Dueling "Weird Al" Lists

 As you know by now, "Weird Al" Yankovic released his 14th studio album, Mandatory Fun, a few weeks ago and for the first time in Al's 30 year career, he has the #1 album in the country. I thought it would be a good time to finally make a "Weird Al" list here on WWoB and I asked my good friend Brian From CA to come up with a list of his own. Brian is the only other true Al aficionado that I have ever met. Funny side story, both Brian and I had the same first concert experience when our dads took us to see Weird Al and The Monkeys at Meriwether Post Pavilion in 1987...10 years before Brian and I ever met! Good times!

So here's a list from me and then from Brian of our Top 10 Favorite Weird Al Songs! Brian is a professional writer in the video game industry and his list is written better than mine, so I'll dump mine on you first!

Ed's List:

10.  “Eat It”
As with most people, this is where it all started for me! I was in the 5^th grade when “Eat It” became the hit that it was. I had always loved the little parody songs that would play on the wacky morning shows on the radio, but here was somebody doing a whole album of crazy songs. I got the record album and just about wore the grooves out in the thing listening to it over and over again!  Every time I hear this song, it takes me right back to the center of my childhood and the beginning of my life-long love of Weird Al.

9.  “Amish Paradise”

I think “Amish Paradise” (a parody of Coolio’s Gangster’s Paradise) is Al’s most well crafted parody. Contrasting the original song’s lyrics about growing up on the city streets with the trails and tribulations of raising a barn and making butter in the Amish community is nothing short of brilliant. The song also packs a joke into just about every line of the lyrics.

8. “Mr. Frump In The Iron Lung”

Going all the back to the closing track of Al’s very first album, there’s just something in the simplicity of this little ditty that has always amused me. An ode to a dying friend lying in a iron lung, the sound of the iron lung played by the air release valve on Al’s accordion. Any use of the accordion in any song gets points in my book, perhaps this is the most ingenious use of the instrument – ever! 

7. “This Is The Life”

From Weird Al’s third album, Dare to be Stupid, is this ode to greed, success and self-worship all set to the tune of a 1930’s speakeasy piano. It also helps that the song served as the theme song to the 1984 film “Johnny Dangerously” – a hilarious & forgotten gangster comedy.

 

6. “Albuquerque”

I get the feeling that if Al were to just put out an album of music that he wanted to make, and didn’t worry about parodying popular songs or hitting on certain trends, this is the kind of music we would get – a rollicking, all-over-the-place, high energy music extravaganza that just pushes on for way longer than the average song.

5. “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota”

One of the few songs in the world that really speaks to me, this rambling ballad is a tribute to all the tacky road side attractions that I begged my parents to stop at on family vacations. 

4. “Good Old Days”

Instead of packing in as many jokes as possible into a song, it also pays off the have a slow build. There’s only maybe three or four jokes in this song but the way it’s structured and layed out has always left me in stitches. I actually have always wished I could play guitar just so I could go to a coffee house and perform this song.

 3. “Your Horoscope For The Day”

A series of tragic events awaits each and everyone of us, no matter what month you were born in. Another example of Al just letting loose and doing what he wants to do.

2. “Happy Birthday”

What separates a true Weird Al fan from the casual listener is having all the lyrics to a punk rock parody, like this classic,  firmly cemented into your brain since you were 10 years old.

1. “Bedrock Anthem”

I’m a huge Flintstones fan!  When Al’s 1993 album Alapalooza came out, my friend that worked at a record store was so excited to break the news to me that Al did a song about the Flintstones.  The tune is actually a duel parody of Red Hot Chili Peppers hits starting with a few seconds of Under The Bridge and then quickly moving into Give It Away. Gotta be honest with ya, never heard the original Give It Away but I sure love what Al has done with it. With audio clips from the original television series and cringe worthy puns, this a perfect song in my universe. The song is also featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 live action Flintstones film, however it is not actually heard in the movie.

 

 

Brian’s Top Ten Al Hits

 

10. “You’re Pitiful”

This song was only released online back when that was still a pretty novel thing to do. According to the internet, James Blunt gave his blessing for Al to use the parody on his Straight Outta Lynwood album but then Blunt’s record label refused. The intro to this song makes me laugh every single time I hear it, but I mainly chose it because I knew Ed was going to throw at least one “non-album” song on his list.

