World of Weird Al Yankovic

Skipper Dan: The interview is a lie.

Major fan of Disney AND Al. Says some very nice things.

Jonathan Coulton tweets about Dan.

Love Al and love the song....

If it was intended as a FOW style parody I don't think he got it right....

Musically, it's not as layered as Adam Schlesinger makes his stuff. It's much more sparse.

FOW's style is pretty well described in Robbie Fulks' parody song "Fountains Of Wayne Hotline" - you can listen to it here:

http://www.spinner.com/2007/06/07/iflts ... bie-fulks/

(Player at bottom).

Al's song does not have a full band distorted entry, does not have a melodic guitar solo and lacks the "wall of sound" with harmonic vocals that is a hallmark of FOW.

Just my opinion as an Al and FOW fan rolled into one...

--*Rob

Orthography Enthusiast @ July 16, 2009 05:27 pm wrote: I think that "ride not an attraction" review is a joke. Probably by this guy. Since he ends by recommending multiple purchases of the song, I doubt that he's all that upset really.

Ah, yes, looks to be the same comment, pretty much. Joke or not, this person only gave the song one star on itunes.

With all due respect, Rob, I think the song sounds enough like Fountains of Wayne to warrant several WOWAYers, myself included, calling Skipper Dan a Fountains of Wayne style parody. We're not being audiophiles here, we just think the basic style is there.

robaustin @ July 17, 2009 11:17 am wrote: Love Al and love the song....

If it was intended as a FOW style parody I don't think he got it right....

Musically, it's not as layered as Adam Schlesinger makes his stuff. It's much more sparse.

FOW's style is pretty well described in Robbie Fulks' parody song "Fountains Of Wayne Hotline" - you can listen to it here:

http://www.spinner.com/2007/06/07/iflts ... bie-fulks/

(Player at bottom).

Al's song does not have a full band distorted entry, does not have a melodic guitar solo and lacks the "wall of sound" with harmonic vocals that is a hallmark of FOW.

Just my opinion as an Al and FOW fan rolled into one...

--*Rob

I don't buy the "Fountains of Wayne" connection. Does Al have a history of doing style parodies of One-Hit Wonders like Fountains of Wayne? I know he's done straight-up parodies of OHWs but it seems like he reserves the style parodies for established bands like Weezer.

Al does not reserve style parodies for well known bands only. If you're going down the "one hit wonder" road...what about "Close But No Cigar" which is a Cake style parody. Cake has never been that big, but - like FOW have a loyal middle ground following. Al nailed Cake BTW - which has a very distinctive sound.

All I'm saying is that I don't think he nailed FOW, if that was his intent. He has SOME elements in there, but listen to the Robbie Fulks song and you'll see what I mean.

When Al sets out to nail a style - he gets it right on - from Devo to Talking Heads, Ben Folds to Prince and Beck, and even Zappa.....AL's track record is superb in doing so, which is why I don't buy that it's FOW.

--*Rob

robaustin @ July 17, 2009 02:01 pm wrote: Al does not reserve style parodies for well known bands only. If you're going down the "one hit wonder" road...what about "Close But No Cigar" which is a Cake style parody. Cake has never been that big, but - like FOW have a loyal middle ground following. Al nailed Cake BTW - which has a very distinctive sound.

All I'm saying is that I don't think he nailed FOW, if that was his intent. He has SOME elements in there, but listen to the Robbie Fulks song and you'll see what I mean.

When Al sets out to nail a style - he gets it right on - from Devo to Talking Heads, Ben Folds to Prince and Beck, and even Zappa.....AL's track record is superb in doing so, which is why I don't buy that it's FOW.

--*Rob

Cake is NOT a one-hit wonder, unlike Fountains of Wayne. Cake has several well-known songs. Try again.

That depends on your definition of "one hit wonder".

FOW has had many hits on the alternative charts, as has Cake. If you're strictly talking Top 40 - I'm not sure Cake has had even one single make it to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 (Either "The Distance" or "I will Survive" may have...but nothing else Cake has done has equalled anything close to the success of those two songs), whereas FOW has had Stacy's Mom. That would make FOW a One hit wonder, and Cake a no hit wonder (but - I don't have access to the Billboard charts so I do not know for sure). Both are pretty equal in terms of music business status - they both have a good size fan base and following, but they're not on par with a bigger band like say...Nickelback. They both play mid size venues - usually theaters or clubs, and they are both heard on alternative radio, but as more of an "oh wow" act rather than a staple.

I think the ultimate point I'm trying to make here - is that Al does not pick all the style parodies he does by how popular the group is - he picks some by what HE likes. Ben Folds could also be considered a "one hit wonder" - since the only hit he's had (to my knowledge) is "Brick". Yet - Al took the time to style parody him on "Why Does this Always happen to Me?" All likes Cake. Al very well may like FOW, but he didn't nail FOW in this song. Robbie FUlks though, did nail exactly what a FOW should have. Give it a listen.

--*Rob

Well, yeah that Robbie Fulks song sounds more like Fountains of Wayne than Skipper Dan, but you can't deny that Al's song has some FOW leanings. Of course, some say it also sounds like Weezer. Perhaps this is another Al original that doesn't have a strong enough tie to any groups musical style to label it a "so-and-so" style parody.

We are so used to Al paying homage to either genres or specific artists that its hard for me to recognize that "Al Sound" in which Dick Clark spoke so highly about.

Al did a style parody of the Rugburns, who have had, like, a negative number of hits. And FoW has at least as big a following as Ben Folds does, who as Rob mentioned, also has been the target of a style parody.