# "Weird Al" gives Pharrell the "Tacky" treatment **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 14, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107 "2014-07-14T21:40:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/201 "2014-07-24T14:34:57Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [Weird Al’s Mandatory Fun will now be his first Billboard #1 album.](http://uproxx.com/music/2014/07/weird-al-yankovic-is-finally-no-1-on-the-billboard-charts-with-mandatory-fun/) And, if that weren’t such a high honor itself . . . **“Weird Al” gets his first ever Porn Parody!** The link goes to The Onion AV Club but the word “Porn” is prominently featured in the headline, so I’m going to treat it as a NSFW link and put it under a Spoiler tag. In terms of graphic images, it’s more or less SFW. The article describes WoodRocket dot com’s photo gallery for “Weird & Naked UHF”, a parody of Al’s movie _UHF_, with non-nude photos included for the AV CLub article and a link to the full uncensored gallery. [The A.V. Club — Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed.](http://www.avclub.com/article/weird-al-yankovic-inspires-uhf-porn-parody-has-off-207273) ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/202 "2014-07-26T03:43:45Z")
O.K., I fully recognize that it is _tacky_ to bump a Thread just to say “Hey, everybody! Read my last post!!!” and I will accept any disapprobation that may be heaped upon me . . . . . . but I can only conjecture that the Porn Parody news failed to incite response simply because everyone who was interested in a “Weird Al” Thread had already had their fill after four pages and, therefore, anyone who might be interested in the news of the porn parody just did not see my post announcing it. I just can’t believe that anyone here read the news of the porn parody and yet felt no need to comment on it. C’mon! When would you ever again have the opportunity to type a sentence like: “Hey, the woman playing Stanley Spadowski is really hot!” ? O.K., I won’t bump the Thread again. If no one’s interested in the UHF porn parody, it’s your own loss. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/203 "2014-07-26T04:05:22Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I just can’t believe that anyone here read the news of the porn parody and yet felt no need to comment on it. Words fail me. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/204 "2014-07-26T04:10:06Z")
Tacky was great, but Word Crimes made me (literally) hyperventilate from laughing. Oh my lord, that guy has still got it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/205 "2014-07-26T06:31:06Z")
Question: I was thinking of buying the album on iTunes, since I have a credit there, and it would be my first non-physical purchase of one of his albums (on the assumption that I could just burn my own copy). Would I be missing anything substantial by doing so? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/206 "2014-07-26T06:49:37Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Question: I was thinking of buying the album on iTunes, since I have a credit there, and it would be my first non-physical purchase of one of his albums (on the assumption that I could just burn my own copy). Would I be missing anything substantial by doing so? The artwork is cool but there isn’t anything special about the packaging: just a booklet stuffed in a standard jewel case. There may be some jokes in the liner notes, I don’t have it in from of me to check right now. No “easter eggs” or hidden tracks. None of the porn linked above is included in the CD booklet. 😛 I’d say the booklet doesn’t provide anything of value to anyone who would even consider buying the digital album instead. If you’re not the kind of fan who considers the physical CD with artwork to be a must-have even before seeing it, then I’d say that this particular release isn’t spectacular enough that it would sway you from your inclination toward the iTunes purchase. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/207 "2014-08-31T03:35:42Z")
I just recognized a “secondary joke” in “Word Crimes”. Al sings: You should never write words using numbers Unless you’re 7 Or your name is “Prince” While reading a completely unrelated article, I discovered that Prince once recorded a song titled, “7”. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/208 "2014-08-31T07:54:11Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I just recognized a “secondary joke” in “Word Crimes”. > > Al sings: > > You should never write words using numbers > Unless you’re 7 > Or your name is “Prince” > > While reading a completely unrelated article, I discovered that Prince once recorded a song titled, “7”. Also, the movie **Seven** is sometimes referred to in print as **Se7ven**. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/209 "2014-08-31T09:16:46Z")
Actually, it’s referred to as _Se7en_. In fact, the IMDb gives _Se7en_ as the official title. _Seven_ is listed as an alternative spelling title: > **[Se7en (1995) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)** > > Se7en: Directed by David Fincher. With Morgan Freeman, Andrew Kevin Walker, Daniel Zacapa, Brad Pitt. Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives. > **[Se7en (1995) - Release info - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/releaseinfo/?ref_=tt_dt_dt)** > > Se7en (1995) - Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/210 "2014-09-02T14:00:50Z")
Yeah, I was surprised that the video goes with a drawing like a seven-year-old. I thought it was clear that he meant the movie se7en. Wifey agrees. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/211 "2014-09-02T22:04:07Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > Yeah, I was surprised that the video goes with a drawing like a seven-year-old. I thought it was clear that he meant the movie se7en. Wifey agrees. Not so clear to me. _I_ thought it was clear that there’s no excuse for writing words with numbers, unless you’re 7 years old (or your name is “Prince”). Al is usually pretty current with his jokes as well, and the movie _Se7en_ is old enough that the target audience for “Blurred Lines” probably wouldn’t remember it. Hell, I watched _Se7en_ shortly after it came out on DVD, and I certainly didn’t think of it when I heard the song. But then, maybe he _was_ thinking of the movie, in which case the line is a _triple_ word play. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/212 "2014-09-02T22:07:23Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Not so clear to me. _I_ thought it was clear that there’s no excuse for writing words with numbers, unless you’re 7 years old (or your name is “Prince”). Right. The movie thing doesn’t make any sense. Sorry, **gonzoron** family. And when that movie came out I called it “SeSevenen” whenever I could. I think that kind of typography silly. