This is it! The big day is here! "Weird Al" Yankovic's new album, Alpocalypse, comes out today! Stupid Canada Post strike...I pre-ordered my copy on Amazon.ca a month ago! Who knows when the hell it's going to arrive now?
Oh, well. At least Weird Al has me covered. He released the video for his lead single, Perform This Way, yesterday! As you may recall, 'tis a parody of Lady Gaga's Born This Way.
My thoughts...meh. As I kinda blogged when he first leaked Perform This Way to the Internet, there's a whole feeling of, "I'm parodying this because I have to," to this, and as such, it just feels like it's lacking...something. Maybe it's because Lady Gaga is too easy a target, making the jokes seem too easy. I don't know. It's good, but I don't think it's one of Weird Al's best.
I've watched this a few times, now, and I'm starting to wonder if Weird Al had his head digitally superimposed on a woman's body. There's just some scenes in there where his bangs float over his forehead in a weird way, and the head just doesn't seem proportioned to the body.
Oh, well. I can still pass the time waiting for this Canada Post strike to end. As previously announced, all of the songs on Weird Al's digital EP Internet Leaks were all the original songs on this new album. Since I bought Internet Leaks when it first came out in 2009, I at least already own half of the album.
Here's my favourite from the Internet Leaks collection, and thus one of my favourites from Alpocalypse, and that's this little ditty called Skipper Dan:
Pathos from a Weird Al song. Whoda thunkit?
And lastly, it's just not a Weird Al album without a polka medley. The new album has actually been streaming since last week, so the fan-made music videos are starting to pop up online. Ladies and gents, here's Polka Face:
Now let's get this damn postal strike settled so my CD will arrive in the mail!
Just a little over a week to go before Weird Al's new album Alpocalypse comes out! My copy is pre-ordered on Amazon.ca, and I can hardly wait for it arrive!
Anyway, starting to get a few comments on the blog telling me what songs Weird Al parodies on his new album. Seeing as to how it's now part of the track listing on Amazon.ca and iTunes, I may as well share.
1) Perform this Way - As previously revealed on YouTube a couple months ago, a parody of Born This Way from Lady Gaga.
3) TMZ - From the title, it's obviously going to be about the gossip-sharing website. It's going to be a parody of You Belong With Me from Taylor Swift.
5) Polka Face - The polka medley. I won't go into the list, but some of the songs in it are Poker Face, Womanizer, I Kissed a Girl, Fireflies, Need You Now and Justin Beiber's Baby.
7) Party in the CIA - Riffing on Party in the USA from Miley Cyrus. Weird Al's first parody of a Disney kid!
9) Another Tattoo - Spoofing Nothin' On You by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars. Hmmm...this is the only one where I`m not familiar with the original, so let`s try to find it on YouTube:
11) Whatever You Like - Part of the Internet Leaks collection, parodying Whatever You Like from T.I.
The countdown continues to Weird Al's new album, Alpocalypse, and I'm buzzing with the excitement that only a new Weird Al album can bring. Just perusing the Internets, and I'm finding that the track listing to Alpocalypse has been released!
Ah, looking over this track listing, I'm taken back to my childhood, leafing through my brother's Columbia Record House catalogues, reading the track listings for all those Weird Al albums and wondering what the songs were about. "Is this a parody of that?" "That song's got a strange title...I wonder what it's about." "Man, I wish Mom and Dad would raise my allowance so I can actually buy these and find out!"
Now, a lot of these songs will look familiar. And that's because, as Weird Al has been saying for a while now, all the songs from his 2009 digital EP Internet Leaks are on this album. So, the album is, like, 50% new material, and 50% 2-year old songs.
So let's take a look here!
1) Perform This Way - His aforementioned (and already blogged-about-by-me) parody of Lady Gaga's Born This Way.
2) CNR - Part of Internet Leaks, his White Stripes-style song about acting legend Charles Nelson Riley.
3) TMZ - No idea if this is an original or a parody, but will obviously be about the gossip-mongering website.
4) Skipper Dan - My favourite from the Internet Leaks collection, about a gifted young actor and the only gig he can get: working on the Disneyland Jungle Cruise ride.
