Style parody target bands

Questions & Answers with the one and only Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, Weird Al's drummer since 1980!

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Kevbo1987
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Style parody target bands

Post by Kevbo1987 »

I remember Al saying that when he's working on a style parody, he immerses himself in the targeted band's catalog. Does Al give you guys the heads-up that he's working on a style parody of a certain band so you can listen to their catalog and nail down their style?
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minnick27
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Re: Style parody target bands

Post by minnick27 »

And more specically does he suggest certain songs? Using GiF as an example since it was such a big song
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Skippy
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Re: Style parody target bands

Post by Skippy »

I think Bermuda has said that they get a list of a bunch of songs, some of which end up being irrelevant. I'd like to know if Bermuda has/remembers those lists (the ones that aren't obvious.)
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Re: Style parody target bands

Post by bermuda »

I do have the lists from way back, and yes, many of the reference songs are completely unrelated to the vision Al conveys in his demos. A listen to the originals generally gives you an idea how it relates to another artist's song(s), although some songs are really just genre-based, and not linked to an identifiable artist. Two examples that come to mind are Buckingham Blues and Good Enough For Now.

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Re: Style parody target bands

Post by Skippy »

So for a song like "Good Enough For Now," is there still a list of reference songs? To me, that's the most interesting, because we can probably all guess the most pertinent songs for something like "Dog Eat Dog" or "Germs." I would really, really, really love to see some of these lists.....
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Re: Style parody target bands

Post by bermuda »

I doubt there were examples for that, it's an ez country shuffle. What I mean is, if someone said that to me, I'd know exactly what they meant.
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Re: Style parody target bands

Post by Skippy »

Gotcha. That doesn't really surprise me. Would've been cool if there was still a list. Don't ask me why. I'm just really fascinated by the style parodies. They exhibit a much deeper understanding and love of music than the parodies (or polkas, for that matter) do. I think that's what I find most endearing about all of you guys--your obvious true love of pop music.
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