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/213 "2014-09-03T14:01:47Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Al is usually pretty current with his jokes as well, and the movie _Se7en_ is old enough that the target audience for “Blurred Lines” probably wouldn’t remember it. And yet would know who Prince is? And that he uses numbers for letters in song titles? Al still attempts (and succeeds) to remain hip to the youngsters, but there are gags for all ages in his best songs. I’m sticking with my interpretation. You’re free to stick with yours. Guess we’ll have to wait for another “Ask Al” or “I am Weird Al AMA” to ask him to be sure… ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/214 "2014-09-03T14:25:06Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Actually, it’s referred to as _Se7en_. In fact, the IMDb gives _Se7en_ as the official title. _Seven_ is listed as an alternative spelling title: > > [Se7en (1995) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) > > [Se7en (1995) - Release info - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_dt_dt#akas) Which is, of course, wrong. The title of the film, filed with the MPAA ratings board, is **Seven** : [http://filmratings.com/search.html?filmTitle=seven&x=0&y=0](http://filmratings.com/search.html?filmTitle=seven&x=0&y=0) The people who run the IMDB are just stupid sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/215 "2014-09-03T14:30:51Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > I’m sticking with my interpretation. You’re free to stick with yours. [The answer is in the video, and you’re wrong.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8Gv0H-vPoDc) Sorry. I also don’t remember a character named Seven in that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/216 "2014-09-03T15:03:48Z")
The IMDb has a precise definition for what the title of a film is. They consider it to be the title that appears on the screen during the title sequence of the film. They do not consider it to be the title that appears on the film posters or in the advertisements for the film or on the DVD cases or in TV showings or any other such thing. The title that appears on the screen during the film is _Se7en_. The MPAA board has a different definition, which I don’t know about. Similarly, the IMDb and the Oscars have different definitions of what year a film opened. The IMDb considers it to be the first public showing of the film, no matter where that happens or for how long it lasts. The Oscars considers it to be the year that it showed for a week straight at a movie theater in Los Angeles County. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/217 "2014-09-03T16:24:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > [The answer is in the video, and you’re wrong.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8Gv0H-vPoDc) Sorry. I also don’t remember a character named Seven in that movie. _shrug_ If Al made the video himself, I’d agree, but he contracted it out to an animator named Jarrett Heather. I don’t know how closely together they worked, or if Heather just missed the (alleged) Se7en joke or decided to go a different way with it. So I’m going to keep being “wrong” if you don’t mind. In the grand scheme of things, a 2 second gag in a parody song is not high on my list of things to get worked up about. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/218 "2014-09-03T16:37:11Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > _shrug_ If Al made the video himself, I’d agree, but he contracted it out to an animator named Jarrett Heather. The thing that kills me is that I knew you were going to reject this clearly definitive cite and I went ahead and posted it anyway, hoping against hope that it would resolve this. I’m a fool of a Doper, I guess. And I’m going to keep trying: you don’t think Weird Al saw the video before it was done and approved of its contents? ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/219 "2014-09-03T22:05:14Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The thing that kills me is that I knew you were going to reject this clearly definitive cite and I went ahead and posted it anyway, hoping against hope that it would resolve this. I’m a fool of a Doper, I guess. I’m not sure why you’d think I’d consider the video definitive, since my first post on the subject was: > [@gonzoron](#): > > Yeah, I was surprised that the video goes with a drawing like a seven-year-old. I thought it was clear that he meant the movie se7en. Wifey agrees. Clearly I’d seen the video and been unconvinced. > [@](#): > > And I’m going to keep trying: you don’t think Weird Al saw the video before it was done and approved of its contents? Of course he saw and approved it, but would he really tell the guy to go back and fix it for missing/reinterpreting one joke? Maybe he liked that version better. Maybe it was “good enough” and there wasn’t time to fix it. I don’t know. The fact remains that the video is the video and the song is the song and the video doesn’t prove anything with respect to the intent of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107/220 "2014-09-03T22:33:52Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > I’m not sure why you’d think I’d consider the video definitive, since my first post on the subject was: Of course. :smack: I’d lost track of where this ridiculousness began. > [@](#): > > Of course he saw and approved it, but would he really tell the guy to go back and fix it for missing/reinterpreting one joke? Yes. These are professional creative people and paying attention to detail is really important. Botched jokes aren’t very funny, and neither are obscure references to movie titles. For the record, your version still doesn’t make sense; there’s nobody named Seven in _Seven_ (the killer is John Doe) and nobody in the movie writes words using numbers. It’s just something they did with the title. And yes, [Prince is still somewhat well known.](http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/02/03/prince_guest_stars_on_new_girl_watch_the_episode_now_video.html) In fact he’s [kind of a big deal.](http://ultimateclassicrock.com/top-five-super-bowl-halftime-show-performances/) [A really big deal.](http://www.cc.com/video-clips/e748yj/chappelle-s-show-charlie-murphy-s-true-hollywood-stories---prince---uncensored) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-gives-pharrell-the-tacky-treatment/693107.md?page=12)