definitive list of style parodies

Jebediah · Post by **Jebediah** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 4:11 am

Okay, this has been attempted before, but I want to make an official, definitive list of style parodies. Some style parodies may be in the style of of one artist, or some may just be in the style of one whole genre of music.

Here is a list of all of Al's originals. Styles that I am confident about are in bold. Ones that I am uncertain about are in italics.

Gotta Boogie - genre - boogie (but can we be more specific?)

Buckingham Blues - genre - blues (more specific?)

Happy Birthday - artist - Tonio K (I've never heard of this artist. Can anyone confirm this?)

The Check's in the Mail - I don't think this is a style parody

I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead - Again, I don't think this is a style parody, but it kinda sounds like one

Such a Groovy Guy - probably a style parody, but I'm not sure of what

Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung - not a style parody

Midnight Star - I don't think it's a style parody

Buy Me a Condo - artist - Bob Marley (Some say it is just reggae, but listen to "Buffalo Soldier" by Bob Marley and tell me that "Buy Me a Condo" isn't Marley)

Mr. Popeil - artist - B-52's

That Boy Could Dance - artist - Billy Joel (can anyone confirm this?)

Nature Trail to Hell - genre - heavy metal (more specific?)

Dare to Be Stupid - artist - Devo

One More Minute - It's in a certain genre, but the genre is hard to describe / name. Is it supposed to be a certain artist?

George of the Jungle - since it's a cover, I'd say that this isn't a style parody

Slime Creatures From Outer Space - Thomas Dolby or perhaps just soundtracks from scifi movies from the 50's?? Any comments?

This Is The Life - genre - 1920's piano rags

Cable TV - don't think this is a style parody but I could be wrong

Dog Eat Dog - artist - Talking Heads

One of Those Days - don't think it's a style parody

Don't Wear Those Shoes - according to Ask Al, it's not a style parody

Good Enough For Now - genre - country ballads

Christmas at Ground Zero - genre - Christmas carols

Stuck in a Closet With Vanna White - artist - Aerosmith (confirm?)

You Make Me - artist - Oingo Boingo

Melanie - don't think it's a style parody but I could be wrong

Velvet Elvis - artist - The Police

Twister - artist - Beastie Boys

Good Old Days - artist - James Taylor

Attack of the Radioactive Hamsters From a Planet Near Mars - I don't think it's a style parody

UHF - I doubt it's a style parody, though the music video is a style parody of so many different things. For bonus points, can anyone name every single musical artist referenced in the "UHF" video? I certainly can't.

Let Me Be Your Hog - not a style parody

Generic Blues - genre - blues (duh)

Fun Zone - not a style parody

The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - artist - Harry Chapin and Gordon Lightfoot (according to Ask Al)

Trigger Happy - artist - Beach Boys

I Was Only Kidding - I doubt it's a style parody

When I Was Your Age - artist - Don Henley (one web site I read said that WIWYA sounded a lot like "Dirty Laundry" - can anyone confirm or deny this?)

Airline Amy - don't think it is

You Don't Love Me Anymore - I'm not sure about this one. The video is a style parody of the video for Extreme's "More Than Words", and YDLMA sounds a bit like that song as well. Is it an Extreme style parody? A different artist? Or just a cynical style parody of cheesy love ballads?

Young, Dumb, and Ugly - artist - Guns n Roses (I'm pretty sure about this one. Anyone wanna back me up?)

Frank's 2000" TV - artist - REM

Traffic Jam - artist - Prince (This is the only one on this list that I just cannot hear. I'll admit I'm not THAT familiar with Prince, but TJ sounds very little like what I've heard of Prince so far. But everyone says it's Prince, so I included it)

Talk Soup and Waffle King - I've heard that each one of these is a style parody of Peter Gabriel. Can anyone confirm either one being a Gabriel style parody?

She Never Told Me She Was a Mime - I don't think so

Harvey the Wonder Hamster - Sounds to me like a style parody of some kind of sports fight song, but I dunno. Any ideas?

Everything You Know Is Wrong - artist - They Might Be Giants

Callin' in Sick - Nirvana or perhaps just grunge? Any ideas?

Since You've Been Gone - genre - upbeat a cappella songs (more specific?)

I'm So Sick of You - artist - Elvis Costello (confirmed by Ask Al)

I Remember Larry - I doubt it's a style parody

The Night Santa Went Crazy - I always assumed this was just a Christmas carol tune. But I've recently heard that it's a style parody of Soul Asylum. Is this valid?

My Baby's in Love With Eddie Vedder - I don't think this is a style parody, I think it was just a way for Al to play some good accordion music for an original. But I could be wrong. Any guesses?

The Weird Al Show Theme - not a style parody

Germs - artist - Nine Inch Nails

Your Horoscope For Today - genre - ska (especially Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Reel Big Fish)

Truck Drivin' Song - genre - truck-driving songs (especially C.W. McCall)

Albuquerque - I always thought this was just straight Weird Al, but I recently heard that it was a more discreet, subtler style parody of Frank Zappa. Anyone confirm this?

Hardware Store - I heard some theories, but people disagreed. Can we agree on one artist that this is a style parody of? Or can we agree that it's not one?

Party at the Leper Colony - I don't think it's one, but it could be

Wanna B Ur Lovr - artist - Beck and Prince simultaneously

Why Does This Always Happen to Me? - artist - Ben Folds

Bob - artist - Bob Dylan (duh)

Genius in France - artist - Frank Zappa

Whew. Okay, get posting. Let's try to nail down some of these.

