I first saw W.A.Y. in the mid 1980s on a Coca-Cola commercial. It showed a guy from behind wearing a Michael Jackson-style jacket, dancing like Michael Jackson, and with long ringlets like… you-know-who. He turns around and it’s Weird Al, with a Coke instead of a Pepsi. At the time I thought “huh, a guy,” not knowing any better.
Of course once I heard his music I realized how much talent he had. My favorite song of his would be the takeoff on Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” composed entirely of palindromes. (LONELY TYLENOL) And the video that was a perfect homage to Dylan’s short film of it, down to the guy wearing tallit in the background, whoever that was in place of Allen Ginsberg.
Growing up, I often rode past the house on North Belvoir in South Euclid, Ohio, with a sign out front: “Home of Frank Yankovic” (locally famous accordionist from the Polka Varieties show; theme song: “No Beer in Heaven”). Him & Al, just a coincidence of a common Slovenian or Croatian last name plus accordion.
Yankovic being the equivalent of Jackson or Johnson northeast of the Adriatic, there are naturally going to be various persons of the same surname who aren’t related.
Lehrer and Minchin are both very well, but for sheer parodic inventiveness and performativity the only comparison is Randy Rainbow.
If you like Tim Minchin, you may be interested in this production of Jesus Christ Superstar which will be playing on YouTube for just 48 hours with Minchin playing Judas:
I agree. Just brilliant. And so poetically Dylanesque. He captures Bob’s style in his lyrics. Weird Al deserves the Ig Nobel prize for this one, at least.
Ah, Satan sees Natasha
No devil lived on
Lonely tylenol
Not a banana baton
Pa’s a sap
Ma is as selfless as I am
May a moody baby doom a yam?
I agree he’d be great, but I’m not sure if he’d agree to go on with dozens of half-naked dancers. I’m also not sure how his twerking is. IOW, the guy who refuses to curse is probably too good for a Superbowl show.
I would argue that, in fact, of all the musical artists who are eligible for the R&RHOF but not in, he is the MOST deserving, with the arguable exceptions of Supertramp, Iron Maiden, and OutKast.
I realize this is not a common opinion and he is, in fairness, difficult to compare to other artists, but I’ll stand by it. What makes a musician one of the greats?
Longetivity? He’s got it.
Popularity? He’s got that too.
Musical skill? Absolutely.
Influence? For sure. To some extent his influence bleeds over into other forms of entertainment, but that counts; his CULTURAL impact is far greater than many inductees.
Weird Al isn’t just the greatest comedy musician of all time; he basically is modern comedy music. He’s in first place and no one is in second.