Wired interviews “Weird Al” Yankovic, Forefather of the YouTube Spoof:
“Back in the ’80s, ‘Purple Rain’ would be number one for half a year,” Yankovic says. “You still have Top 40 radio now, but it’s 40 different stations. There aren’t many hits that everybody knows, and there aren’t many real superstars. That makes it more difficult for me.” […]
Yankovic’s most fertile targets were global stars—mega-artists like Jackson and Madonna who had distinctive musical and visual styles that Yankovic could exaggerate for effect. “Everybody was watching the same videos,” he says of the pre-Laguna Beach era on MTV, when the network functioned as a sort of national radio station. “Viewers memorized every detail, every nuance, which made my job so much easier: If you’ve got those images ingrained in your head, all you have to do is tweak them a little bit and it’s comedy gold.”
You can watch a ton of Al’s videos on his very own YouTube page.
MP3: “Weird Al” Yankovic – “You’re Pitiful” (James Blunt parody)
I’m outing myself as a geek (Phillips yells, “too late!”), but I’ve always been an unabashed Al fan. From my Dr. Demento listening childhood days (when song parody was the very height of genius) to VH1’s Behind the Music (Al proving himself the nicest guy in the music biz) to Al’s recent successes and endurance, I’d say he deserves all of the gold records, Grammys, and (all too) occasional accolades. I may no longer listen to “Dare to Be Stupid,” but I still believe in what it stands for.
Weird Al is a good reminder that music can be fun, and funny, in addition to being something that’s most often considered ultra-serious.
Personally, I like a good portion of the music I listen to actively to be seriously fun. Dare to be Stupid, indeed.