Generic Al Blather

[terpsichore]

I cant stand Python. In fact theres alot of nerdy things i cant stand. LoTR is another i just dont get

i don't like Monthy Python either. or Star Wars, or anything that even remotely resembles science fiction. Or video games. maybe there are different sub-types of nerd? i usually get accused of being a nerd because i'm obsessed with opera. (i don't think that's nerdy, but apparently other people do!)

I do like Tolkein, and Harry Potter and other fantasy things. And i adore all things Sherlock Holmes -related. And the line in White and Nerdy about spending weekends at the Renaissance faire? guilty as charged! :p

[mrmeadows]

The only things other than Al that I nerd out about are: Monty Python, MST3K, and the original Twilight Zone. While I LIKE the "Star Wars" movies (well, most of them) just fine, I'm not gaga over them. I've never seen a full episode of "Star Trek", and have only seen maybe 2 of the ST movies and was basically bored by both them. The LotR and Harry Potter movies are technically impressive, but I don't get much out of the stories. Never seen Game of Thrones either. And don't even talk to me about Doctor Who.

So yeah....if anything, I'm a selective nerd. But I don't think I'd fit in at a place like Comic-Con. I do have a pretty large Mad Magazine collection with each issue in protective plastic slipcovers, if that helps.

[terpsichore]

[ http://i59.tinypic.com/35cjs3n.jpg ]

that is hilarious! there have been several occasions where i'm in my car snacking on something and Grapefruit Diet comes up on my ipod and i think, suddenly i don't want to eat this anymore!

...is it just me, or has this happened to anyone else here?

[mellow weasel]

Have you seen this amusing mention of Al here: http://time.com/3026192/this-is-what-bae-means/?

Take the word weird, as in Weird Al Yankovic, the man who has had such fun parodying Pharrell of late. When first used, that word meant “having the power to control the fate or destiny of human beings.” And that is certainly not the meaning we invoke when referring to Mr. Yankovic.

Let's agree to disagree

[Sailor-Polka-Moon]

Have you seen this amusing mention of Al here: http://time.com/3026192/this-is-what-bae-means/?

"Take the word weird, as in Weird Al Yankovic, the man who has had such fun parodying Pharrell of late. When first used, that word meant “having the power to control the fate or destiny of human beings.” And that is certainly not the meaning we invoke when referring to Mr. Yankovic."

Let's agree to disagree

WELL WAIT A MINUTE...


...A good number of older songs that may or may not have disappeared into obscurity are remembered VERY often through Al's parody of it.
I remember at least two instances of Al's parodying someone that "put that person on the map."

And often if other not so fortunate artists DO go into the oblivion of a distant one-hit-wonder, or a memory, it is often Al's version of their song that people prefer...


.......


Okay, maybe not really fate-control'y, just thought I'd put that out there. XD

[weird user]

Lately when I've gone to the All Things Yankovic website, the "This Day in Al History" page won't show up. I wonder what gives there. And after hearing Al's line in Lame Claim to Fame about sharing a birthday with Kim Kardashian and then learning that they're birthdays are actually just a few days apart, I was hoping to see the This Day in Al History on her birthday to see if any such note is made.

I've also noticed that after all these months that All Things Yankovic still doesn't have a proper page for Mandatory Fun (just a page with links to order). I hope that site hasn't been abandoned.

[mellow weasel]

Lately when I've gone to the All Things Yankovic website, the "This Day in Al History" page won't show up. I wonder what gives there. And after hearing Al's line in Lame Claim to Fame about sharing a birthday with Kim Kardashian and then learning that they're birthdays are actually just a few days apart, I was hoping to see the This Day in Al History on her birthday to see if any such note is made.

I've also noticed that after all these months that All Things Yankovic still doesn't have a proper page for Mandatory Fun (just a page with links to order). I hope that site hasn't been abandoned.

That website looks so tacky! Its style reminds me of websites we used to do with FrontPage in school for informatics.

[Kevbo1987]

Greg (CatraDhtem) maintains that website, but he hasn't been around here in ages. I doubt he's totally abandoned the site, but he definitely doesn't seem to be maintaining it like he used to.

[anthontherun]

Played trivia tonight and UHF was the answer to one of the questions! They gave fictional TV shows and you had to name the real show or movie they came from. I couldn't help but do a fist pump when "Conan the Librarian" came up.

[TMBJon]

Hey folks, pretty cool news to report:

I just spoke with someone at Public Policy Polling, one of the most highly respected political polling firms in the country. Over the last several election cycles, PPP has consistently had the most accurate polls compared to actual election results. Once every year, PPP does a national music-themed poll. (See results of the 2013 music poll below.) Although this is a light-hearted topic compared to their usual political polling, they take this poll very seriously, calling thousands of Americans and using scientific methods to determine statistically accurate approval ratings for many popular musicians.

Anyway, I suggested that they include Al in their next music poll. To my surprise, PPP replied and said yes, they would indeed include him in their next poll! So this means sometime in the next year or so, we will get actual scientific data about Weird Al's approval and disapproval ratings in the United States. Even more exciting (to a polling nerd like me), we will get full crosstabs which will tell us about how different subsets of the population feel about Al - ie: Democrats, Republicans, male, female, black, white, different age groups, etc.

I will of course post the results on WOWAY if and when this poll happens, but I thought you'd like to know.
Given how much I used to be made fun of in elementary and middle school for liking Weird Al, and how widely accepted he has since become in the mainstream pop culture, I am really curious to see what kind of approval/disapproval ratings he has nationally. We may find out soon!







PPP's 2013 music poll results:

A new music-oriented poll from Public Policy Polling finds widespread support for several genres and music and artists – but Americans are united in their dislike for teen pop sensation Justin Bieber. PPP tested the favorability ratings of several of today’s biggest music stars: Taylor Swift (53 approve - 27 disapprove), Adele (54-18), Beyonce (51-30), and Justin Timberlake (52-24) all received positive reviews from voters. Others didn’t fare as well – Chris Brown (13-57), Lady Gaga (29-50), Justin Bieber (20-54) were all rated unfavorably by 50% or more, and Jay-Z (25-44) and Rihanna (30-39) had net-negative favorability ratings as well. Veteran British rocker Morrissey (17-31 with 52% not sure) and dubstep pioneer Skrillex (11-35 with 54% not sure) were the least known of artists tested.

Bieber was the only artist whose unfavorability rating stretched across partisan lines – a majority of Democrats (23-54), Republicans (17-52), and independents (18-56) all reported negative views of the singer.

When asked who they’d most like to see as President when given the choices of Adele, Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, or Rihanna, 34% chose Timberlake, with Adele (19%) and Beyonce (14%) also receiving double digits followed by Jay-Z (9%), Lady Gaga (9%), Bieber (8%), Chris Brown (5%) and Rihanna (2%).

Classical music (77 favorable-13 unfavorable), country (71-23), jazz (71-20), pop (59-26), R&B (58-27) and rock music (65-26) all received generally favorable reviews from voters. Respondents were less charitable towards rap music (19 fav -68 unfav). Dubstep, a form of electronic dance music that has recently gained in popularity received a 14 favorable, 38 unfavorable rating with 47% not sure. Voters were split in their opinion on “today’s popular music”, with 45% rating it favorable, 37% unfavorable and 19% not sure. When asked their favorite musical genre, 24% chose country, 22% classical, 16% rock and 12% pop, with R&B and jazz each earning 6%, dubstep 2% and rap 1%.