The Necessity of "Weird Al" Yankovic

White and Nerdy

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     I am not ashamed to admit that “Weird Al” Yankovic is one of my favorite recording artists.  He may be a geek, he may be somewhat trivial, and he will always be on the outskirts of the popular music scene (even though his CD Running with Scissors outsold Bruce Springsteen’s 18 Tracks when they were released).  Even if they once liked him, the cool, hip kids can pay him no heed, and wind up “outgrowing” him just like they did with slasher movies when they reached puberty.

Perform ThisWay

     All I know is this:  Despite a career that has had its fair share of forgettable or moronic songs, Yankovic is still a comedic, musical genius!  If one were to critique his abilities, and realize just how close he came to sounding like Barenaked Ladies on “Jerry Springer,” as well as the hilarious lyrics themselves, one would find a very talented comic, if one cared to look.  Listen to the well produced arrangements for original songs like “You Don’t Love Me Anymore,” “Slime Creatures From Outer Space,” or “Germs!”  In a career that has spanned the last three decades, Al has consistently, and rather amusingly, skewered life on this backwards little planet.  Along the way, he has outlasted and outsold many of the artists he has parodied.

Amish Paradise

     The cool music scene doesn’t know quite what to make of him, or what to do with him.  Coolio even went so far as to dis him publicly for his “Gansta’s Paradise” parody “Amish Paradise.”  Most of the “cool” people view him as some horrendous little clown man, when in reality, Al is actually more talented and smarter than most of the bands he parodies, and artists like Madonna and Barenaked Ladies have realized Al’s comic genius, as well as the need for an artist like him in the music scene.  For instance, the song "Bob" is not only a great skewering of Bob Dylan, but all the lyrics are palindromes, meaning they read the same backwards and forwards.

Bob

     Let’s face it; if he didn’t have talent and wasn’t very funny, then he would have just been a flash in the pan, wouldn’t have had longevity, and would have already gone the way of many of the has-beens he’s parodied, like Toni Basil and Survivor.  That he’s still around making records more than 30 years later is a tribute to his talent.

Fat

     His album Running With Scissors is still one of his best albums yet.  On other releases, including his latest Alpocolypse, his parodies generally outshine his original material by about two to one.  I’ve sometimes had difficulty finding even one funny original song!  But on Running With Scissors, I found that this time out the original songs are almost as good as the parodies.  Running With Scissors is arguably his best overall album, and that’s quite an accomplishment considering the dozens of funny songs he’s offered up over the last three decades.

Like a Surgeon

     If “Weird Al” Yankovic didn’t exist, somebody would have to invent him. He’s that necessary, and one the few artists to constantly poke fun at a medium that is often taken far too seriously.  So he’s actually a needed entity; how many other recording artists can you say that about?

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