5) Polka Face - With a title like that, this is obviously the requisite polka medley.
6) Craigslist - The first one released as part of the Internet Leaks collection, his Doors-tribute about the classified ad website.
7) Party in the CIA - Many Weird Al sites are already agreeing that this is most likely a parody of Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus.
8) Ringtone - Also from the Internet Leaks collection, all about annoying ringtones.
9) Another Tattoo - And now the confusion of my youth. Parody or original? I have no idea.
10) If That Isn't Love - One thing Weird Al does is twisted love songs, so I'm guessing this is an original.
11) Whatever You Like - The only parody on the Internet Leaks collection, a parody of T.I.'s Whatever You Like. Given the economic downturn, our singer can now only afford to by his girlfriend "whatever she likes" down at the Dollar Store. (Fun trivia fact: the only Weird Al parody that has the same name as the original.)
12) Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me - Based on the title, we know what the joke is. But again, parody or original? I'm not sure.
Oh, and also revealed that, following the model of his last album Straight Outta Lynwood, the album will come with a DVD, featuring animated music videos for 10 of the 12 songs on the album! The only ones not getting music videos are Perform This Way and Polka Face.
As I reported back on Thursday, there was a bit of a kerfuffle between "Weird Al" Yankovic and Lady Gaga. In case you don't want to go back and click on that entry, here's the Coles Notes. Weird Al had an idea for a parody of Born This Way, Lady Gaga made him write and produce the whole song before signing off on it...and then she said no. Weird Al was grumpy that all his hard work had been for naught and was getting ready to release it as a free download.
But then, on Thursday afternoon, the whole story came out. Turns out Lady Gaga...never heard Weird Al's parody. Her manager was the one who said "She wants to hear the whole thing first," and her manager was the one who ultimately said, "No." Once Weird Al posted the song online and told his story, Lady Gaga finally heard the parody, loved it, and officially gave it her thumbs up!
So that means, Weird Al's new album is on track! A release date of June 21 has been announced, and Weird Al has revealed the name of his next album!
Get ready for...the Alpocalypse!
Oh, and if you don't want to wait until June 21, you can buy his Lady Gaga parody, Perform This Way, on iTunes TODAY!!
Most people who know me will tell you that I'm one of the biggest "Weird Al" Yankovic fanboys in the world. Therefore, there's three little words that always gets me tingling: new Weird Al.
Today, on YouTube, Weird Al posted a brand new parody...a spoof of Lady Gaga's Born This Way which he retitled I Perform This Way. Weird Al also added the disclaimer that this song will NOT be on his new album.
As the story goes, Weird Al wanted to get Lady Gaga's approval for the parody. Weird Al doesn't need to get approval, he just does because he's a nice guy like that. However, rather than just a description of the song or a copy of the lyrics, Lady Gaga insisted on hearing the song fully produced before signing off on it. So Weird Al did. And then she said no.
So, Weird Al's being miffed stems from the fact that he poured a lot of hard work into this, and he doesn't want all his hard work to go for naught because of it. Never mind that now he's looking for a new song to parody to be the lead single on his new album. So, he's posting the song to YouTube, and he'll be making it a free download at his official website in the weeks ahead.
Sadly, though, this is starting to become par for the course for Weird Al. Let's flash back to five years ago. Pretty much the same thing happened. The lead single was going to be You're Pitiful, a parody of James Blunt's You're Beautiful. But, James Blunt's record company stepped in at the last minute and forbade it's release, fearing that the parody would damage Blunt's image. Blunt himself was cool with it. So, Weird Al made it a free download at his website...where you can still download it today!
Or heck, back in 2003, with Weird Al's album Poodle Hat. The lead single was Couch Potato, a spoof of Eminem's Lose Yourself. While Eminem reluctantly agreed to the parody, Eminem vetoed the music video. Eminem's argument was that he already mocks himself though his "Slim Shady" persona, so no one else has to. But still, with music videos still being the biggest part of Weird Al's exposure, it was a devastating blow ot Poodle Hat's sales.