BillyW3 · Post by **BillyW3** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 4:38 am

Buckingham Blues is a style parody of "Jack & Diane" by John "Cougar" Mellencamp, which was directly parodied by "The Ballad of Homer & Marge" on the Simpsons.

Post by **scottidog** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 4:43 am

Buckingham Blues. Was supposed to be a parody of Jack and Diane. But became a style parody of John Mellencamp. Or so I've read.

OMM I thought was an Elvis style parody. But CatraDhtem says it's Nick Rivers does Elvis. Which I can see. So I think CD's right and I'm wrong. Did I really say that? :lookround: But I must defer to the Big Boys in matters concerning Al's music.

Trigger Happy. Beach Boys and a little Jan and Dean (according to Ask Al.)

Young Dumb and Ugly sounds like AC/DC to me. But what do I know about Metal?

Traffic Jam definately Prince. (Let's go crazy.)

Eddie Vedder is zydeco, but is it a parody of any particular group? I dunno.

I am very interested in this topic. Thanks for starting it.

<Edited to credit the correct Big Boy> :biggrin:

Website · Post by **Teh Dingo** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 4:49 am

"The Night Santa Went Crazy" sounds very much like "Black Gold" by Soul Asuylum. In fact I'm very sure "Black Gold" even has a siren in the middle. ALthough I've never seen anything saying this, I have little doubt that Al was at least familliar with "Black Gold"

Hmmm...as far as "Talk Soup" and "Waffle King" are concerned: WK does have the "whistle effect" made famous in Gabriel's "Sledgehammer", but TS really sounds more like Gabriel. It has the same kind of bouncy sound that Gabriel's more upbeat songs like "Sledgehammer", "Big Time" and "Steam" have (In fact, "Steam" was a hit for Gabriel right around the time TS was recorded, if I recall).

BillyW3 · Post by **BillyW3** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 4:54 am

"The Night Santa Went Crazy" sounds very much like "Black Gold" by Soul Asuylum. In fact I'm very sure "Black Gold" even has a siren in the middle. ALthough I've never seen anything saying this, I have little doubt that Al was at least familliar with "Black Gold"

I agree, but the intro to "The Night Santa Went Crazy" sounds a lot like "Mama, I'm Coming Home" by Ozzy Osbourne, too.

Post by **Elvis** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 5:19 am

OMM I thought was an Elvis style parody. But Dave says it's Nick Rivers does Elvis. Which I can see. So I think Dave's right and I'm wrong. Did I really say that? :lookround: But I must defer to the Big Boys in matters concerning Al's music.

When did I say that? I must have been really drunk or really tired.

I don't even know who Nick Rivers is??? :dontgetit:

Dave

Website · Post by **Teh Dingo** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 5:22 am

I'd say Hardware Store is Linkin Park on 45.

Marko_The_Odd · Post by **Marko_The_Odd** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 5:26 am

I've also heard that Waffle King as been compared to some of the Art of Noise's stuff like Closer (To the Edit). Harvery the Wonder Hamster also reminds me of cheesy commercial jingles, like the Oscar Myer Weiner song.

I don't think When I was Your Age sounds much like Dirty Laundry, but I think I heard someoen say somewhere else that it reminded them of a different Don Henley song..

I also recall somewhere, about eharing somethign abotu a version of Nature Trail to Hell done like Thriller by Michael Jackson. Does anyone know anythign else about this?

Jebediah · Post by **Jebediah** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 5:36 am

"Buckingham Blues" was originally intended to be a parody of Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane", but when that fell through, Al did not attempt a style parody of Mellencamp. He did keep the line, "Lemme tell you a story about Chuck and Diane" (which was obviously going to be in the parody if it was approved), but the end result that is "Buckingham Blues" sounds nothing like Mellencamp. It sounds like blues.

"One More Minute" sounds like Elvis to me too. And BTW, Nick Rivers, if I'm not mistaken, is the teen pop sensation / heartthrob character in "Top Secret!", one of Al's favorite movies.

I did notice that Al said there was a little Jan and Dean in "Trigger Happy", but it's primarily Beach Boys, so I didn't mention it.

I've actually never heard any AC / DC songs. But I have heard some Guns n Roses songs, and "Young, Dumb, and Ugly" sounds similar.

Hmm, I actually have no clue what zydeco is. But I noticed on Ask Al, he mentioned that a zydeco song would probably show up on RWS, so maybe "Eddie Vedder" is it.

Is TNSWC really Soul Asylum? It seems kinda silly to do a Soul Asylum parody AND a Soul Asylum style parody on the same album. And TNSWC does sound a lot like Christmas music. But if everyone says it's Soul Asylum, maybe I'm wrong. I'm not too familiar with the group as it is.

Any other votes on whether "Talk Soup" or "Waffle King" is the Peter Gabriel style parody? I don't think he'd do two Gabriel style parodies on the same album. Now, on Ask Al, he said:

Why did you write Waffle King? There must be a story behind that.

Boy, you'd think so, wouldn't you? But there isn't. I just wanted to write a song about a guy who becomes incredibly famous for doing something kinda stupid, and then starts taking himself way too seriously. And NO, it's not autobiographical!

Do you think he would mention that it was parodying Gabriel if that was part of his intention? How about you, Bermuda? You out there? Any ideas on the Gabriel parody? Maybe I should start a poll on this topic.

Jebediah · Post by **Jebediah** » Sat Jun 07, 2003 5:49 am

I just downloaded "Dirty Laundry" and it sounds pretty much like "When I Was Your Age" to me. But if not that song, I think we can agree that it's a Don Henley style parody? Any dissent?