9. “Word Crimes”

I’m doing my best not to weight this list too heavily toward Mandatory Fun, which only released a few days ago. However, as a writer I have to admire a song about common grammar blunders, and it is an excellent example of Al taking a song that is basically unlistenable and turning it into something that I play regularly.

 

8. “Yoda”

As a kid I didn’t even realize this was a parody. I guess at age 8 I just wasn’t that into The Kinks?? I had to include a Star Wars song on my list, and since “The Saga Begins” is all about Episode I and “Yoda” is primarily about Empire, it wins. Also, props to Weird Al for suggesting that Luke will still be making these movies when he’s “old and grey.” Those lyrics were kind of sad through the 90’s and 00’s, but now have turned out to be completely accurate!

 

7. “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota”

Every now and then Al includes a 7 to 9-minute-long, random, rambling, epic song on his album, and they’re usually pretty great. This one, “Albuquerque,” and the new “Jackson Park Express” are a few examples. When my daughter was a baby and I was searching my brain for songs I actually knew the words to so I could sing her to sleep, I was surprised to discover “Biggest Ball of Twine” was on the list. Especially since the whole list was only like four songs. So it gets the nod.

 

6. “I’ll Be Mellow When I’m Dead”

Al has always kept his material pretty clean and family-friendly, while maybe inching into PG-13 territory here and there. Occasionally, though, he is capable of razor-sharp satire, and this song is the best example. This is young, angry Al eviscerating California hippie and yuppie culture. I reached all the way back to Al’s first album for this one, in 1983. And to this day I’d still rather have a Big Mac or a Jumbo Jack than all the bean sprouts in Japan.

 

5. “My Own Eyes”

In case you’re someone who has far more of a life than me or Ed, which is entirely possible, let me explain the many sub-genres of Al’s music. There’s the Parody (obviously), the Polkas, which mash up several songs with (mostly) their original lyrics, Al’s own Original Songs… and then there’s the Style Tribute. That’s where Al writes all the music and lyrics, but the entire song is presented as if it was written by an established band. I had to include at least one on the list, and this tribute to the Foo Fighters is my absolute favorite. As a Foo Fighters fan, I can hear their DNA all up in this song. Great driving music!

 

4. “UHF”

Possibly the best “end-credits” song ever written, “UHF” was the theme for Weird Al’s movie of the same name. As kids, my brother and I were delirious with excitement to see Weird Al on the big screen. Pretty sure my mom wanted to claw her eyes out the whole time. Luckily the running time was only 97 minutes! I can’t wait to play this rocking tribute to the UHF dial for my daughter someday, so I can then try to explain to her what “UHF” is. …Also what a “dial” is.

3. “NOW That’s What I Call Polka”

Had to include a polka on the list, and while there are many excellent choices, ultimately I had to go with his latest effort. Even though it’s a little on the short side, this was the first time in three decades of dedicated Al listening that I knew 100% of the songs in the polka. Seriously! I recognized every single song!

 

2. “White and Nerdy”

I was already a big fan of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’,” and Al’s take on the hip-hop instant classic did not disappoint. Not only did he squeeze every ounce of comedy potential out of the white and nerdy concept, but Al also released an amazing video with even more jokes in it! It also proved once and for all, and I say this without an ounce of irony, that “Weird Al” Yankovic can spit mad fire on the mic.

 

1. “Dare to be Stupid”

Even though this always felt like an original to me, it’s actually a Style Tribute to Devo. In fact, Al recreates Devo’s style so well I think he actually surpasses the original artists! Even Mark Mothersbaugh admitted that Al’s song was so beautifully executed that “I hate him for it, basically.” While it has its roots in the 80’s, it always sounded timeless to me and it sort of feels more like Al’s official theme song than any of his other work. And, of course, and I know Ed’s been waiting for this, “Dare to be Stupid” gets the number one spot on my list because of its inclusion in the 1986 animated masterpiece “The Transformers: The Movie.”

edTunes - Polka Face

I haven't cared much for "Weird Al's" recent animated videos as they just seem to simply illustrate the lyrics of the song but the new video for his polka medley "Polka Face" is really neat. There's a bunch of visual styles on display, plus there is visual humor independent of the song.

