Who Would Be The New Al If He/she Wanted To?

[Iamabrawler]

We heard him in his songs, Al always breaks the boundaries of craziness. In Jerry Springer, as an example. He also frequently goes over the limits according to many people, like in Weasel Stomping Day, which I`m sure he knew many people would tell him he`s a weasel killer.

That means Al knows his limits. He can joke on everthing, anyone, whatever, any real-life sittuation (like going to get a meal at the drive-thru), even laugh at some cultures and languages (French, Jamaican, Canadian, Spanish and Mexican if I recall), but always survive to anything. That means he`s got a faraway limit but he really often goes borderline from being too obscene or have too much risky lyrics not to fit the censors.

All in all, being Weird Al requires at first to know your limits. Know where to stop and know where you can still continue without any danger. You also know what you can laugh at without having too many risks. You also know to respect the parodied people`s wills. After all, it`s not because Prince has refused every parody that Al laughed at him. It`s not because Coolio had a little misunderstanding with Al that our favorite joker did not say "sorry man". And, of course, Al has true talent. I mean, he can really be weird once in a while, but he does his stuff seriously as anyone should. Al uses his talent to do weird stuff I know, but he is proven to have a worldwide fanbase, all this due to his success and mouth-to-ear and TV appearances (his appearance on the Simpsons was one of the first reasons why I searched for him on Youtube, and I gotta say his voice in Quebecer is totally the one I`d take if he ever was to redo all his songs into French). He also can do shows, which shows no shyness. And no problem on talking and singing strange stuff in front of hundreds of people.He got no stage fright.

Sure none of us have any worldwide fanbase (or do we?) but I`m sure many of us know out limits, and have all qualities listed on the upper paragraph. In other words, who has everything to be the next Weird (insert name here)?

I personally don`t think I have everything to be Al, I feel like I would not be able to receive a "no" from artists, I would also dislike doing shows since I`m subject to stage fright. So, who here thinks he/she has all qualities required to be a Weird?

[OneWAY]

I say Nina Yankovic

[JCM]

Well, this is assuming he dies, and could possibly be replaced, but I'd have to say the closest thing to Al would be another emerging comedy artist. One with the potential Al did to break barriers in the department, and look good doing so. And that's not something you can find in a regular old forum member. This is is a delicate process. No other person has lasted as long in the business as he. Not even Allan Sherman, who wrote the highest charting parody to date, could pull it off after that. And I really doubt either of those two things I named at the beginning of this post will happen anytime soon.

[TMBJon]

Well, this is assuming he dies

Whoa whoa whoa, don't jump to such conclusions, JCM!!! We don't know this...

[Orthography Enthusiast]

I don't think there will ever be "another Weird Al" because the conditions in the music/entertainment industry when Al was starting out won't be repeated. He was the right person at an opportune moment. And he's nowhere near finished being Weird Al.

[FredHuggins]

Hate to break it to you guys, but someone already is "the new Al." His name is Andy Samberg.

First and foremost, Al got to where he is today by making hilarious music videos to comedy songs. Who else, besides him and Andy's Lonely Island crew, is making a lucrative living off that today? Sure, their mediums and tactics are a bit different - Al did everything through a label, while Andy does everything through SNL, plus Andy collaborates with a LOT of guest stars and swears a lot, which Al doesn't - but as far as impact and exposure, Andy is at LEAST at the level Al was in the '80s. Probably a bit more. Andy hasn't "replaced" Al, per se - Al was never on SNL, and Andy doesn't tour, so there's less territory to take from each other. But for the last five years, for the first time in roughly a quarter-century, there has been not one, but TWO kings of comedy music videos. The elder statesman, and the rookie.

Al's work certainly seems to have heavily inspired Andy's. They both seem to understand that funny visuals alone aren't enough - with funny lyrics, you can make the joke play on CD too (and I HIGHLY recommend Lonely Island's "Incredibad" album for any comedy music fan). Both of them use viral video to their advantage. Both of them understand the value of understanding your spoof subject musically inside and out (although Andy admittedly has far less range - pretty much just different subgenres of hip-hop and R&B). And both of them failed in their initial attempts at big screen superstardom (UHF and Hot Rod).

Time will tell, of course, whether Andy will have the same shelf life as Mr. Yankovic. Will anyone care about Andy in 2026 as much as they cared about "White & Nerdy" in 2006? Who knows? But for now, and until Andy's star fades, he's become pretty much synonymous with funny music videos. In other words, the new Al.

[scottidog]

Dang, I thought it was going to be Joey Fatone. What ever happened to his "parody" album?

[FredHuggins]

Dang, I thought it was going to be Joey Fatone. What ever happened to his "parody" album?

The Dark Lord Satan had second thoughts about releasing it. He thought it might be a bit cruel.

One more point I'd like to make: Andy is the first big comedy artist since Al to produce MULTIPLE comedy hits, not just one. That's no small feat. "Lazy Sunday," "D**k In A Box," "J**z In My Pants," "I'm On A Boat," "Motherlover" - huge hits, one and all, with tens of millions of YouTube hits.

I'm not saying Al has to outright abandon his crown - just that he's been sharing it.

[scottidog]

That may be my nomination for best post whenever we have the next WOWAY awards.

[TMBJon]

There's a big difference between the two - Weird Al is funny, Andy Samberg is not.


Anyway, let's have the next WOWAY awards.