Weird Al Yankovic
An audience with the once and future king of music parody
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1. They have all been parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic. 2. Most of their CDs are currently taking up space at the cheap CD rack in your local Sam Goody. 3. They probably wish their careers would have lasted as long as "Weird Al" Yankovic's.
Twenty years after he first blew up, Weird Al, it's safe to say, is as popular as ever. His tour behind his most recent CD Running With Scissors is well into its second year and his VH-1 "Behind The Music" special was ranked by online voters as the No. 4 favorite of all time and the No. 1 favorite in the "80s Artist" category -- a pretty impressive feat for a show that, quite uncharacteristically, featured neither very little illicit sex and absolutely no heroin.
In fact, in the specialized arena of musical humor, Al has achieved a kind of total market dominance almost unheard of in the music industry. NATN contributor Jeff Vrabel holds audience with the king of parody.
NATN: Music is a particularly fickle industry, and yet you've managed to endure throughout the years, outlasting most of the bands you've parodied. Isn't that, um, weird?
Weird Al: It's ironic, I guess (laughs). It's bizarre because I've never really considered myself to be somebody in the pop culture inner circle -- not one of rock's elite. I've always thought I was outside poking fun at people on the inside, so it's odd to be considered one of them.
NATN: I learned about you right about the time of "Yoda," so I was happy to hear that you were going back to the Star Wars well with "The Saga Begins." Did you hear of any reaction from Lucas?
WA: He seemed to like it. I think the quote we heard was, "You should have seen the smile on George's face."
NATN: The song came out something like a month after the movie did. How did you put lyrics together that fast?
WA: Basically, I had to write the song about six weeks before seeing the movie. I wrote it based on Internet rumors actually -- thankfully, those rumors turned out to be 99% true.
NATN: An artist like yourself attracts quite an online following; there are a number of exhaustive Al-related sites out there. So tell me, do any of these people ever just scare the hell out of you?
WA: Oh, I'm very flattered by it (laughs). I mean, sometimes I worry that they might be getting obsessive, but if you're gonna be obsessive, there are worse things to obsess over. I mean, I'm honored that people tattoo my image on their bodies and follow me around the world.
NATN: Dammit. I asked them to keep that a secret. You just finished hosting VH-1's "The List" program, so here's a static "List" question: What's the greatest love song of all time?
WA: Oh, I don't know. "One More Minute." (off his 1985 classic Dare To Be Stupid.)
NATN: That's one of my all-time favorites! You actually sang that to my cousin at a show in Chicago a few years back. She swooned for hours afterward. Have you ever considered dueting with anyone?
WA: Well, at one point when Sinatra was doing all those "Duets" albums, we requested to do one with him -- "One More Minute" or something like that. He seemed to be doing duets with everybody at the time, so we figured we'd give it a shot. He didn't bite.
NATN: What's your take on the Napster fiasco? A quick Napster search for "Weird Al," reveals a bunch of your songs, and many more that clearly aren't yours.
WA: That's my biggest complaint -- that there is a lot of misinformation. Even if it's a woman singing, people are like, "Well, that must be Weird Al."
I mean, my humor is pretty clean, and it can be hurtful that these songs about sex and drugs get attributed to me (ed. Note -- some tracks attributed incorrectly to Al on Napster include "What If God Smoked Cannabis," "Hello, I Love You, Let's Get Tested For AIDS" and the cleverly titled "Windows 95 Sucks"). Parents can look at that and go, "Wow, I thought I could buy this guy's album, but I guess he's not kid-friendly."
NATN: But as a force in the record industry?
WA: Well, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, it could possibly be the end of the record industry as we know it. On the other, I can download Metallica tracks whenever I want for free!
NATN: I'm fighting the same inner demons myself. So when you're out driving around and you hear a song out on the radio, do you immediately think "Oh, there's a song I need to do?"
WA: Actually, there's no real process -- some of the best ideas come spontaneously, and others I have to sit down and pore over the Billboard charts.
NATN: What's the kind of reaction do you get when you call potential parody targets? I imagine it's easier to get permission now than it was 20 years ago.
WA: Oh yeah, it was tough at first. My manager couldn't get phone calls returned for a long time. Now people sort of look forward to it. Some think it's like a badge of honor (laughs).
NATN: Have you ever been just shot down cold?
