5 ms·

Weird Al has avoided the temptation of taking the low road and being mean spirited in his parodies. He makes fun of people and groups but it's always playful. N

Weird Al has avoided the temptation of taking the low road and being mean spirited in his parodies. He makes fun of people and groups but it's always playful. No doubt some can look back at some of his earlier work through a contemporary lens and find something to be fashionably offended by but everyone knows in their heart he wasn't trying to make anyone unhappy for his own benefit.

davidw 7y ago
From Wikipedia: Cobain is claimed to have considered that Nirvana had "made it" with the success of Yankovic's parody. I always thought that was kind of nice - that they liked being parodied because it meant they were legit.
- dehrmann 7y ago
  Didn't he also add the condition that it not be about food?
  - robotnixon 7y ago
    Sounds like he just asked if it was going to be about food: "I told [Kurt] I want to do a parody of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' and his first thing was: 'Is it going to be about food?' and I said, 'no, it's going to be about how no one can understand your lyrics.'" Cobain thought the concept was funny and signed off on it." https://www.howardstern.com/show/2016/5/17/weird-al-mandatory-fun-calling-kurt-cobain-and-not-making-eye-contact-prince/ https://www.howardstern.com/show/2016/5/17/weird-al-mandator...
    - dgritsko 7y ago
      Another fun bit of trivia about "Smells Like Nirvana" - when shooting the music video, they used many of the same props, actors, camera angles, and even the same sound stage as the original "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smells_Like_Nirvana#Music_video https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smells_Like_Nirvana#Music_vide...
      - chris_wot 7y ago
        Smells like teen spirit was unintentionally ironic anyway.
samvaran 7y ago
Another anecdote to illustrate that - he doesn't truly legally have to ask permission to do these parodies, but out of courtesy and respect, he always does. And he'll usually refrain from making a parody if a song if the artist has a genuine reason why (e.g. Paul McCartney didn't have an issue with him parodying "Live and Let Die", but Weird Al was trying to turn it into "Chicken Pot Pie" and McCartney, a staunch vegetarian, didn't love that idea).
- nullc 7y ago
  Weird Al is also a vegetarian, for something like the last 30 years. I'm not sure if he was at that time. (Maybe he'll show up here and tell us! :) ) Weird Al is great.
  - zck 7y ago
    (I'm not Weird Al). He became a vegetarian in 1992 (https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/ https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/, search for "vegetarian"). I don't know when the song was written, but he was playing it as early as 1992 (https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/weird-al-yankovic-2bd6ccaa.html?song=Theme+from+Rocky+XIII+/+I+Love+Rocky+Road+/+Chicken+Pot+Pie+/+The+White+Stuff+/+Snack+All+Night+/+Spam+/+My+Bologna+/+Whole+Lotta+Lunch+/+Eat+It https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/weird-al-yankovic-2bd6cca...).
- seangirard 7y ago
  Guess that means I’ll never get to hear him do “I am the egg pan”
- bdowling 7y ago
  To parody without a license you can only take the minimum amount of the source to bring to mind the original. See, e.g., Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994). So, Yankovic probably does need a license from the owner of the composition, because his versions usually borrow the entire source song and don’t change the tune or arrangement. Also, many of Yankovic's songs aren't parodies but take a well-known song and take the lyrics in a completely different direction. As I understand it, he does also seek permission of the original artist, who isn’t always the owner of the copyright, as a professional courtesy.
dehrmann 7y ago
Mostly. Give a listen to the gory version of "The Night Santa Went Crazy." But it's still so absurd you can't be too offended. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC4hJMpW2pM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC4hJMpW2pM
bouvin 7y ago
I think the most famous example of this is Prince not wanting Al to parody his work. A pity.
- Loughla 7y ago
  I think it is also a message about the performer as to whether or not they allow Weird Al to do the parody. I feel like anyone who says no takes themselves too seriously.
chris_st 7y ago
He once said in an interview, "I'm doing a poke in the ribs, not a kick in the butt".

davidw 7y ago

From Wikipedia: Cobain is claimed to have considered that Nirvana had "made it" with the success of Yankovic's parody. I always thought that was kind of nice - that they liked being parodied because it meant they were legit.

dehrmann 7y ago
Didn't he also add the condition that it not be about food?
- robotnixon 7y ago
  Sounds like he just asked if it was going to be about food: "I told [Kurt] I want to do a parody of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' and his first thing was: 'Is it going to be about food?' and I said, 'no, it's going to be about how no one can understand your lyrics.'" Cobain thought the concept was funny and signed off on it." https://www.howardstern.com/show/2016/5/17/weird-al-mandatory-fun-calling-kurt-cobain-and-not-making-eye-contact-prince/ https://www.howardstern.com/show/2016/5/17/weird-al-mandator...
  - dgritsko 7y ago
    Another fun bit of trivia about "Smells Like Nirvana" - when shooting the music video, they used many of the same props, actors, camera angles, and even the same sound stage as the original "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smells_Like_Nirvana#Music_video https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smells_Like_Nirvana#Music_vide...
    - chris_wot 7y ago
      Smells like teen spirit was unintentionally ironic anyway.

samvaran 7y ago

Another anecdote to illustrate that - he doesn't truly legally have to ask permission to do these parodies, but out of courtesy and respect, he always does. And he'll usually refrain from making a parody if a song if the artist has a genuine reason why (e.g. Paul McCartney didn't have an issue with him parodying "Live and Let Die", but Weird Al was trying to turn it into "Chicken Pot Pie" and McCartney, a staunch vegetarian, didn't love that idea).

nullc 7y ago
Weird Al is also a vegetarian, for something like the last 30 years. I'm not sure if he was at that time. (Maybe he'll show up here and tell us! :) ) Weird Al is great.
- zck 7y ago
  (I'm not Weird Al). He became a vegetarian in 1992 (https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/ https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/, search for "vegetarian"). I don't know when the song was written, but he was playing it as early as 1992 (https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/weird-al-yankovic-2bd6ccaa.html?song=Theme+from+Rocky+XIII+/+I+Love+Rocky+Road+/+Chicken+Pot+Pie+/+The+White+Stuff+/+Snack+All+Night+/+Spam+/+My+Bologna+/+Whole+Lotta+Lunch+/+Eat+It https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/weird-al-yankovic-2bd6cca...).
seangirard 7y ago
Guess that means I’ll never get to hear him do “I am the egg pan”
bdowling 7y ago
To parody without a license you can only take the minimum amount of the source to bring to mind the original. See, e.g., Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994). So, Yankovic probably does need a license from the owner of the composition, because his versions usually borrow the entire source song and don’t change the tune or arrangement. Also, many of Yankovic's songs aren't parodies but take a well-known song and take the lyrics in a completely different direction. As I understand it, he does also seek permission of the original artist, who isn’t always the owner of the copyright, as a professional courtesy.

dehrmann 7y ago

Mostly. Give a listen to the gory version of "The Night Santa Went Crazy." But it's still so absurd you can't be too offended. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC4hJMpW2pM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC4hJMpW2pM

bouvin 7y ago

I think the most famous example of this is Prince not wanting Al to parody his work. A pity.

Loughla 7y ago
I think it is also a message about the performer as to whether or not they allow Weird Al to do the parody. I feel like anyone who says no takes themselves too seriously.

chris_st 7y ago

He once said in an interview, "I'm doing a poke in the ribs, not a kick in the butt".