# Weird Al Yankovic isn't funny
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 1, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300 "2010-09-01T19:37:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/61 "2010-09-03T12:27:20Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#):
>
> > [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#):
> >
> > One of the best Zappa songs ever, totally gets FZ better than FZ ever did–and I say this as a gigantic FZ admirer.
>
> Okay, that is fucking AWESOME. He nailed FZ, absolutely nailed it musically and the funnest bit is that it’s so freaking meta because FZ didn’t like having to write lyrics at all and therefore insisted on writing what he wanted to say rather than what anyone wanted to hear so there’s nothing actually out there in Weird Al’s lyrics that Frank might not have already said. Beautiful job.
Ditto. I hadn’t heard this one before yesterday. Listening to it was like hearing every FZ tune I had ever heard in the past. I wonder if WAY has ever done this piece live? THAT would be impressive.
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### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/62 "2010-09-03T13:00:03Z")
I’m a big Weird Al fan and have been for many years- as others have said, his music is fun, inoffensive, humorous, and on several occasions has inspired me to go and listen to other music by the artist being parodied.
I agree his “style parodies” (where he does a song in the style of, but not directly copying a specific song) of an artist are the best, and I’ve always found it interesting that Weird Al’s career has lasted longer than that of many of the artists he parodies.
Incidentally, this thread is the first I’ve heard of someone actually not liking Weird Al’s music- I’ve come across plenty of people who can take his stuff or leave it, but never someone who doesn’t actually like it. Only on the SDMB, as they say…
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### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/63 "2010-09-03T13:10:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> > [@Moe](#):
> >
> > If you can get your hands on his and Wendy Carlos’ interpretation of Peter and the Wolf, it’s a rare treat. I don’t know why it hides in such obscurity.
>
> Ditto. “And, of course, as always, the part of Bob the Janitor is played by the accordion.”
The whole thing is virtually an MST3K version of the story, done brilliantly. I’d always thought the same thing about the fate of the duck. Their _Carnival of the Animals Part 2_ off the same recording also does a masterful job of copying and often surpassing the style (and jokes) of the original.
_The poodle’s a slimy carnivorous beast
In pastures you might find it grazing
Its fangs measure 23 inches, at least
Its antlers are simply amazing
Sometimes it will bury its head in the sand
Its our main source of pork, ham and bacon
But, then again, on the other hand,
I could be completely mistaken._
---
### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/64 "2010-09-03T18:30:45Z")
It’s hard to do parody and keep up the quality consistantly. Weird Al has some great parodies, such as “Eat It,” “Ricky” and “Like A Surgeon.”
Part of it is when you choose your material. Not all songs lend themselves well to it. Another problem is Weird Al became mainstream. This makes parody artists “uncool.” As soon as Greg Kihn said “I couldn’t wait for Weird Al to parody my song,” (“I lost on Jeopardy”) it was the beginning of the end for Weird Al’s parody.
Ray Stevens was another, some of his songs like “Ahab The Arab,” “The Streak” and “Gitaarzan” are classic, while most others pale in comparison.
The cool thing about the Internet is the ability for everyone to try this now. I’m not saying to the OP “If you can’t do better, don’t complain,” but what I’m saying is why not try.
Take your computer remove the vocals from the track and do your own parody and throw it on YouTube. Who knows you could be the next Weird Al.
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### Author:  [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/65 "2010-09-03T18:36:32Z")
> [@Markxxx](#):
>
> As soon as Greg Kihn said “I couldn’t wait for Weird Al to parody my song,” (“I lost on Jeopardy”) it was the beginning of the end for Weird Al’s parody.
26 years and 11 albums is a hell of a long end.
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### Author:  [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/66 "2010-09-03T19:18:44Z")
> [@Markxxx](#):
>
> It’s hard to do parody and keep up the quality consistantly. Weird Al has some great parodies, such as “Eat It,” “Ricky” and “Like A Surgeon.”
