Found at:
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/living/6522319.htm
Posted on Wed, Aug. 13, 2003
Weird as he wants to be
Al Yankovic's an angry, hurting man -- or is he?
By Todd Camp
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Weird Al" Yankovic. Funny guy. Brilliant social satirist. Tortured genius. Behind the laughter, beyond the silly songs and beneath the long, dark, curly locks, Yankovic is more than pop music's undisputed prince of parodies. He's a complicated man with real desires, genuine emotions and, uh, a talent for playing the accordion.
Tonight, Yankovic enters the local history books as the final touring act to perform in Dallas' Bronco Bowl before it's razed to make way for a home-improvement megastore. Cruel irony considering the second track on Yankovic's latest album, Poodle Hat, is a do-it-yourself junkie's love story extolling the virtues of the opening of a new Hardware Store.
But despite the bittersweet circumstances, Yankovic fans can count on experiencing the kind of high-energy, multimedia, family-friendly entertainment synonymous with the entertainer we've affectionately come to know simply as "Weird Al." But what of the man behind the mocking? Is Al really as "weird" as he would have us all believe?
"The real Al's probably not quite as weird as people would want to believe," Yankovic says, seeming to choke back tears while parroting my rhetorical question.
I worked hard at peeling back the layers, getting inch by inch closer to "the real Al," starting with his first passion: his music. Much has been made of rapper Eminem's refusal to allow Yankovic to create a music video for Couch Potato, a sendup of Eminem's Oscar-winning song Lose Yourself. When I bring it up, it's clear this is a wound that has yet to heal.
"I'm not quite sure what [Eminem's] logic was there," Yankovic says. "From what I was able to gather, he felt that a Weird Al video would somehow detract from his legacy or make people view him less seriously or somehow damage his street cred, I'm not sure. It's unfortunate . . . it was going to be an amazing video."
But alongside the bubbling rage simmering just beneath Yankovic's Hawaiian-print shirt is some satisfaction at the reaction he's received from other artists satirized on Poodle Hat.
"Nelly was the most excited about it," Yankovic says. He turned Nelly's Hot in Herre into an anthem about neglected garbage called Trash Day ("There's something rotten here . . ."). "In fact, all the Nelly wardrobe that we wear onstage was given to us by Nelly, so he was apparently thrilled, and we're thrilled that he's thrilled."
Grammy-nominated songstress Avril Lavigne is lampooned in A Complicated Song, a ditty as complicated as its title. Lavigne was more than willing to let Al do his thing -- even though she'd never heard of him.
"Apparently she had no idea who I was when we approached her, so we had to give her the boxed set and educate her," he says. "But she's Canadian, so . . ."
The Billy Joel classic Piano Man is transformed into the tale of Peter Parker, better known as the web-slinging Spider-Man, but a crucial early misstep in young Yankovic's career could have spelled doom for the beleaguered summer movie sendup.
"I did a parody when I was in college called It's Still Billy Joel to Me off of his It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me, which was a bit of a put-down song actually. I never thought that Billy Joel would ever hear it, but apparently he did and I think he was put off by it," Yankovic says. "But this was like 1980, so 23 years later, thankfully, he chose to forgive and forget."
Making fun of has-been musicians aside, I still didn't feel like I'd gotten to the heart of Al's inner pain, so I broached the subject of relationships, referencing his many angry ballads over the years about love gone wrong.
"My songs aren't all autobiographical. I very rarely will, for example, stab somebody in the face," Yankovic says, referring to the Poodle Hat track Why Does This Always Happen to Me. "Some of it is drawn from experience. I mean, my love life up till a few years ago was pretty dysfunctional, so I suppose I would draw upon that to get some ideas for my songs, but I wouldn't read too much into it. I'm not like opening up and revealing the real Al through these songs."
Al Yankovic.
A tough nut to crack, a clown who's crying on the inside, but most of all . . . weird.
Al talks tough
Sure, we're all familiar with Al Yankovic's razor-sharp ruminations on crucial issues like junk food, hamster rights and bad television, but what of his thoughts on the issues of the day? Here's more insight on Al's serious side:
On the Episcopal Church's ratification of the first openly gay bishop . . .
"I just think there's not enough gay bishops. I think we need a whole plethora of gay bishops."
On President Bush and the elusive weapons of mass destruction . . .
"I would be happy to give you my thoughts on Bush and exactly how I feel about the whole situation, except I don't want to get audited this year, thank you."
On sending troops to Liberia . . .
"Can't we all just hold hands and sing a joyful song? Why does everybody have to be fightin', be so mean all the time. Everybody's so fussy. Why does everybody have to be so cranky?"
On Kobe Bryant . . .
"Well, he kind of messed up, didn't he there? That's unfortunate for everybody, and somehow, I don't think that buying that $4 million ring is gonna smooth things over."
On the recall of California Gov. Gray Davis . . .
"I thought the reason they elected him was because they were gonna give him a shot for, like, the entire term. It's not like he did anything like send our troops to war without a reason."
On the whole Ben and J-Lo thing . . .
"I guess they've agreed never to do another romantic movie with each other anymore. They'll try to just keep that in the tabloids where it belongs."
