World of Weird Al Yankovic

Good parodies of untoppable originals
I Love Rock 'N' Roll > I Love Rocky Road
Another One Bites The Dust > Another One Rides The Bus
Beat It > Eat It [close call]
Lola > Yoda
Got My Mind Set On You > (This Song's Just) Six Words Long [another close one]
La Bamba > Lasagna
Mony Mony > Alimony
Stand > Spam
Smells Like Teen Spirit > Smells Like Nirvana
Under The Bridge/Give It Away > Bedrock Anthem
Piano Man > Ode To A Superhero [close again]

Weak-to-average parodies of decent-to-good originals
Girls Just Want To Have Fun > Girls Just Want To Have Lunch
Wild Thing > Isle Thing
She Drives Me Crazy > She Drives Like Crazy
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me > Cavity Search
Misery > Syndicated Inc.
Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) > Pretty Fly For A Rabbi
One Week > Jerry Springer
Zoot Suit Riot > Grapefruit Diet
Lose Yourself > Couch Potato
Hot In Herre > Trash Day
American Idiot > Canadian Idiot

A lot of these songs (especially the Polka Medleys) i heard through AL First.

I agree with Groovy Guy (try saying that three times fast), but when you finally do hear the original and come to the realization that it's better than the parody, you feel a sense of disappointment for some reason.

I have a certain nostalgia for when I first got into Al. It was a time way before the Internet and when I got his older albums (WAY-PP), I had no way of knowing which songs were parodies and which were originals, unless I was already familiar with the original versions of the parodies. Back then, I could enjoy the songs just as songs, without classifying them as parodies, originals, or style parodies. It was nice.

Don't know why I brought that up, but it seemed to vaguely relate to the topic...

Bruce the Duck @ October 25, 2009 05:09 pm wrote: I have a certain nostalgia for when I first got into Al.  It was a time way before the Internet and when I got his older albums (WAY-PP), I had no way of knowing which songs were parodies and which were originals, unless I was already familiar with the original versions of the parodies.  Back then, I could enjoy the songs just as songs, without classifying them as parodies, originals, or style parodies.  It was nice. 

Don't know why I brought that up, but it seemed to vaguely relate to the topic...

Nope off topic. Banned for 3 days. Have a nice life.







just kidding ; )

Actually same here, because I don't know anything about music.

For most of Polka Power I like the original versions better, mainly of (at least parts of) "Ghetto Superstar", "Backstreet's Back", "Tubthumping", "Push", "MMMBop", and "Closing Time."

Wow, that's a lot...

Not sure if polkas count, but if they do, good.

pretty fly for a rabbi ode to a super hero and another one rides the bus (there is a few more)

I go for Couch Potato. I think Al is awesome in it but I remember when that album came out, I was looking forward to something way funnier. I think maybe since Eminem was being such a pain, Al decided to do a rant on tv just to play it safe as opposed to making fun of Eminem or something else that Em would object to. But the weird irony is that Eminem has a slue of songs that are funnier than Couch Potato. I wish Al had done more with it. Oh well.

It's hard to say which is better parody or original in most cases though. In some cases I heard the original first and then heard Al's parody and sometimes I heard Al's version first then the original. I think it just depends but I know Al always does the best he can with what's given to him.

sethmartin wrote:I go for Couch Potato. I think Al is awesome in it but I remember when that album came out, I was looking forward to something way funnier. I think maybe since Eminem was being such a pain, Al decided to do a rant on tv just to play it safe as opposed to making fun of Eminem or something else that Em would object to. But the weird irony is that Eminem has a slue of songs that are funnier than Couch Potato. I wish Al had done more with it. Oh well.

It's hard to say which is better parody or original in most cases though. In some cases I heard the original first and then heard Al's parody and sometimes I heard Al's version first then the original. I think it just depends but I know Al always does the best he can with what's given to him.

No, I'm pretty sure he had the idea to do a then-updated version of "I Can't Watch This" BEFORE he asked Eminem for permission for the song. I'm pretty sure Al always attatches concepts/ideas to songs for parodies BEFORE he asks permission from the artists.