Weird Al: The Book

[minnick27]

Well they arent giving the books to Al for free, he would have to pay. Retailers pay somewhere between 40-50% of the cost of the books, the retail price is then profit for the retailer. Thats why stores are able to offer discounts on products, they still make money, just not as much per unit, but they usually sell more units that way making a higher profit in the end. So any royalties would be coming out of that. Im sure if Al were to sell it at the shows he would be getting them for that discounted rate thus putting more money into his own pocket without stiffing anyone else.

[fred27]

I'm sitting at the hideout waiting to meet Nathan

[fred27]

so im sittin in the front row, concert shirt on, jacket, books on lap, Nathan is talking then my phone rings, another tattoo he comments on the song, i say sorry turn the ringer off, they look at me, and i say, im fred with the pix, and they mention how im a big fan, and stuff then Marc says joking for Nathan and I to switch, it was a nice interview chat

[Killingsworth]

Looks like I won't be able to get my hands on my own copy until Monday, but I can't wait to read it. Reading some reviews posted here has been interesting.

[Eyeball Chair]

Just heard Al talk about it on the radio a couple hours ago~ I definitely want to buy one.

[Orthography Enthusiast]

Fred, did you get to talk to Nathan at all?

[Killingsworth]

Well, I got my copy of this today. I've only read the first two chapters so far. The pictures and tweets were a very nice touch, but Nathan Rabin's writing does leave a little something to be desired. So far, it's a lot more of the same stuff his fans already know but I would agree with Bermuda's assessment. I also learned some things I didn't know before such as the Jay Levey/Timothy Leary connection and the fact that Scotti Bros. had signed James Brown and subsequently suggested Al do "Living With a Hernia" as the "Polka Party!" lead single. I'll post a little more after I finish the book for sure.

[Killingsworth]

I finished the book last night and I have to say I don't like how the book rushes through the the 90s and everything thereafter, seemingly spending less and less time on each album. The writing itself was well done, but Nathan Rabin's retrospective seems to romanticize Al and Kurt Cobain's careers a little too much for my taste (Cobain was a fine musician and all, but Rabin seems to appreciate him on a much deeper level than me which is a little off putting). One thing I did like though is how much he mentioned MAD Magazine as an influence on Al in the first chapter. Other than that, I have no big complaints about the rest of the book. It turned out great!

[weird user]

I've seen copies of the book at my local Books-A-Million (I thought it was due for release later this month) but I think I'll just put this on my Christmas list for this year.

[weird user]

I got this book for Christmas, and I'm just now talking about it here. It's great. I actually found a few great facts about Al that I didn't know before!

Like I didn't know that Al had to pay $1,000 to rerecord My Bologna for his first album. I wonder if that's part of the reason he didn't rerecord School Cafeteria (besides him likely being embarrassed).

And it was interesting to read that on the Off the Deep End cover Al was not supposed to appear naked, but some of the photos just happened to get his body in a way where the trunks can't be seen.