>
> Part of it is when you choose your material. Not all songs lend themselves well to it. Another problem is Weird Al became mainstream. This makes parody artists “uncool.” As soon as Greg Kihn said “I couldn’t wait for Weird Al to parody my song,” (“I lost on Jeopardy”) it was the beginning of the end for Weird Al’s parody.
>
> Ray Stevens was another, some of his songs like “Ahab The Arab,” “The Streak” and “Gitaarzan” are classic, while most others pale in comparison.
>
> The cool thing about the Internet is the ability for everyone to try this now. I’m not saying to the OP “If you can’t do better, don’t complain,” but what I’m saying is why not try.
>
> Take your computer remove the vocals from the track and do your own parody and throw it on YouTube. Who knows you could be the next Weird Al.
Does Ray Stevens do parodies? I don’t recall any. As far as I know (as a former Ray Stevens fan) he just does originals. You may be conflating ‘parody’ and ‘novelty’.
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### Author:  [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/67 "2010-09-03T19:50:28Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#):
>
> > [@DiosaBellissima](#):
> >
> > You’ve mentioned this a few times but never expanded on it. Why the fuck was a 19 year old man on a date with a 14 year old child?
>
> It was a blind double-date. A girlfriend of mine was secretly (i.e., her mother didn’t know) dating one of Dr. Demento’s minions and the only way she could go out in the evening was if it was a “double date.”
>
> She asked me along and my date was Weird Al. The four of us went miniature golfing and the whole evening was mostly spent with the two guys making bodily-function noises with various parts of their bodies. It was more like these “men” were 14 years old.
Wow. That’s the creepiest thing you’ve ever experienced? 😕 I mean, I’m happy that your date with Young Al was so innocuous, but come on - given the setup (“19 year old man goes on blind date with 14 year old girl”), a mini-golf outing full of fart jokes is pretty much the _best case_ scenario.
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### Author:  [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/68 "2010-09-12T23:39:16Z")
If he’s not funny than why would I have bought all his albums? Some of them twice even! No, I say you sir, you are not funny!
That said, I’m in the camp of people who often no longer know the songs he’s parodying on recent albums. But that’s more a problem with the music industry sucking than anything Al can control.
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### Author:  [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/69 "2010-09-14T21:02:27Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#):
>
> Anyone who doubts the genius of Weird Al needs to listen to [Genius In France](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQTNBWIdLeI). You’ll never doubt again.
You beat me to it! This is so true.
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### Author:  [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/70 "2010-09-16T03:31:34Z")
In my imaginary fantasy rock star life, in which I am now transitioning from established alternative to proto elder statesman, I was recently reminded of something I mumbled out during one of my breakout interviews when I said something like two of the greatest honors I could ever hope for was to have Weird Al parody one of my songs and Johnny Cash cover one. At the time it was assumed to be a sarcastic missive to a twerp corporate magazine writer tool, but no one could really tell for sure if maybe I wasn’t, in fact, sincere. (As was the custom of the day.) “When those things actually happened,” the self styled proto elder stateman rock star interviewer tool asked, “was it as big an honor as you thought it would be?”
“Bigger.”
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### Author:  [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/71 "2010-09-16T05:39:44Z")
I say he’s performed a great public service just by coming up with “Jurassic Park” as a treatment for that ear-worm of ridiculous lyrics it truly improves, “MacArthur Park.”
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### Author:  [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/72 "2010-09-16T05:55:32Z")
I know little about music as an academic subject, but I could easily see Weird Al’s approach to style parodies as the topic of at least an undergraduate course. I imagine you have to have a deep appreciation and understanding of a band or a genre to pull that kind of thing off _convincingly_. (And to persuade some of the principals in the genre to play along with you, no less.)
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### Author:  [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/73 "2010-09-16T20:38:05Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#):
>
> I say he’s performed a great public service just by coming up with “Jurassic Park” as a treatment for that ear-worm of ridiculous lyrics it truly improves, “MacArthur Park.”