Jokes.com
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Polka Face
comedians.comedycentral.com
Jokes Joke of the Day Funny Jokes

"Weird Al" Yankovic's new concert film debuts this weekend on Comedy Central.

"Weird Al" is Back!

There's one thing my stepson and I can agree on: the release of a new "Weird Al" Yankovic album is the greatest day of the year! Alpocalypse marks the 13th studio album from Al - and it's a doozy! Even though six of the 12 songs were already released on the internet, the remaining six are so fun it's just as good as getting an all-new CD! There are some classic Al moments on this CD. Overall, it was worth the five year wait since his last album. The first track on the album is not only a parody of a Lady Gaga song, it's also a send up for Gaga herself...

Funny or Die Beats "Weird Al" at Twitter

Funny Or Die Beats Weird Al at Twitter from Al Yankovic

Burrito Joe

If you are a friend of mine on Facebook, I apologize and you can skip this entry because I know I've been going on about it all weekend over on the ol' FB. But...for the rest of you:

Friday night Joey closed the door on his public school education. His high school graduation was upon us. Instead of having the class valedictorian speak at the ceremony, the school held auditions for two random students to present a speech to their class. We were proud of Joey for just trying out for the gig...we were even more proud when he snagged a spot...and his mother and I both were beaming with pride the night of the graduation and we heard the speech. Joey delivered a humorous, motivational, and totally engaging address to an audience of not only his peers but at least 1,000 other audience members crammed into every corner of the school's football stadium. There was a thunderous applause when Joey was done entertaining and inspiring the crowd.

After the proceedings, Joey and his mother and I were stopped by tons of people telling us how good Joey was and how impressed or moved they were with his speech. For the evening Joey was a rock star and we were his entourage.

The excitement carried over the next day when a quote from Joey's speech was the headline of the town's newspaper. "The World is Your Burrito" the headline read...a passage from Joey's speech which was actually a quote from a "Weird Al" song. (I have to take a little credit for introducing Joey to the world of "Weird Al" Yankovic.)

Here's a clip from the article:

It was likely the most important speech of Joseph [last name]'s life so far.

And, the [name of school] High School graduate said, while grinning in his cap and gown, he was wearing what can only be described as "a silky dress."

Luckily, 299 other graduates were right there with him at Friday's graduation.

"The world is your burrito," he said, drawing laughs from his classmates. "Think of your future not as a task, but an endless hallway with every door open."

After graduation, about 78 percent of the graduates are going on to higher education, 13 percent are going into the workforce, 4 percent are joining the military and 5 percent are undecided.

No matter what their next step will be, [Last name] encouraged all of the graduates not to waste their potential, but to never forget where they came from. "The past is something that should be cherished," he said.

That past has held many memories for the Class of 2010, from elementary school trips to the zoo and birthday parties, to sports games at the [team stadium], to first loves and first breakups, [last name] said.

Before heading off to Senior Week at the beach...for a full seven days of mini-golf, sandcastles and ice cream sodas - No doubt...Joey had time to upload my home video of his speech onto YouTube. For some reason, the site isn't giving me the code to paste the video on this site, so click through the link below to watch the video of Joey's phenomenal graduation speech.

Click on this link, not the picture, for the YouTube Video of Joey's Graduation Speech

10 Great Movie Cameos

If a few text messages back and forth constitutes a conversation then...The other day I was having a conversation with a good friend about one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, cameo appearance in a movie ever! We both agreed that it's got to be Big Bird in The Muppet Movie (1979). Now, The Muppet Movie is a landmark film in cameos anyway. The movie is packed with brief appearances by some of the biggest legends in showbiz: Orson Wells, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Richard Pryor to name a few. But who would have ever guessed that a Muppet could make a cameo in a Muppet movie? While driving along on their way to Hollywood, Kermit and Fozzie see a strange figure in the road up ahead. It turns out to be Big Bird traveling in the opposite direction. It turns out he's on his way to New York City to break into public television. Comedy gold! That kind of humor is sort of common place today, but that was oddly self-referential for 1979.

