The Weirdly Enduring Appeal of Weird Al Yankovic

New York Times Magazine ^ | April 13, 2020 | Sam Anderson

[billorites]

A very sympathetic, and long, portrait of Wierd Al. I highly recommend it.

[mylife]

The MAD magazine of rock and roll!

[Buckeye McFrog]

Several reasons.

- He’s funny!

- He’s really a damned good musician.

- He is smart enough to keep politics the hell out of his act.

- He’s 60 and gives us all hope we can keep having fun as we age.

[dfwgator]

If you ever get a chance to see him live, do it!

One of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

[ConservativeDude]

my understanding is that some - perhaps many - mainstream music artists actually have asked Weird Al to parody them.

When that happens, they know they’ve made it......

I know that the composer of Hamilton (Lin Manual Miranda) was extremely honored.

[vespa300]

He’s just always been likeable to me.

[dfwgator]

I love his fake interviews, especially the Eminem one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QOya9-lwQk

[brownsfan]

Weird Al does what most dads do, change the lyrics of popular songs. Only, Weird Al is good at it.

[Will88]

We need a song parody addressing the coronavirus from Weird Al. I know he could do it appropriately.

[Joe Brower]

Al's parody of "Blurred Lines" is a work of pure genius:

WORD CRIMES

[Fiddlstix]

Weasel Stomping Day

[RoosterRedux]

Weird Al is crazy...like a fox. And he's a genius.

I have watched more of his videos than the ones he is lampooning.

.He is much better than Michael Jackson or Madonna anyway.

[Yo-Yo]

The Saga Begins

Oh my my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

https://youtu.be/hEcjgJSqSRU

[dfwgator]

Not everything he does is a parody.

I love his “Christmas at Ground Zero” video

[mylife]

He ripped off Alan Sherman, so did Lynrd Skinrd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=4yFTOvO0utY&feature=emb_logo

:)

[Leaning Right]

> He ripped off Alan Sherman <

Not ripped off, but inspired by.

:)

[Berosus]

Although I’m not related to Weird Al, I feel a connection with him. We’re both from the same town, San Luis Obispo, CA, and we’re the same age. And the article makes it sound like he got started in the 1980s, but that’s only when he hit the big time with his parodies. I also remember hearing him in the 1970s, when his instrument of choice was the accordion and only Dr. Demento would play his songs.

[mylife]

I loved that stuff as a kid.

[RoosterRedux]

Word Crimes has had over 48.5 million (yep, that's million) hits.

Mindbogglng.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Thanks for posting this. Love his stuff.