Have you heard the version where Al sings it in Japanese? :eek:
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### Author:  [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/74 "2010-09-16T21:53:01Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#):
>
> Another example is “[This Song is Just Six Words Long](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sppRrbtxVD0),” a parody of George Harrison’s “I Got My Mind Set On You” that is SOOOO freaking repetitive. In Al’s version, the chorus is just the title over and over and over.
True Story ™: a friend of mine in college unintentionally preempted the gag.
Friend: “So, whatcha listening to there.”
Me: “Weird Al’s new album.”
Friend: “Cool. Anything good?”
Me: “There’s a pretty funny parody of ‘Got My Mind Set On You’.”
Friend: 😕 “How do you write a parody of a song with no lyrics?”
Me: Laughing too hard to speak, just cued up my Walkman to ‘(This Song’s Just) Six Words Long’ and handed it over.
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### Author:  [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/75 "2010-09-17T01:06:11Z")
I’ve seen The Eagles, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones and Tom Petty all in concert. NONE compared to Weird Al. He’s the man.
In short, I disagree strongly.
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### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/76 "2010-09-17T20:26:40Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#):
>
> [QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness]
> Agreed–Bob is probably my favorite of his songs, currently. I show this video to my class sometimes, and it amazes them–and they don’t even have the cultural background to appreciate its parodic aspect.
Do you also play the [original Dylan video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNCmaX2ZCig&feature=PlayList&p=275C2FA43E990049&index=0&playnext=1), just to give them the context and a better feel for why it’s such an effective parody?.
[/QUOTE]
When I saw Al’s “Bob” video, I’d never seen the Dylan version, so I assumed he was parodying INXS’s “[Mediate](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFUEgFdP5zE)”.
> [@N9IWP](#):
>
> I still laugh at “Tha Saga Begins” (American Pie - I prefer it to the origibnal)
The uncanny thing about that song is that Al wrote the entire thing based on Internet rumors and leaks well before _The Phantom Menace_ was released in theaters.
> [@Khadaji](#):
>
> In small doses a parody song sometimes makes me laugh. Now I’m so out of touch that I don’t know the song that he is parodying, so it is much less amusing.
I’ve always thought one of the most impressive things about Al’s parodies is that, in most cases, they’re still funny even if you _haven’t_ heard the original.
> [@Bob Ducca](#):
>
> SmartAleq hit on something I love about Al - how meta some of his songs are… Two of my favorite examples are in “Smells Like Nirvana” when he sings about having marbles in his mouth while sounding all garbled. That was the big joke about “Teen Spirit” when it came out, was how hard it was to understand Cobain.
Meta? You want _meta_? I’ll give you meta! In “Fat”, his parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad”, he replaces Jackson’s “Jam on … jam on…” with “Ham on … ham on … ham on whole wheat”. Did you know that the Spanish word for ham is … “jamón”, and is pronounced, roughly, “ham on”?
> [@](#):
>
> Another example is “[This Song is Just Six Words Long](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sppRrbtxVD0),” a parody of George Harrison’s “I Got My Mind Set On You” that is SOOOO freaking repetitive. In Al’s version, the chorus is just the title over and over and over.
Another meta aspect is Al’s line, “No I never wrote the lyrics”, which I always assumed was Al’s poke at the fact that Harrison, a respected songwriter, did _not_ write “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You” himself.
> [@Markxxx](#):
>
> Ray Stevens was another, some of his songs like “Ahab The Arab,” “The Streak” and “Gitaarzan” are classic, while most others pale in comparison.
