World of Weird Al Yankovic

Yeah, several of the books on parody that I read went heavily into the subject of what constitutes a parody and when something is and is not.

TMBJon wrote:Lyrical adaptations.

On that same point, why was "The Sage Begins" labeled a 'lyrical adaption' and all the others on Running with Scissors were called parodies?

Sorry to go off topic, but what's the difference between a parody and a lyrical adaptation?

Heck, you can use that question and the subsequent answer in your report.

Re-read the clause I quoted above. It sort of spells it out. A parody directly comments on the subject matter; a lyrical adaptation simply takes the same music and changes the words. Like I said, I think all of Al's parodies inherently comment on the original song but I guess there's a legal argument to be made in certain cases.

My paper focuses on film parodies, so I probably won't be adding in something about that.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

It's really kind of a grey area. Some might argue that "White & Nerdy" isn't a true parody, while some would say it is because of the subject matter and the way it juxtaposes that subject with the original song's lyrics.

Big Spoon wrote:My paper focuses on film parodies, so I probably won't be adding in something about that.

I was just answering Autumn's question.

Some might argue that "White & Nerdy" isn't a true parody, while some would say it is because of the subject matter and the way it juxtaposes that subject with the original song's lyrics.

I would say every parody on Straight Outta Lynwood, with the possible exception of "Do I Creep You Out?", is a direct parody in the legal sense.

I could totally see "White & Nerdy", "Canadian Idiot",and "Confessions Pt. 3"... But what about "Trapped in the Drive-Thru"?

Way_Moby wrote:I could totally see "White & Nerdy", "Canadian Idiot",and "Confessions Pt. 3"... But what about "Trapped in the Drive-Thru"?

The original is absurd melodrama. So is TitDT (Albeit intentionally so.)

Trapped in the Drive Thru is directly making fun of the ridiculousness of Trapped in the Closet, so it probably would be considered a legal parody under fair use.