# Does Weird Al belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** music
**Created:** [March 2, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142 "2026-03-02T15:52:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 10
### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/181 "2026-03-06T13:26:21Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#):
>
> I’m positive Al has done an interview or some other bit where he deconstructs the whole incident. ISTR it involves him trolling the fuck out of Prince, like by standing up and loudly yelling for Prince to come sit next to him. Or something.
So I was wrong. In response to a request from Prince’s management that Weird Al not make eye contact with Prince, Al sent a request to Prince’s management demanding that _Prince_ not make eye contact with _him_.
Meanwhile, Night Ranger, who got the memo but didn’t GAF, [trolled The Purple One](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/night-ranger-prince/) when presenting him with the Album of the Year Award.
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/182 "2026-03-06T13:30:27Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#):
>
> You mean [White and Nerdy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw&list=RDN9qYF9DZPdw&start_radio=1)
No, I did not. They are not all nerdy, and young nerds are not in their number. It’s the middle Aged part that seem to matter most.
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#):
>
> Eat It. Michael Jackson is still probably ubiquitous enough to be known by 4th graders
I think you’re horribly out of touch with what most fourth graders are listening to these days. It ain’t Weird Al.
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### Author:  [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/183 "2026-03-06T13:31:39Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#):
>
> Meanwhile, Night Ranger, who got the memo but didn’t GAF, [trolled The Purple One](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/night-ranger-prince/) when presenting him with the Album of the Year Award.
That is FANTASTIC! Until this moment, for decades, I thought Night Ranger was insipid and awful. Starting now and forever, I am a devoted fan. For real.
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/184 "2026-03-06T13:40:19Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#):
>
> I thought Night Ranger was insipid and awful.
They are, but good for them anyway. 😎
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### Author:  [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/185 "2026-03-06T13:42:38Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#):
>
> the song is about songwriting
See also the first two lines of “Handy”:
> First things first, I’m a craftsman,
>
> Remodeling’s my only passion…
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/186 "2026-03-06T13:50:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> I think you’re horribly out of touch with what most fourth graders are listening to these days. It ain’t Weird Al.
I’m probably more in touch with what fourth graders are listening to than most here. You’re correct that most aren’t listening to Weird Al; but he absolutely has a fan base among kids. [Here’s an old thread on good Weird Al for a kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004), and a bit of Googling is finding people reporting about the all-ages, multigenerational aspect of his concerts.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/187 "2026-03-06T14:16:46Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#):
>
> Heck, the song is about songwriting, and includes a non-rhyming line about finding a good rhyme here…
Al’s version is actually titled _(This Song’s Just) Six Words Long_. Using the contraction does make the title six words long.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/188 "2026-03-06T14:17:04Z")
Here’s some concert footage from Madison Square Garden last year, geared up to the point where he’s walking through the crowd. It’s interesting to see the crowd: while middle-age white dudes are disproportionately represented, they by no means make up the entirety of the crowd. There are plenty of women, plenty of kids, and a few people of color.
[https://youtu.be/0c1KGX1H\_GU?t=421](https://youtu.be/YwUQK0pTBw4?t=1230)
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### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/189 "2026-03-06T14:52:25Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#):
>
> I thought Night Ranger was insipid and awful
They were/are. BUT, a girl I was dating in high school had their record, and one day she put it on and we listened to it while we, uh … did that thing that teenagers do (or did, in the 80s; I have no idea what’s going on today).
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/190 "2026-03-06T15:34:02Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#):
>
> So I was wrong. In response to a request from Prince’s management that Weird Al not make eye contact with Prince, Al sent a request to Prince’s management demanding that _Prince_ not make eye contact with _him_.
I’ve always been curious about the eye contact thing, because Prince isn’t the only celebrity I’ve heard this about. It’s so weird.
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/191 "2026-03-06T15:45:34Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> I’m probably more in touch with what fourth graders are listening to than most here.
I’m going by what my own fairly-recently-4th grader kid and her friends listen to.
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> You’re correct that most aren’t listening to Weird Al; but he absolutely has a fan base among kids.
Not disputing that. It was the idea of his ubiquity that I was challenging.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/192 "2026-03-06T15:55:48Z")
Fair enough! It’s true that when I introduce the idea of parody by asking who knows Weird Al, somewhere between a third and a half of students raise their hands–and this is among the nerdier cohort of kids. I’m getting ready to ask the question of a new group in about 15 minutes and will report back.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/193 "2026-03-06T15:57:20Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> I’ve always been curious about the eye contact thing, because Prince isn’t the only celebrity I’ve heard this about. It’s so weird.
Some celebrities…and every damned person in NYC.
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### Author:  [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/194 "2026-03-06T16:08:54Z")
> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> It was the idea of his ubiquity that I was challenging.
Sadly, you were challenging something nobody said. Dr.Winston\_OBoogie said:
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#):
>
> Michael Jackson is still probably ubiquitous enough to be known by 4th graders
I won’t make the obvious joke about the good Doctor’s statement… 😬
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### Author:  [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/195 "2026-03-06T16:10:30Z")
I was watching this cool video about the structure of rap music, and it seems really hard, you guys. Then I thought, Al had to write some crazy bars for some of the songs he parodied. I think many people think to write a rap you just write down some lyrics and rap them, but it’s a lot more complex than that, and I’m impressed he figured out how to do it for White & Nerdy and All About the Pentiums.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWveXdj6oZU)
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### Author:  [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/196 "2026-03-06T16:10:47Z")
I actually think something more along the lines of what was mentioned in Jurassic Park, Ode to a Superhero, and The Saga Begins. Even if they don’t know the original songs, they’re likely to know the movies being referenced and they’re all interesting examples in how an entirely different set of lyrics can be set to a piece of music. (The traditional example of course would be hymns but nobody wants to study that.) Possibly something like Party in the CIA as well as a lot of the humor comes from the dissonance of the vapid original and the darkness of the new lyrics.
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### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/197 "2026-03-06T16:14:35Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> I’ve always been curious about the eye contact thing, because Prince isn’t the only celebrity I’ve heard this about. It’s so weird.
As a data point, I mention that I’ve heard this about both Mike Myers and Michael Jackson.
Never once in my life have I thought that I was so Important that others weren’t to make eye contact with me. Seriously, WTF.
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### Author:  [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/198 "2026-03-06T16:19:25Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#):
>
> Never once in my life have I thought that I was so Important that others weren’t to make eye contact with me. Seriously, WTF.
I wonder if he’s autistic. Some autistic people don’t like to make eye contact. He might have figured he was badass enough to be able to eliminate this uncomfortable thing for himself. It might not be coming from a place of You’re Not Worthy and more from a place of I Decided I Don’t Want to Do This Uncomfortable Thing and Since I’m Prince I Get To Make the Rules.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/199 "2026-03-06T17:14:49Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> I’m getting ready to ask the question of a new group in about 15 minutes and will report back.
Asked thirteen fourth-graders: “Who here has heard of Weird Al?” Five or six hands went up, including one girl who started yelling about how much she hated him. But last year she hated the song from _Hadestown_ that I played, so what does she know?
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### Author:  [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)
#### Post date: [March 6, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-weird-al-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame/1028142/200 "2026-03-06T17:39:08Z")
Haters gonna hate…
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