So, as the title of this post suggests, this got me thinking about some other great cameos in movies and it was an excuse for me to make a list.

Chevy Chase in Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird (1985)
My other all-time favorite cameo comes from another Muppet filled motion picture and it's one of my all-time favorite movie stars. Chevy Chase was the number one box-office star when he appeared in this big screen venture for the timeless children's show. Chevy plays a news reporter on television who first breaks the story that Big Bird has run away from Sesame Street...or Sesaim Street as he pronounces it. In just a few brief moments on screen he is hilarious. After a remote spot from on the scene reporter Kermit the Frog, Chevy returns to do the weather: "And now for the weather. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....A wonderful day in the neighborhood. Won't you be...my neighbor." It still makes me laugh!

Ethel Merman in Airplane! (1980) At a mental hospital: "It's Lieutenant Hurwitz. Severe shell-shock. Thinks he's Ethel Merman." "You'll be swell, you'll be great. Gonna have the whole world on a plate. Startin' here, startin' now. Honey, everything's comin' up roses..."


Pee-Wee Herman in Back to the Beach (1987) Back to the Beach is the 20 year later follow up to the popular Beach Party movies of the 60's. It stars Frankie and Annette as grown-ups with kids of their own. It is a fantastic motion picture you must see! It has a bunch of great cameos in it, most notably Don Addams, Bob Denver and Alan Hale Jr. all playing off their TV personalities. But the best cameo has got to be Pee-Wee Herman, who appears out of nowhere, for no reason at all, sings Surfin' Bird, and then flies off into the sky on a rocket powered surfboard. Brilliance!

Tim Conway and Don Knotts in Cannonball Run II (1984) Here's the setup: This being a Cannonball movie, everyone is driving a car or one sort or another. Tony Danza is driving a stunt limo which makes it look like an orangutan is actually driving the car. The orangutan is even dressed up in a little valet outfit...classy stuff! So, they're speeding and they get pulled over by two motorcycle cops. The police are none other than The Apple Dumpling Gang themselves, Conway and Knotts. The two try to give the monkey a ticket and then all comedy-heck breaks loose!

Bill Murray in Space Jam (1996) There's two great things about this cameo. First, he's just Bill Murray. He doesn't play a character or even play himself really...he's just there. He just shows up and he's there, and he's funny. Second, he shows up twice. Just as out of the blue as his first appearance, he walks back into the movie for no good reason near the end to help Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordon defeat the bad guys. Bill Murray is so good at what he does that you over look the major loopholes in the story.

Leonard Maltin in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) This sequel is not quite as good as it's original, but it's worthy of being a sequel to such a fine film. The gremlins show up in New York City where they take over a mega-skyscraper. Among the many operations in the building is a television studio where film critic Leonard Maltin is doing a show. He's reviewing the classic 1984 film Gremlins, and he's not giving it a favorable review. In turn, Gremlins show up and give Maltin an unfavorable review...by eating him! (Gremlins 2 is also home to two "lost cameos." Hulk Hogan and Bubba Smith appeared in the theatrical cut of the film, but their scene is replaced in video and television versions.)

"Weird Al" Yankovic in Halloween 2 (2009) I haven't seen this or any of Rob Zombie's other movies...nor do I think I ever will. But how great is it that they put my close personal friend Al in a gory horror movie. It's gotta be great! When this finally makes it's way down to cable TV I'll TiVo it and then fast forward (while hiding behind my hands over my face) to Al's part and hope I don't see anything else that will traumatize me for life.

David Letterman in Cabin Boy (1994) We've never gotten a David Letterman movie so his brief appearance in this film will probably serve as our only big screen adventure with Dave. In this otherwise forgettable film, David Letterman shows up as (according to ImbB) Old Salt in Fishing Village. He has a scene where he harasses Chris Elliott for a few minutes and it is easily the highlight of the film. There is no other reason to watch this movie than to see Dave be funny...very funny. Better yet, you don't have to watch the movie...you can easily find the clip on YouTube.

