Even Worse Polka?

bizarreblair · Post by **bizarreblair** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 6:27 am

Hi Guys,

I haven't posted here before & I hope this isn't too off topic, but it's something I've been trying to remember exactly for a while. And since we're talking about albums without polkas & Even Worse came up...

I believe Al, or perhaps Bermuda, said at ALCON '98, that Even Worse had a polka on it, right? And that it was another single artist polka. In fact, what my foggy memory is telling me is that it was a U2 medley. Now, I could be wrong. Maybe I heard wrong at the time, or they were joking, or something because Al ended up doing a U2 parody later. So maybe it wasn't U2, and maybe the facts from the whole "Weezer/Buddy Holly polka incident" are muddling up my thoughts. And I'm sure I can count on people here to set me straight with anything I get wrong here but...

With the polka medleys, since Al is using someone else's music and lyrics, he essentially makes no money from the polkas (aside from the little in-between transitions that he calls "Way Moby Polka"). In fact, he has to get special permission to only pay the writers for a percentage of their songs. If he had to pay each writer full price for each full song, he couldn't do the polkas-too expensive. So, here's the part I think I might have wrong. He recorded a single-artists polka for Even Worse, and that artist subsequently revoked the permission to only pay for each song "snippet". They wanted full price for each song. So, no polka. And I believe Bermuda's close-to-exact words were, "Al recorded a polka that will never be heard." Now was that U2, someone else? I can't remember. I know there are other people here who were at ALCON '98. Anyone care to set me straight? Thanks!

Mod Edit: Moving to Music & Record forum from spoiler forum

Post by **TMBJon** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:12 am

I had never heard that before. Is that the Led Zep polka?

Post by **anthontherun** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:21 am

U2 had a few hits by 1988, but they'd only been together for a couple of years at that point, not enough to have a single-artist polka I wouldn't think.

But I don't know anything about it so it's entirely possible.

Website · Post by **Teh Dingo** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:38 am

Well they had actually been around since the late 70s. But it wasn't til 87 they went from college radio hits to the band they became

Is that the Led Zep polka?

Atlantic Records must be denying Al in the past too!

GrayJ · Post by **GrayJ** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:53 am

spacedingo @ Aug 14 2006, 12:38 AM wrote: Atlantic Records must be denying Al in the past too!

Actually, it was Page himself who denied it.

MarsBar · Post by **MarsBar** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 3:43 pm

Even Worse had a polka on it

Al ended up doing a U2 parody later.

Weezer/Buddy Holly polka incident

Where does this guy get his facts?

Post by **Jigawatt** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 3:50 pm

MarsBar101 @ Aug 14 2006, 09:43 AM wrote:
Weezer/Buddy Holly polka incident

Where does this guy get his facts?

Actually, there *was* a Weezer "polka incident"...

From The Midnight Star, Ask Al , July/August 1996:

Why do you give special thanks to Weezer when there is no parody or nothing of them (on BHD)?

"Buddy Holly" by Weezer was originally in the Alternative Polka. In fact, it was completely recorded, and we were about to do the final mix when we got a call from Weezer's management - apparently the song's writer, Rivers Cuomo, decided for whatever reason that he didn't want his song in my medley after all, so at the very last minute (after the "special thanks" had already been printed on the CD and cassette booklets) we had to physically cut the song out of the medley. I'm still kind of bummed about it - it sounded really cool.

Adrian

Post by **Elvis** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:22 pm

MarsBar101 @ Aug 14 2006, 09:43 AM wrote:
Al ended up doing a U2 parody later.
Where does this guy get his facts?

"Cavity Search"

I don't remember Bermuda saying anything about a U2 polka, but it was 8 years ago, so it could just be my memory's bad. I've always heard that Al didn't include a polka on EW because "Lasagna" was already very heavy on accordion and he didn't want two accordion songs on the same album.

Dave

Mad Genius · Post by **Mad Genius** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:36 pm

Wow! All of this is interesting, especially the "Buddy Holly" segment being removed entirely from the polka. Too bad us diehards can't find a copy of that! It would be a true rarity if it somehow surfaced.

...and while we're on the subject, I too am curious as to why no polka on Even Worse. I mean, I understand why no polka on the debut CD.

Fun Fact, Folks: The Polka Medley was originally a concert-only performance where Al and band would perform a medley of popular songs (at the time) in the form of a polka. If I recall correctly, it was such a success and a hit with the fans, that Al deicded to make polka medleys a tradition in all if not most of his albums.

What I would *LOVE* to see is an album version of either the Fabulous Food Medley or possibly a "Terrific TV Medley".

Post by **Kevbo1987** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 6:40 pm

Hmm...that's very interesting. I've never heard about the possibility that Al had a polka recorded for EW. I suppose it's possible, but as others have said, I don't think there was enough U2 material at that time for them to be the subject of a single-artist polka. This would make a good Ask Al question.