WA: That doesn't happen too often -- but if it does, it's usually like a policy thing, that an artist doesn't allow song parodies. Usually means they just don't have a sense of humor about it.
NATN: Ever had anyone suggest their own parodies?
WA: I had Fred Durst come up to me at a party once and say, you know, 'Hey when are you gonna do "I did it all for the cookie?" I'll do the writing there, thanks (laughing).
NATN: Have you ever performed onstage with artists that you've parodied?
WA: Actually, yeah, a couple times. I performed my parody of Crash Test Dummies onstage with them for a live Canadian TV special. And I performed "Jurassic Park" with Jimmy Webb.
NATN: See, now how does something like that come about?
WA: Well, we had to approach Jimmy to get permission for the parody, and we kinda became friends. He actually invited me to sing with him twice -- in New York and L.A., I think. The gag was he would start playing "Macarthur Park," and two lines in he'd forget the words and he'd go, "Man, I wish Weird Al was here."
NATN: You have a number of songs that you perform in concert only. Are those parodies you weren't able to get the OK to record?
WA: Sometimes; sometimes they're just songs I think are funny for a couple lines but wouldn't sustain a whole song. No matter what, I try to throw a few things into the live show to keep things fresh for the hardcore fan.
NATN: My friends are I are avid "UHF" fans, and several have been known to quote it extensively, so for their own peace of mind, I have to ask if there will be an extensive Super Director's Cut Special Edition European Outtake Bootleg version released on DVD anytime soon?
WA: (laughing) That's actually one of my most often-asked questions. Nobody's looking forward to that more than I am. And we're actually talking now about it, but it's sort of beyond my control. It's sounding like it'll be sometime next year, and I'm crossing my fingers that they'll keep me in the loop and we can do a nice Special Edition version with extra stuff and outtakes and all that. Of course, I say that now, and in two months the whole infrastructure of the company could come crumbling down.
NATN: How often do you accept outside directing projects? (In addition to his own videos, Al has directed clips for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the Black Crowes and Hanson, among others).
WA: I love doing that kind of thing. I was actually offered a video this weekend, but of course, you know, I'm on tour, so it's kind of hard. It's the kind of thing that I'll be at home in L.A. for a while and things'll be slow, so I'll accept an outside project.
NATN: How did you get hooked up with Jon Spencer?
WA: Through his drummer Russell Simins. I was doing an interview with Mike D for Grand Royal magazine, and we got to talking, and they mentioned that Jon was looking for a director, and during the course of the interview it just sort of happened, which was great.
Up until that time, I was having a tough time breaking into directing videos and outside projects - I had directed myself and Jeff Foxworthy, but broad comedy type things only. People think, "Oh, Weird Al, he can only do goofy nutty zany wacky stuff." The Jon Spencer video had a lot of humor, which is what they wanted, but it was different enough that people said, "Oh, he can be different than what we'd expect."
NATN: How the hell do you get into that 'Fat' suit in concert?
WA: (laughing) Oh, well, it's just a mask in the live show. It's got straps around the back. If you look close, it's not that impressive. For videos and close-ups, we've got real latex appliances, but for the quick change in concert it only takes like two minutes.
NATN: Is being family-friendly a conscious decision you've made?
WA: It's not a conscious thing; I don't set out to be "family friendly." It's just an extension of my personality. It's not like I don't like lewd humor or stuff that crosses the line - I'm a big South Park fan, stuff that I wouldn't do myself. But I do the kind of thing I want to do. As a result I have family audiences. And now that I have that, I have to be cognizant of that fact.
NATN: This is a pretty specific career path you've chosen. If you weren't doing this, where would you be?
WA: Now that's a really scary thought. I consider myself very blessed -- I mean, I was a couple of years out of college, with a degree in architecture working for minimum wage in a mailroom, and I'm thinking, "What happened to me?" I mean, I was the guy in high school -- the brainiac, the valedictorian -- and here I was taking out the trash. Thankfully, things worked out eventually after that. I really don't know what I'd be doing otherwise.
NATN: You know, Episode 2 is only like a year and a half away. You been doing any thinking?
WA: Nah. I only do a "Star Wars" song once every 15 years.
JEFF VRABEL | Jeff Vrabel may look like your average, strapping Midwestern-type, but lurking inside him is a passion for all things Springsteen, "Weird" Al, and regrettably, the Chicago Cubs. He's touched Britney Spears. He knows Slash's phone number. Obey him at all costs.