A Weird Al "History of Pop/Rock Timeline" Idea

[minnick27]

Well it actually mpre Bach than anything, but it pulls some stuff from Beethoven.

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[Skippy]

The wiki is able to be modified by anyone though. I could modify Nobody Here But Us Frogs to say it was a style parody of Beethoven. Doesnt make it true.

Well, of course, but who would want to just put up a bunch of ridiculous style parody targets for no reason? I do remember the Springsteen/Midnight Star thing being discussed somewhere (alt.music.weird-al?) a long time ago, so when I saw it on the wiki I thought maybe everyone had accepted it, or that it had been confirmed.

[Mystik Tomato]

Well, of course, but who would want to just put up a bunch of ridiculous style parody targets for no reason?

[Skippy]

Polka Party! is done. There's really one song I'm not entirely sure what to do with, and that's "Don't Wear Those Shoes." The opening is very obviously "Father Christmas" by The Kinks, but the rest of the song bears little to no resemblance. Meanwhile, "One of Those Days" appears to also draw heavily from a Kinks song, "Ducks on the Wall." (Thanks to TheLazenby again for pointing me toward these songs.) I'm more inclined to think that "One Of Those Days" is the intended style parody, but honestly it could be either one of them, or both. I have a feeling Al was just listening to a lot of Kinks back then.

Two other songs on this album are typically just considered generic genre songs, but I decided to attribute them to specific artists. For "Good Enough For Now," I went with Ray Price's 1956 song "Crazy Arms." It's the original country shuffle, and follows the structure of GEFN pretty closely (really, vice versa, but you get it.) For "Christmas at Ground Zero," I think beyond just a standard carol, Al was going for the style of Phil Spector's 1963 Christmas album, particularly the Ronettes and Crystals songs.

[Bruce the Duck]

I hear a little "Jingle Bell Rock" in CaGZ as well.

[Skippy]

Even Worse offers a couple of challenges. There's the obvious "You Make Me," "Velvet Elvis," "Twister," and "Good Old Days" targets, so that's nice.

Then there's "Stuck in a Closet with Vanna White" and "Melanie." I heard both Aerosmith and Van Halen for "Vanna," and I lean more toward Van Halen, specifically the 5150 album, although the opening is reminiscent of 1978's "Feel Your Love Tonight." There's just not enough there that evokes Aerosmith to me to go that route. There is a little similarity in the vocals at the end and some Steven Tyler tendencies, but it's a pretty weak connection to make.

For "Melanie," I've heard Elvis Costello in the past, with people citing the similarity in the way the title females' names are sung in Al's song and Costello's "Alison." But honestly, it's not even that close, and there's no other reason to think it's Costello. (Plus, Al has since done a far more obvious Costello style parody.) Someone pointed out the vocal similarities in the choruses of "Melanie" and Marshall Crenshaw's "You're My Favorite Waste of Time," and I definitely hear it. Musically, though, there isn't much resemblance. I did find a few songs on Crenshaw's "Field Day" album (which came out close to the same time as "Waste of Time") that have a similar feel to "Melanie." The closest is probably "Hold It." It's certainly not a perfect match, but it's worth considering.

[Bruce the Duck]

The vocals at the end of "Vanna" (the "YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!" stuff) and a lot of stuff throughout (...tell me what this MEANS-A) is clearly a direct reference to Aerosmith/Steven Tyler. I wouldn't call it a weak connection at all. But you're right that the music itself seems to have a Van Halen vibe as well. I would kind of describe this as Steven Tyler singing a Van Halen song.

[TMBJon]

I really think Melanie is just a straight up original.

[Skippy]

Do you know a song where Tyler does the "-a" extra syllable thing? I gave the theory a fair investigation and couldn't find anything, nor do I really remember him doing that from my own Aerosmith knowledge. As for the "yeah yeah yeah" bit, sure, Tyler does that a lot at the end of songs, but in a more exaggerated way that I feel would be more obvious it was a direct reference. I'm not saying there's no way there was some Aerosmith influence, but to me it's far overshadowed by the Van Halen similarities. But if there actually are songs where Tyler does the "-a" thing, I'll definitely reconsider.

[Skippy]

I really think Melanie is just a straight up original.

I do too. I'm just trying to give all theories a fair shake.