Weird Al Yankovic |
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Mon. June 16.2003 10:50 AM EDT |
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Weird Al Yankovic: Show Me the FunnyEminem squashed his video, Fred Durst loved his polka, and fans pay big bucks for his dryer lint. Welcome to Al's World. by Brian Ives & C. Bottomley |
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Weird Al (Publicity) |
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Poor Weird Al. With all the craziness going on in the world - and the charts - he should have enough new material for a box set. The only problem is that he has to get the artists okay before he can do anything.
I envy these morning
So 50 Cent can breathe a sigh of relief - for now. Weird Als Poodle Hat, the 12th album in a career spanning two decades, instead lampoons Avril ( A Complicated Song) and roasts the Strokes, the Hives, the White Stripes, Limp Bizkit, Disturbed, and Papa Roach on Angry White Boy Polka. Nope, you cant take the accordion out of a Weird Al album. And while the expert satirists lack of an appetite for political humor means we have yet to hear a song called Weapons of Mass Destruction, he does target eBay to the tune of the Backstreet Boys I Want It That Way. Not everyone is an Al addict. Eminem didnt have a problem with Yankovic using Lose Yourself to rap about the Tivo generation on the new Couch Potato, but he did balk when Al needed permission to make an accompanying video. Als not bitter. Instead, hes throwing his darts elsewhere. On June 17 he brings his AL TV to VH1, airing the zaniest videos he can find, and bantering with Harvey the Wonder Hamster. There werent any rodents around when we met with him to talk about Poodle Hat. Nor were there any bags of his dryer lint (valued at $600, he says). But Al had plenty of subjects to skewer. He was more than happy to hold forth on the beef with Slim Shady, why France is a sitting duck, and why System of a Down might be big on the polka circuit. VH1: Whats a Poodle Hat? WA: Im not sure. I tried a lot of variations. Great Dane Hat was too big; Chihuahua Hat was too little; and Poodle seemed just about right. VH1: Why wont Eminem let you do a video for Couch Potato? WA: I was very honored and flattered that Marshall [Mathers] let me parody Lose Yourself. But I was extremely disappointed he wouldnt let me do the video because those are a big part of what Im about. Maybe he was afraid a Weird Al video would make people view him less seriously as a hip-hop artist. I dont quite follow that logic but I have to respect it. VH1: Are you surprised he would allow you to use Lose Yourself in the first place? WA: From what I can see, Marshall has a pretty good sense of humor. He likes to poke fun at people himself. Its generally viewed as an honor to be in a Weird Al parody. Its like being on The Simpsons. Its only good fun, its not mean or derogatory, but most people take it that way. VH1: Has there been anyone who has surprised you by allowing a parody? WA: Nirvana was great. Both Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain said they knew had made it when the Smells Like Nirvana video came out. I was more surprised when Michael Jackson approved Eat It. Up until that point I was this faceless guy from L.A., but Michael was the biggest thing in pop culture at that time. From then on if someone had a problem with a parody we could say, Well, Michael Jackson did it. [Watch Clip] VH1: Is there anything in pop culture that you wanted to parody but couldnt make it funny? WA: Its frustrating. There are things that come along that would make sense for me to poke fun at, yet I cant seem to find a fresh idea or think of anything clever enough. Id like to take a poke at everything but I cant get around to it all. VH1: Poodle Hat pays tribute to Frank Zappa on Genius in France. But you avoid political humor. WA: Political humor tends to age quickly. People thought Genius in France was political because of all the stuff going on in France right now. The song is based on the fact that Jerry Lewis is considered a genius in France. I wrote it two years ago. Some fans thought I was jumping on the hate the French bandwagon, but mocking the French has always been the way to go! I was bashing the French before it was cool! VH1: Angry White Boy Polka is hilarious. What made you think of stringing together all those songs? WA: I do a polka medley on pretty much every album that I put out. If I didnt, fans would be running wild in the streets screaming Wheres the polka medley? I thought there were enough of those angst-ridden bands to do Angry White Boy Polka. I always wanted to do the The bands, like the Strokes and the White Stripes, because Im a huge fan of that music. [Watch Clip] VH1: Where did you come up with all the songs? WA: I listen to a lot of alternative radio. Everybody gave permission for the medley. Fred Durst was the only one I got to talk to personally and he was very cool with being polka-fied. VH1: System Of A Downs Chop Suey sounds like a polka song already. WA: The tuba definitely helps. You add some tuba, an accordion, maybe a clarinet and youre polka-ing down with your bad self. VH1: eBay really makes a point. Do you know anyone who bought a Dukes of Hazzard ashtray? WA: My drummer, Bermuda Schwartz , is the biggest eBayer for Weird Al merchandise. Hell buy obscure things I never thought existed. The other day I saw some people selling autographed Weird Al albums and weird was spelled wrong! Somehow I think those might not be authentic. Theres this thing called Al Con, where fans come from all over the world to a Holiday Inn or something to trade memorabilia. I go sometimes. Theres a thing called Als Garage Sale where Ill auction off some of my stuff. One time for fun I sold a baggie of my dryer lint and - I kid you not - someone paid 600 bucks for it! [Watch Clip] VH1: The weirdest thing I found was the Peter & the Wolf record you did. WA: Thats the one album of mine thats out of print. Its basically a classical childrens album I did with Wendy Carlos, who did Switched on Bach. Some people pay incredible amounts for it. I met a lady who paid $1,500 for it. I have a stack of those in my garage I would have given her for half that price! VH1: Ben Folds plays on Why Does This Always Happen to Me. Sounds like a meeting of the minds. WA: Im a big fan of his and directed his video for Rockin the Suburbs. Why Does This Always Happen To Me was supposed to sound like a Ben Folds 5 song because its just piano, bass and drums; but it doesnt really, even though Ben Folds in playing on it. We have a crib of his in our house right now. We had a baby four months ago and Ben had to get rid of his crib. So I inherited the Ben Folds crib. VH1: Who do you bounce your ideas off of? WA: Humor is objective so you may never have two people agree on whats funny, but I have a small circle of friends that Ill bounce ideas off. Sometimes theyll tell me its stupid and Ill do it anyways, because what do they know? Theyre not Weird Al! |
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