Track Marks: How "Weird Al" Yankovic Became This Week's Biggest Artist In The World

track marks

Track Marks: How "Weird Al" Yankovic Became This Week's Biggest Artist In The World

Normally, we'd use this space to talk about the rise in buzz for artists on the verge. But this week, we're going to take a look at polka-happy parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic, who became the most downloaded man of the week with his Chamillionaire-biting ode to pocket-protected Segway riders, "White and Nerdy."

Artist: "Weird Al" Yankovic
Hometown: Lynnwood, California
Album: Straight Outta Lynnwood, due Sept. 26
First online mention: As an artist with his very own USENET newsgroup, "Weird Al" has been talked about on the Internet since its pre-picture Dark Ages. (There's a Wiki devoted to Al's work, too.)
The Build-Up: Buzz about Straight Outta Lynnwood started back in June, when Al used his Web site to let fans know that Al's James Blunt parody "You're Pitiful" was being held from the album by Atlantic Records' legal department. Blunt apparently loved the song, though, and Al was given clearance to stream it from his MySpace page. An anti-RIAA ditty, "Don't Download This Song," premiered on Al's site in August.
The Dam-Break: Last week, someone leaked the video for "White and Nerdy"—a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" that namechecks Wikipedia, Klingon, and other cultural trappings of the white nerd—online, and it was quickly picked up by bloggers around the globe. (Perhaps they felt they could relate.) AOL canceled its premiere of the video after seeing that it was streaming all over the place. Even the cool kids got in on the act: Stereogum posted "White and Nerdy" on Monday, and followed up with a link to Al's latest polka parody a day later.
Odds of Backlash: 35 to 1. Even Chamillionaire is thrilled with "White and Nerdy"—he told MTV News that Al had great flow, and that being parodied was "really an honor." (We bet Coolio is kicking himself for getting annoyed about "Amish Paradise" right now.) For more evidence, check this amazingly pro-Al Best Week Ever thread.
Is He Worthy? When you have Chamillionaire complimenting the way you rap, you definitely reach "worthy" status. Still, the wildfire response to "White and Nerdy" caught us off-guard at first, until we realized that it's the first live-action video of his to debut in the YouTube era. And there are two other factors at work that we can see: First, the clip has a lot of references that are pitched right to people who spend their days sitting in front of a computer (check out the Star Wars Kid bit!). Second, we're going to take a chance and assume that a good chunk of the 25-to-34-year-old blogging demographic cut its satirical teeth on Al parodies like "Like A Surgeon" and "I Lost On Jeopardy." What happens when you combine those two conditions? Linkage from all over.

And really, how can you not root for someone who sees the blinding absurdity in R. Kelly's serial song poem "Trapped in the Closet"—and raises it by turning it into an 11-minute song about two people going to the drive-thru for some burgers? We can't wait to see the video for that one.

~~"Weird Al" Yankovic - Trapped at the Drive-Thru~~ [MP3, link expired]
Weird Al [MySpace]
Weird Al Wiki [wikia.com]

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2:34 PM on Thu Sep 21 2006
By mjohnston
1,318 views
14 comments

Comments

by joe bananas at 01:42 PM on 09/21/06
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i think an awful lot of people have secretly been waiting to love weird al again, and pop culture is overblown and ridiculous enough to accomodate his return. it helps that the songs are actually kinda funny instead of just dork porn. or maybe they're not funny, and i'm a dork.
by MTS at 02:12 PM on 09/21/06
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the amazing thing about weird al is that whenever he parodies something, the original tune often falls by the wayside in my memory. case in point: i was just able to recite "i lost on jeopardy" verbatim, but i have no clue as to how the greg kihn original goes. anyway, this yankovic love is kihntagious, i tell ya!
by MTS at 02:15 PM on 09/21/06
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joe bananas, perhaps you are just a "reformed geek"? regardless, i am still amazed weird al was not the subject of an EMP paper this year!
by Brian Raftery at 02:18 PM on 09/21/06
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The dude changes every song he touches. No matter how many times I hear Michael Jackson's "Bad"-not a lot of times, mind you--I'm always expecting to hear that "Your butt is wide/well, mine is, too."

I laughed just writing that down.
by jfruh at 02:18 PM on 09/21/06
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How insane is Atlantic Records for not wanting a Weird Al parody of their song released? Especially with the artist behind it. C'mon, he's an institution at this point. Were they holding out for more money or something?
by Artie Fufkin at 02:37 PM on 09/21/06
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So I watching the Weird Al "White and Nerdy" video, sitting on my couch in my undewear. Right after Donny Osmond got done spazing, my laptop died. No power or anything. The last thing my poor laptop ever did was play me a Weird Al song.

It died a noble death.
by TeddyKGB at 02:39 PM on 09/21/06
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Thanks for linking to that "Trapped in the Closet" parody; it never would've occurred to me that it had the same chord progression as that Led Zeppelin song. Friggin' brilliant.

But to credit YouTube for the popularity of "White and Nerdy" is ig'nant. It might be because Al's career has spanned decades - much longer than most of the people he's parodied - and he's just the best at what he does.

It also doesn't hurt that rap and R&B have devolved to the point where untalented guys like Chamillionaire and R.Kelly still sell records.
by joe bananas at 03:18 PM on 09/21/06
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the jury is out on chamillionaire, but to call r. kelly untalented is crazy.
by mickeyprecious at 03:28 PM on 09/21/06
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Oh man, I just love "Fat!" Especially...

"When you're only havin' seconds, I-ma havin' twenty-thirds.
When I go to get my shoes shined, I HAVE TO TAKE THEIR WORD!"

God bless that man.
by Bon Jour, Pee Wee at 03:54 PM on 09/21/06
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I like how he has a pic of Bill Gates in his top 8 on the MySpace page.
by TeddyKGB at 04:14 PM on 09/21/06
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Then I've been "crazy" since "She's Got That Vibe".
*shudder*
God, that song was awful. I hate you for making me remember it. ;-)
by Michael Bertin at 04:30 PM on 09/21/06
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I actually met Weird Al at a party [please excuse blantant name drop but shit, it's a Weird Al thread]. I went up to him and said, "I really did lose on Jeopardy" (true).

He looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in L.A. County. Now I think that since Weird Al was at the party, I couldn't have been worse than second-biggest idiot in L.A. County.
by Ned Raggett at 04:39 PM on 09/21/06
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That's, erm, sweet?

The "Trapped in the Closet" parody redeemed a pretty awful night for me last night (self-induced, it should be noted).
by Scratcher at 01:04 PM on 09/22/06
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You're all missing the much bigger story regarding Weird Al. When is everyone going to realize the obvious and see that Weird Al is actually one-time GnR guitar-slinger Buckethead?

Put Al's photo next to the reclusive guitarist and see for yourself. The curly locks don't lie. The physical stature is identical. Their schedules never intersect.

How else would a goof like Weird Al get the recognition as a virtuoso guitarist he actaully is?