people are doing amateur
parodies, and different people have debated whether or not that will affect
you. What’s your take on YouTube in general?
WA: YouTube’s a great thing. It certainly has helped me a lot. The “White & Nerdy” video
(a spoof of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’”) got over a
hundred million hits with all the various portals on the Internet. I like
to focus on the positive aspects of the Internet ... there’s been a
big paradigm shift in the industry, and, as everybody else, is I’m
trying to figure out the best way to just do whatever good I can from this.
So, yeah, YouTube has been a great tool for me and a great way for me to
get my stuff out there as well. As you pointed out, it also means I will
never again be the only person, and certainly never the first person, to
parody any pop song. So it just makes it more of a challenge for me. Since
I can’t be unique anymore, I’ll just have to focus on being the
best at what I do.
JD: At the same time though, I couldn’t find anyone who has the same
amount of name recognition. So it seems you’re still at the top of
your game.
WA: Well, you know I’ve been doing this for a very long time so not
only am I the best known at it, but I also get credit for a lot of people’s
work. Usually that’s an unfortunate thing because quite a bit of those
songs are either vulgar or just not very good, but a lot of times if there’s
a parody floating around on the Internet somehow my name gets attached to
it because they figure, “Oh, who else does song parodies?” And
then there are all these songs floating around, supposedly by me, that aren’t
by me – that really does me no favors. I would prefer only to get credit
for the songs I actually did.
JD: What type of stuff on there appeals to you?
WA: I try not to look at other people’s song parodies just because
I don’t want to be influenced by that. I’m aware that they’re
out there, but I try to shield myself from that just because I don’t
want to be exposed to that kind of thing. I like to surf the Internet and
I like to be aware of what’s going on, but I always as a rule try to
shield myself from people giving me ideas or song concepts and things like
that. I try to avoid that whenever I can.
JD: Sometimes, people are far more familiar with your parody
than with the original song. They may have been one of the millions to
watch the “White & Nerdy” video
but have never heard the original by Chamillionaire, or they know “Amish
Paradise” instead of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.”
WA: One of my big rules about what makes a parody work is that it needs
to be funny regardless of whether or not you’re familiar with the source
material. It needs to work on its own merits. In fact, when I did my parody
of “American Pie” by Don McLean years back, I used that to talk
about the plotline of “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” and
it was big hit on Radio Disney. I can assure you that most of the 8- and
10-year-olds listening to Radio Disney weren’t aware that it was a
parody of a song that was a big hit in 1971. In fact it was kind of ironic
because after my parody came out, the following year Madonna did her cover
version of “American Pie” and there were all these kids running
around going, “How come Madonna is doing an un-funny version of a Weird
Al song?”
JD: What advice do you have for the “weird” kids
out there who are trying to make it on YouTube doing these parodies?
WA: I would just say, “Really, give up. There’s no future in
it. Really, why bother?”
JD: Seriously?
WA: (laughing) Oh, you want a serious answer? Uh… follow your muse,
do what makes you happy, have a good time.
JD: It seems like you’re doing just that.
WA: Yes, I am.
You can follow “Weird Al” on Twitter @alyankovic
UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
Friday, July 16
Nokia Live Theatre
Grand Prairie, TX
Saturday, July 17
Verizon Wireless Theatre
Houston, TX
Sunday, July 18
Sunken Gardens
San Antonio, TX
Going to the concert? Let us know: gladewaternews@etcnonline.com |
