Posted on 04/13/2020 11:24:24 AM PDT by billorites
Last summer, in the middle of what struck me as an otherwise very full life, I went to my first Weird Al Yankovic concert. Weird Al, for anyone reading this through a golden monocle, is the most renowned comedy musician in the history of the multiverse — a force of irrepressible wackiness who, back in the 1980s, built a preposterous career out of song parodies and then, somehow, never went away. After 40 years, Yankovic is now no longer a novelty, but an institution — a garish bright patch in the middle of America’s pop-cultural wallpaper, a completely ridiculous national treasure, an absurd living legend.
I have spent much of my life chortling, alone in tiny rooms, to Weird Al’s music. (“I churned butter once or twice living in an Amish paradise” — LOL.) And yet somehow it had never occurred to me to go out and see him live. I think this is for roughly the same reason that it has never occurred to me to make my morning commute in a hot-air balloon or to brush my teeth in Niagara Falls. Parody is not the kind of music you go out to see in person — it’s the joke version of that music. A parody concert felt like a category error, like confusing a mirror for a window. To me, Weird Al had always been a fundamentally private pleasure; I was perfectly content to have him living in my headphones and on YouTube and — very occasionally, when I wanted to aggravate my family — out loud on my home speakers.
< SNIP >
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
:^)
Don McLean, the original author and singer of 'American Pie' has said that he has to sometimes stop himself from singing lyrics from 'The Saga Begins' while in concert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw
White and Nerdy, my favorite by far... 140 million views
Rhino has some good stuff.
He's mastered the art of being musically timeless.
I met Al at a Night Club, ‘The Woodlands’ in Wilkes Barre Pa.......hadn’t a clue who he was. But the musician I was with certainly did. She kept saying..”Dont you know who this is?” Over and over and I kept saying No....even when she said who he was....then I got the Weird Al LOOK!.....I think he was performing at Kirby Center, in the city but was out on the town that night.
You are right. Michael Jackson loved his parodies.
He is a titan.
I’ve seen him live too. Props and all. Great show!
I saw him live in 1983 (I was 13) at Astroworld in Houston, TX. Even got his autograph.
Amazing show, had a blast.
Weird Al was a lifesaver to me. Went in for major surgery twice (heart, then lung) and I was scared to death. But as they wheeled me to the OR, I was singing “Like a Surgeon” which greatly calmed my nerves. The medical staff wheeling me were smiling, too.
Weird Al is a national treasure. I love his `interviews’; Avril Lavigne is my favorite. “Foil” sent me looking up “Royals” by Lorde. Then a classic like “Living with a Hernia” made me watch the original with James Brown.
A comedic genius in Al.
He’s clean, fun and constantly making fun of modern music with their permission. He had his first number one album just a year or two ago. That’s more a reflection of how low modern music has sunk than his quality.
I never heard it any time I listened to Dr. Demento’s radio show, but I hear tell he used to play Frank Zappa’s “Titties and Beer” on occasion - and I do remember hearing other tracks from Zappa (both solo and with Mothers of Invention) on his show.
he absolutely is- feel privileged to have grown up when he came on the scene- Quirky? Sure, but very talented and funny- genuinely funny without being crass mostly-
Great story.
Very funny and touching.
Laughter heals.
Bfl
I love Weird Al. See the video “Foil.”
A rarity....ninety- nine posts and all are on
the positive side of the topic! Make it an even 100!
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