Weird Al Goes Political

[TMBJon]

Two documented cases in a week: Al appears on the NOH8 posters with Suzanne and Nina, and then after it became a "big deal" here on WOWAY, he tweeted a gag about Arizona immigration. There's not much to say about either of these that hasn't been said, so I wanted to go in a totally different direction which I think would encourage more on topic conversation.

Which Weird Al song do you think makes the most overt political statement? Obviously Weird Al is a comedy musician but there are definitely a few moments of pointed commentary. Here is my list in order of most to least overt.

Canadian Idiot: The final verse invokes the notion that Canada is making him nervous, and calls for a pre-emptive strike. This phrase is a known Bush-ism, and is a clear reference to the Iraq War.

Christmas At Ground Zero: An homage to Cold War hysteria. I've always thought the juxtaposition of Ronald Reagan in the video counting down to "the big day" was inspired.

Trigger Happy: Al tackles the 2nd Amendment and demonstrates a pro-gun control position.

Ringtone: The video actually features [cartoon versions of] President Obama, VP Biden, Sec Clinton, Sec Geithner, and Rahm Emmanuel.

Happy Birthday: "The monkeys in the Pentagon are gonna cook our goose. Their finger's on the button. All they need is an excuse."

Genius In France: "A little more to the left, boys, a little more to the left..."



Al, if you are reading this I hope you got a good laugh from this over-analyzation.

[scottidog]

I would agree with all of those you mentioned, except for Canadian Idiot. Pre-emptive strike has been in the political vocabulary long before Dub was president. And what else would you call it if you attacked first, which is what the song is about. Now, you may be right, in the respect of it being a song about "live and let live" but I don't see it as being necessarily anti-Bush, but more pro-can't we all just get along.

And you didn't ask the question, but I see Weasel Stomping Day as having religious overtones (undertones?)

People up and down the street
Crushing weasels beneath their feet
Why we do it, who can say?
But it's such a festive holiday

So let the stomping fun begin
Bash their weasely skulls right in
It's tradition, that makes it okay

What I have wondered is how much of this type of thing is deliberate, and how much is an outpouring of who he is and it's not conscious at all.

[minnick27]

How is the GiF line political? I just thought the statue had to be moved over. In my "mind video" I always saw Al directing the statue movers, and when it was moved it blocked the Eiffel Tower

[scottidog]

And wasn't the song written before the flap with the French?

[TMBJon]

Yeah that one I was joking about, but I do recall an article at the time which said it was obviously an intentional political comment so I threw it in.

Re: pre-emptive strike - I really do think that line was an Iraq War reference and people do refer to that as the Bush Doctrine. Not saying it's anti-W, but just a satirical comment on how quickly we went into that war and with little justification. That's how I interpreted the end of the song but I'd be interested to hear if others thought of the dong that way.

[TMBJon]

The other thing with Canadian Idiot. The original is by far the most political song he has ever parodied. Including that little Iraq War reference was more of a hat tip to Green Day than an indictment of President Bush.

[weirdojace]

I'll Sue Ya is most definitely a commentary on how people (especially in America) are so quick to sue anybody over anything nowadays, regardless of how small or stupid of an issue it may be. Or in some cases, suing because of the person's own stupidity.

Probably not so much a political commentary as just a social commentary.


Also, in the Weird Al Show commentary, during the scene where Kuni says to Al, "You are my opponent and therefore I am to assume that you will attack me" he makes another reference to President Bush and pre-emptive striking.

[Wizzerkat]

And you didn't ask the question, but I see Weasel Stomping Day as having religious overtones (undertones?)

People up and down the street
Crushing weasels beneath their feet
Why we do it, who can say?
But it's such a festive holiday

So let the stomping fun begin
Bash their weasely skulls right in
It's tradition, that makes it okay

What I have wondered is how much of this type of thing is deliberate, and how much is an outpouring of who he is and it's not conscious at all.

When I read the tradition line, I always think of the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lotry.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Grom]

a pre-emptive strike. This phrase is a known Bush-ism, and is a clear reference to the Iraq War.

You're so wrong it's painful. That phrase is a known Final Fantasy-ism and is a clear reference to the Balamb-Galbadia War. You ignorant hick.

[Mystik Tomato]

And it's quite obvious that Genius In France is an allegory for the rise of Yu Yevon.