The problem with Ray Stevens is that, after he made his big “comeback” with “The Mississippi Squirrel Revival”, practically every song on his followup albums sounded exactly the same. It was like, “Hey, this formula works! Let’s do ten more just like it!” And the fact that he didn’t actually write most (any?) of them himself. I do have to tip my hat to his song, “Dudley Do-right of the Highway Patrol”, in which he gets pulled over by a Southern cop who just happens to be related to just about every character character who has featured in one of Ray’s songs (“Like I was saying to my wife, Ethel … you remember Ethel? That ‘shameless hussy’?” And the song ends brilliantly as Stevens is being hauled off to jail and the cop says, “I guess everything ain’t so dad-burned beautiful _now_ is it?” 😃
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### Author:  [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/77 "2010-09-17T20:33:22Z")
> [@Koxinga](#):
>
> I know little about music as an academic subject, but I could easily see Weird Al’s approach to style parodies as the topic of at least an undergraduate course. I imagine you have to have a deep appreciation and understanding of a band or a genre to pull that kind of thing off _convincingly_. (And to persuade some of the principals in the genre to play along with you, no less.)
I’m a grad student in musicology, and I intend to write something about Weird Al someday–some of my classmates are trying to convince me to do my Master’s thesis on him, but I think that might jeopardize my career prospects a little. Once I’ve published something serious, _then_ I’ll do it. 😉
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### Author:  [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/78 "2010-09-17T21:35:16Z")
> [@ErinPuff](#):
>
> > [@Koxinga](#):
> >
> > I know little about music as an academic subject, but I could easily see Weird Al’s approach to style parodies as the topic of at least an undergraduate course. I imagine you have to have a deep appreciation and understanding of a band or a genre to pull that kind of thing off _convincingly_. (And to persuade some of the principals in the genre to play along with you, no less.)
>
> I’m a grad student in musicology, and I intend to write something about Weird Al someday–some of my classmates are trying to convince me to do my Master’s thesis on him, but I think that might jeopardize my career prospects a little. Once I’ve published something serious, _then_ I’ll do it. 😉
You should do your master’s thesis on jazz music. I bet that would be really easy because you can just make it up as you go along.
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### Author:  [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/79 "2010-09-17T23:06:40Z")
Most of the time, I listen to Weird Al because he’s funny. He writes some really clever jokes, and does it in rhyme. He makes someone else’s composition work for him.
But when I really look at what he’s done, I’m amazed at the levels in a lot of his stuff. On the most basic level, he’s written new lyrics to a familiar tune, which is amusing by itself, and is often all anyone else’s parody song has going for it. Then there’s the level where the lines don’t just fit into the same lyric structure as the original, but they’re actually good jokes. Then there’s the level where you notice he’s also making fun of some completely different aspect of modern life, such as eBay or computer nerds.
Most parodies aren’t so ‘deep.’
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### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-al-yankovic-isnt-funny/552300/80 "2010-09-18T02:40:28Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#):
>
> > [@RealityChuck](#):
> >
> > I’ve never been impressed by Yankovic. Allan Sherman and Larry Siegel did it much better and funnier in the 1960s.
>
> I like to think Weird Al popularized the form. Sherman and Siegel were doing it for a kind of _MAD_ segment of the audience that was already used to parody. Weird Al took it right to the Top 40, which I consider a valuable public service.
Hmmm…I wanna go back on part of what I wrote here. But only part.
What I meant to say was that in the 60s, parody (of anything, really) was more restrictive. It wasn’t a sophisticated, intelligensia thing - hell, 10yos read _MAD_ and played the little flexible 45s inside - but it was definitely _not_ something any old wacko with a guitar and some talent could do. Comedy was more of a _trade_ then. You had to be a recognizable regional, ethnic or class type, for one thing. And you had to poke fun on the level of the man in the street - nothing absurd, nothing surreal, nothing that was going to rock anybody’s world.
What Weird Al did, for song parody anyway, was open up the field. Here’s this guy who’s basically just a smart music geek with a sense of humor - he doesn’t do trade comedy - and of course, if trade comedy is what means funny to you, you’ll find him sophomoric and dull. But if you have even a little po-mo in you, a little self-reflexive spirit and irreverence for what makes money and fame, you’ll get him.
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