Kenny Rogers and Britney Spears in Longshot (2000) Horrible...HORRIBLE movie which only exists to squeeze as many cameos into one movie as humanly possible. The majority of the Z-list celebs that show up in this stinker, you'll have no idea who they are. But you do get a great pairing when Britney Spears shows up as a flight attendant for 3o seconds. Just long enough for her to make her way into the cockpit of the plane and trade a joke with Captain Kenny Rogers.

Any favorites of yours that we missed....please leave a comment!

My Week In Movies - The Week Before the Beach

While I was at the beach last week, I didn't see any movies. We made our way through Disc 1 of Looney Tunes Volume 2 and got our Shark Week on via OnDemand...but no movies. Since I didn't bother to update WWoB while I was down the ocean, here's My Week In Movies for the previous week, beginning August 3.

Aliens in the Attic (2009) I was really surprised that my kids chose this over the fighting gerbils of G-Force. Aliens is exactly the kind of late summer no-brainer film that I love. The plot: some kids find some little aliens in the attic of their summer home and fight them. Done! It's as simple as the title implies. This film wastes alot of talented people like Kevin Nealon, Andy Richter, Tim Meadows...it even kind of wastes Ashley Tisdale. The only one who gets anything to do worthwhile in this movie is Doris Robberts (Ray's mom from Everybody Loves Raymond) who is involved in a Matrix-style kung-fu battle royale thanks to the mind-control devices of the aliens. In the end, this is mindless fun - harmless for the kids. Not very funny or exciting yet not all that bad either.

When Comedy Was King (1960) Starting in the late 1950's and going on through the 70's, movie audiences were reintroduced to Hollywood's stars of the silent era through a series of well produced documentaries/clip films. This is the second of these pictures and I found it to be incredibly entertaining and very informative. Several silent movies have been taken and re-edited with music, sound effects and a narrator who helps move the stories along while giving a history lesson about the films and their stars. While I'm sure some silent film purists find this presentation blasphemous, I thought it was well done. The music and sound effects added to the films, and the narrator knows when to shut up and just let the films speak for themselves. I was introduced to quite a few Hollywood legends that I had never heard of before and laughed myself silly at the film's final sequence: the 1929 Laurel & Hardy silent classic "Big Business". Honest to goodness, they just don't make `em like that anymore!

Spy Hard (1996) When I originally saw this in the theatre I didn't think much of it, but after the recent slew of "less than stellar" parody films that have come out - it's a real gem. When you're doing a parody film you can't go wrong with Mr. Leslie Nielsen. He's made a career out of staring in these kinds of films and he's always a welcome face on my movie screen. Here, he plays Agent WD-40 who must save the world from an evil bad guy played by Andy Griffith. Again folks, you just can't go wrong with Andy Griffith...in anything. Visual gags, word play and slapstick are all on display here as well as some movie parodies and shots at Hollywood celebrities. The silliness comes first in this movie and the lame jokes about Michael Jackson's hair catching on fire and other outdated references are kept to a minimum. The best part about this movie is the opening title sequence which parodies the opening musical sequence from the early James Bond films. Whereas the Bond films always featured a song by a popular singer of the time, Spy Hard's theme is song by none other than "Weird Al" Yankovic - who also appears on screen in the segment. Good Stuff!

Some "Weird Al" Stuff

A few "Weird Al" Yankovic related links for ya today:

-Al had been releasing his new album one song at a time on various digital media sites. His new song "Skipper Dan" is another Al masterpiece as he turns his attention to the world of Disney. It's good stuff! There's a animated video to go along with the song...Al's record company has blocked it from being embedded on other websites but here's a link to the video on You Tube that you can check out!

-Here's a nifty article from Rolling Stone called "Weird Al" Yankovic on Imitation as Flattery where Al talks about his encounters with the late Michael Jackson.

-And this is really neat and just one of the reasons I love Al so much. He's just unveiled a new 3-D movie and exhibit called Al's Brain which is all about the human brain. The exhibit just opened and is running through August 9 at the Orange County Super Fair (whatever that is) in California. After the fair, the unique exhibit and film will travel to science centers and other similar venues starting with the Puyallup Fair in Washington state on September 11. There's a website for the movie at Alsbrain.com.