World of Weird Al Yankovic

Kudos Mystik Tomato, weirdojace and minnick27!

I would bet you any amount of money that Al will NOT do a full-on Gaga parody. I think he named his polka medley "Polka Face," and put Gaga so prominently in it, specifically so he wouldn't have to parody her - it's a perfect way to prominently acknowledge Gaga's presence within album #13's TRACKLIST without actually having to parody her.

The Al of the '80s would have done a Gaga parody, no question. He probably would've been PRESSURED into parodying Gaga just like he was pressured into doing GJWHL. But the great thing about Al's current iconic status (he hasn't released an album in FOUR YEARS, for the love of cake, and he's selling out venues everywhere) is that he's no longer a slave to THE BIGGEST NEW THING. In 2003 he tried to parody THE BIGGEST NEW THING, and said BIGGEST NEW THING refused to let him do a video, and the album sales suffered. Then for his next album, he tried to parody THE BIGGEST NEW THING and got shut down by said BIGGEST NEW THING's record label (THE BIGGEST NEW THING can often be a magnet for douchebaggery, have you noticed?) so instead he parodied a popular-but-not-quite-Michael-Jackson-level-ubiquitous artist, and produced his first top ten single. A GREAT IDEA is infinitely more valuable than THE BIGGEST NEW THING right now.

I don't know what his next lead single will be, and until he releases it I don't want to know, or even guess. I want to be surprised, astounded and blown the hell away.

I'm not really saying Gaga has to be the lead parody. The lead parody honestly should be whatever is the best idea he gets.

But I wouldn't assume that just because Polka Face exists, that we won't get a full Gaga parody.

Fred you are THE BIGGEST NEW THING.

I like your theory about "Polka Face" being so obviously Gaga-inspired that it qualifies as the album's necessary Gaga quotient...but I think Jace is right. Have we ever had a situation before where multiple media outlets had headlines asking whether Al will parody a certain artist?

The polka medleys are fan favorites, but have never crossed into the mainstream like his parodies (which is actually sort of strange if you think about it...hmm). If he doesn't deliver a Gaga parody, that will be a huge mark against the critical appeal of the album just from the tracklist alone. Every review will call him out on it.

I'm not a Gaga fan so personally it wouldn't bother me if he avoided parodying her but I'm sucking it up because I can't see any way he can get away with leaving her off and it still being a credible document of the pop music scene over the last few years.

Al is in a "tight" spot, so to speak.

Al is damn near EXPECTED to do a Gaga parody, so if he doesn't, critics and fans will call him out on it. Yet, if he does one without a GOOD idea for a parody, he's in a Cyndi Lauper type thing. A parody without a good idea leads to a bad song, ie: "Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch."

Do I want a Gaga parody? YES. Do I expect one? Yes. But will I be disappointed? No. I want the best POSSIBLE album, even if it means no Gaga parody. Thousands have already parodied her on YouTube.

AAAmerah wrote:Fred you are THE BIGGEST NEW THING.

QFT!

I imagine it's hard to parody the "big thing" when there isn't a song that might be good fodder. At least at this point there is Gaga content on the new album.

Mystik Tomato wrote:

adaniels42 wrote:Yeah, it's a double-dip ...but I think it would be a warranted one, you know? I feel like Gaga is the only artist now who warrants the polka/parody treatment if you know what I mean.

And here's my confusion with this argument -- Lady Gaga can't be on both a parody and polka.

But, I'm Slim Shady. Yes, I'm the real Shady. And all the other Shadys are just imitating. So won't all the other Slim Shadys please stand up? Please stand up. Please stand up.

(Did Eminem really warrant both a parody and polka? Discuss)

That wasn't called The Real Slim Polka though.

Mystik Tomato wrote:On the other hand, nobody was really emulating Eminem back on '03. In fact, I barely remember hearing anything about 8 Mile or anybody watching it.Yes, he was a big deal, but there's nothing to suggest that Eminem's whole gimmick of being a rapper with both comedy and serious songs back then has lingering effects on the music of today..

I don't really feel like making an elaborate case for it right now, but I do think Eminem was as popular in his prime as Lady Gaga is right now. In fact, I'd say he was a bigger sensation then than she is now.

Fred made really good points, and I also strongly agree with Jace. Folks who think Lady Gaga "is going away" or whatever, you have a warped perspective of what is popular. If you think Lady Gaga is fleeting, I would like to read your thoughts on the top 2-3 artists in pop music right now.