How You First Discovered Al....

[weird_el]

hey yo, I recommend listening to this

http://www.npr.org/display_pages/featur ... 04580.html



It's a wonderful 16 minute interview Al did with NPR radio a couple months ago. It'll give you some great background on what Al is really all about.

[scottidog]

I think I have heard Dare To Be Stupid before, and isn't it a parody of a Devo song? :dontgetit:

You know I always thought so too, because it sounds just like something Devo did. But it's not. It's completely original. And now that I know better, I am convinced it is one of the best style parodies of his career.



It's not unusual for someone who is a very casual fan to think Al only does parodies. Because it's what sells the albums and what gets airplay on radio and MTV/VH1. But if you listen to more of Al's music, you will find that he does about as many originals as parodies. Most of Al's hardcore fans tend to prefer his originals.



Why do I like Al? Let me count the ways...



First of all, anyone can do bad parody (as we will see when Joey Fatone's solo album comes out) but GOOD parody is hard, and no one is better at it than Al. Not only in the writing of the songs, but his band is incredibly good at emulating the sound. So good, in fact that many people think that Al just lifts the vocal tracks off of the songs he parodies and uses the original artist's music in the background. Al's band is a group of amazingly talented guys who work very hard to do all the different styles Al throws at them.



Then of course there are the originals. Off kilter, funny, smart humor. One of the best examples is The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota. Or one of my personal favorites Trigger Happy. A happy little ditty in a Beach Boys style about a guy with a passion for firearms. Or how about The Night Santa Went Crazy? Great stuff. You can find the lyrics to most of Al's songs at Alsongs.com.



Then there are the Polka Medleys, also a favorite of the hardcore fans. There was much worry and angst here until we knew for sure there would be a Poodle Hat Polka Medley. Al takes some of the more popular songs of the day, and ramps them up to Ludicrous speed with a happy polka beat. It's comedy at it's finest.



For most of Al's hardcore fans, the biggest attraction is the man himself. He is warm, smart, kind, funny and very approachable. He gives great hugs too.



I'd encourage you to check into his music. But be careful. It's addicting!



And welcome aboard! Oh, and if you are a TMBG fan, check out a song of Al's called Everything You Know Is Wrong. It's a style parody of TMBG. I don't know their music well enough to know how well Al captured them, but I know Al is a big fan of "the Johns."

[Bob the girl]

I actually started out watching the Weird Al Show on Saturday mornings, and thought (as an 8 year old) that this Al guy was the coolest person on earth. Coincidentally, a year after the show ended, I discovered that a friend of mine was an Al fan, and she introduced me to his music.

[Bruce the Duck]

I could swear there is another thread for this. In fact I specifically remember having posted this before:



When I was 10 years old my fifth grade class was going on a field trip. Some of the kids in the class were singing Michael Jackson's "Bad" but with different words. Then they went on to sing "Got My Mind Set On You," again with very funny words. I simply assumed that the kids had made up the words themselves. It didn't strike me at that moment how clever and original the lyrics were, so I had no doubt that the kids made up the words. A couple of weeks later, my parents were driving me and a friend of mine somewhere and "Fat" came on the radio. My friend knew the song and started singing along. I asked him what the song was and he said it was a guy named "Weird Al." Sometime later, I went to the store and bought "Even Worse." The rest is history.



p.s. - I'm glad I wasn't here when Yo made his first post. I'm not as patient with newbies who speak ignorantly about Al as you guys do.

[doggans]

It was Summer 1999. I just finished sixth grade. I've always been a Star Wars geek, and one of my best friends (who had been an Al fan for a while) told me he bought the new Al CD (He told me Al was a comedy songwriter) and said there was a song on it about TPM to the tune of "American Pie". (Since we always listen to the oldies station, I know older songs a lot more than modern songs.) He sang the song to me, and I was dying laughing. Later he played parts of RWS and BHD to me. After that, I remained a "casual Al fan" for a while...until earlier this year when I borrowed the UHF DVD from him and watched it. Then I went overboard to full-fledged fandom.

[Kevbo1987]

I'm sorry! I wasn't aware this was such a touchy subject. I've been reading around for a while and I wish I'd done it before I'd posted. I've only heard a select few songs, like Smells Like Nirvana, Couch Potato, and Eat It. I didn't know that he wrote originals, although I think I have heard Dare To Be Stupid before, and isn't it a parody of a Devo song? :dontgetit:

I'm the one that should be apologizing Yo. I shouldn't have flown off the handle like that. I just get sick of hearing that statement made over and over and over again. I hope this doesn't sour your opinion of people on the forum. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy yourself!

[scottidog]

Group hug!

[Far Side]

My cousin had Bad Hair Day. I liked it. I got Running with Scissors and went to the concert. Then I got weird al's greatest hits volume 2, poodle hat, went to the poodle hat concert, and bought the food album. My little bro also has 2 cd's and I just got UHF yesterday.

[Manda]

I forgot to mention that after I saw the behind the music I got Running with Scissors and I really loved it and I went to my first concert and had a blast the very first concert I had never been too.

[djgrrrl]

I was at this guy's parent's house that I was dating wayyyy back in 1984-85 (I must have been around 11 or 12). MTV was just a fledgling at that point (and they actually played music videos all day long).



I was hanging out in his kitchen waiting for him when he called me into the living room and said "Look, here's that guy I was telling you about". It was the video for "Ricky". I think right after that I went out and bought "In-3D".