World of Weird Al Yankovic

I've actually thought about this quite a bit myself.

Other people might have a bigger fan base (no offense meant twards Al of course, but to say he has the biggest fan base ever is not realistic!) but we are by far the awesomest, and we seem to be more obsessive than most others.

I've come to think its because Al attracts nerds, who tend to be more fact oriented and are also able to find more totally obscure facts on the web. We tend to be more diehard about the things we enjoy. I'm making vast generalizations here of course, but for the most part, I think its pretty accurate.

While Al is great towards his fans, and I think that does play a part in it, I personally feel that it is more the type of people that he attracts.

*exit stage*

wayword @ May 05, 2009 07:56 am wrote: (If they're weird on their own, more power to them.)

...best...post...ever!

Yeah, it's easy to become obsessed with Al and/or the Beatles, because of the quality and quantity of their work. And for us ladies, there's also the cuteness/hotness/charm/sexysmarts factor.

When I graduated high school in 1982, my class actually voted me "Most Weird." They thought I was weird because I was an outspoken atheist and because I had no interest in booze or drugs -- I guess that was weird for a teenager in 1982, but I'm glad I made (most of) the choices I made. Anyway, as it turns out, as a kid and all through middle school and high school and the couple of decades following that, I was growing an enormous brain tumor, so maybe that contributed to my apparent weirdness. (When drs. found and removed the tumor six years ago, it was the size of a tennis ball, so they knew it had been there since I was 6 or 7.) People are often amazed I survived, but I had the "best medicine"-- laughter. Al released Poodle Hat four daysafter my brain surgery, and my husband, an award-winning comedy writer, wrote funny stories for me while I was in hospital.

Doctor D. told me to stay demented, and I have. And weird, too, and I have no problem with that. Let's all be weird together in honor of the Great One.

its because Al attracts nerds

my class actually voted me "Most Weird."

'


Here's another interesting question, relevant to this topic:

Why does Al attract so many nerdy fans? I, of course, include myself in this. What is it about parody music specifically draws nerds, or at least socially awkward people like myself? That seems to be the one thing we all have in common here. What is it about Weird Al that we are all drawn to? Fans of other types of comedy (and even comedy music like Flight of the Conchords, Tenacious D, etc) are not generally associated with nerd culture the way we are. And rightfully so.
Why is this?

Al is poking fun at the cool kids of music, much as the cool kids poked fun at us. Its kind of a retaliation thing. Plus he writes songs about Star Wars, the ultimate in nerdery.

TMBJon @ May 06, 2009 09:05 am wrote: '


Here's another interesting question, relevant to this topic:

Why does Al attract so many nerdy fans? I, of course, include myself in this. What is it about parody music specifically draws nerds, or at least socially awkward people like myself?

I think it may be two things:

1) Us nerdy folks are detail-oriented, and paying attention to the details really pays off with Al's stuff. He LAYERS joke upon joke.

2) Al's kind and accepting ways of dealing with people. It creates a "safe zone" for socially-less-successful people. I think, for example about UHF. It's not only a string of intertwining jokes and parodies. It's also a story about a collection of the most outsidery of outsider types of people, who somehow when they come together (blind guy with the Rubik's cube) reveal and support each other's value. There are little hints of this all through Al's stuff (without being heavy-handed, because where's the humor in that?) and great big indications of it at his meet & greets. Besides, Al's a nerd himself, in some respects, and he's successful and loved. What could be more encouraging than that for a kid who's still getting wedgies at school?

Well..

I am part of two very different fandoms of music... WAY And NKOTB ...

BOTH are VERY Similar ... yet very different

I'm used to knowing stuff the milisecond it happens, and thats with both groups. I have never found a forum for ANYTHING as well organized as Woway, I love this place. I may not be on here a whole lot, but I know where to find something if I need to.

The forums for my other band, aren't as great and there are a lot of Catfights and it gets old, so I rarely visit those forums. BUT I tell you, if something new is to be said with NKOTB or anything, they're on top of it. Sometimes I don't know HOW they find stuff so quick..its crazy.

So I'm use to the quick info and really appreciate it.. sometimes it gets out of hand with the other group, and a lot of stuff I really don't want to know (ie. too personal) but they're on top of it, like we are here

I don't think we're Weird, just heavily into what we like, and that is ok

As with most cliques, nerds tend to listen to a lot of the same types of music. These are the most common bands/musician that I see on the myspace/facebook interests of nerdy people:

They Might Be Giants
Ben Folds
The Beatles
Barenaked Ladies
Mr. Bungle
Cake
Weezer
OK Go
Polysics
Ween
David Bowie
Devo
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Talking Heads
Brian Eno
Frank Zappa
Jonathan Coulton
Lemon Demon
The Aquabats
MC Lars
The Flaming Lips

As you can see, nerds like weird music. Experimental stuff. Songs about subject matter that most people don't think to do. Music that doesn't limit itself to just a standard 4-chord structure, but is still poppy and fun to listen to. Lyrics that have a sense of humor and make use of wordplay. And Weird Al fits in with that stuff. Nerds are one of the few groups of people that recognize Al as an actual musician and don't write him off because he makes "silly music."

Nothing is weird. Things may be out of the ordinary, and I mean that in the least derogatory manner. Everyone has their quirks- some just hide it better than others. When I venture out in the real world, I don't use the refined, and boring mannerisms I display here when I talk. I also don't hold a big huge sign saying "I know a vast assortment of not-quite-useful Al Yankovic trivia" either. No shame in that because I'm not lying about nor hiding from it. Those who are deserving enough to know my nerdy side will be shown it.

....and how many of you actually buy it when I say I'm good at hiding my nerd side? >.<

Edit: As for how we approach fandom. Al really seems (seems, I don't know him enough) to be holding back some of his opinions. He teases about how many of us have the drive to constantly see the same performance over and over. I took such hobby for granted as my mom used to be the one who pays and drives for me. As I venture into adulthood, I realize how others may perceive it as a waste of money.

Our quirks can be easily argued for. Many smooth talkers will list off good points on why we do what we do and why we don't have any interest in changing.

We're fine if we feel fine. When we become comfortable with ourselves, the rest of our problems will follow more naturally.

I usually act very weirdly, then hide behind irony as a defense mechanism.

NNY273000 @ May 08, 2009 04:17 pm wrote: He teases about how many of us have the drive to constantly see the same performance over and over. I took such hobby for granted as my mom used to be the one who pays and drives for me. As I venture into adulthood, I realize how others may perceive it as a waste of money.

Its funny, with the amount of shows I saw over the last two summers, I still dont understand Dave Matthews Band fans. I dont know if he still does it, but for several years DMB did a weeks worth of shows in Philly. And I knew people that went every show. Did not understand it. Still dont. How can you see the same show 7 times in a row. At least Al changed 1 song up per show, but I still took a day or so between shows. So in conclusion, we are not weird, but DMB fans are.