Weird Al just doesn't get the same respect he once did. Once upon a time, about 20 years ago, when Weird Al did a parody of your song, it was taken as a badge of honor...achievement unlocked...a sign that you had made it! Now, though, it's starting to be seen as embarrassment...a dark spot...a chip in the original aritst's carefully constructed image.
As for my thoughts on the song...meh. It's not one of Weird Al's stronger parodies. Even in his original blog entry, Weird Al talks about making it kinda because everyone expected him to.
Oh, well. When You're Pitiful was barred from release, Weird Al came back and did the much more kick-ass White n' Nerdy. So I'm sure whatever replacement Weird Al cooks up will be better.
So, I'm visiting my parents for the long weekend. As boredom begins to set in, I find myself in front of the computer...my Dad's computer, to be specific. A few years back, my siblings and I put our money together and we got our Dad one of these USB turntables...you know, a record player that you plug into your computer, so you can convert your record collection into MP3s.
As I sit here, my gaze wanders over to this USB turntable, and I figure I'll take advantage of this opportunity to listen to my only "Weird Al" Yankovic record. As you know, I'm a gigantic Weird Al fanboy. I have cassettes, I have CDs, I've got digital albums, and finding Weird Al on vinyl is a bit of a sacred quest for me. In every thrift shop and garage sale I visit, I sift through the vinyl looking for, say, Dare to Be Stupid. So far, I only have one Weird Al record, and it was fate that dropped it in my lap.
So, around 12 or 13 years ago, I was a carefree college student at Augustana University. I was renowned on campus...I was Captian Hot Stuff, Mr. #1 DJ on the campus radio station. I was one of the few announcers who actually did show prep. I would always show up at the staton one hour before my show, and spend some time going through the campus radio station's music collection.
The music library was a mess, to say the least. One wall was floor to ceiling of nothing but radio samplers. "Radio samplers" are special compliation albums that record labels send out to radio stations, containing most of the singles being released that month. The other three walls were nothing but albums, sent out by aspiring artists hoping for that first big break. It was all one, disorganized, chaotic pile. Many a station manager was hired on the promise of getting it organized, and many a station manager went mad and walked away from the station after a month of attempted organizing.
There was also another room in the station with a massive wooden cabinet. Inside that cabinet, was the station's record collection. I'd go through the records when I was feeling very adventurous. Usually, it wasn't worth it, as the station's record players were very hit-and-miss. Some nights they worked, others, they didn't. Some times, the fates aligned perfectly, like when I found the Star Wars soundtrack in that cabinet and was able the Cantina Song on vinyl. That was a good show.
On this one night, I wasn't going through the record cabinet, but my eye was drawn towards a plastic tub. In one attempt to get things organized, a former station manager had put all the 45s in a plastic tub. I'd put on a long song, the phone lines were quiet that night, so I reached into the tub. And I pulled out....
My jaw dropped. I tired to play it, but it was a "miss" night for the station's record players. Now, when I first started at the campus station, the station manager once lamented how all the good albums are stolen as soon as they come in, so I swore that I would never swipe an album for the station.
However, my inner fanboy wouldn't stay silent. Needless to say, that 45 came home with me that night.
I wasn't able to listen to it until I got home and was able to fire up Dad's record player. The record sleeve said the b-side was supposed to be I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead, but it wasn't. It's just I Lost on Jeopardy on both sides.
And as I sit here, listening to it, I can't help but smile. Vinyl sounds good. It does seem to be a richer sound. And all the pops and hisses of an old record seem to add character.
I love reading how vinyl is currently experiencing a brief resurgance. I read the statistic the other day that 2009 was the best selling year for records since 1991. There's even some records I wouldn't mind getting. The soundtrack for Watchmen was released on vinyl...it's already been announced that the soundtrack for Iron Man 2 is going to be released on vinyl.
Weird Al is currently in the studio, working on his next album. Here's hoping he'll release his next one on vinyl, so my quest will be a little bit easier.
My hero, "Weird Al" Yankovic, just announced his next project! He's directing a movie!
Well, it's a TV movie for the Cartoon Network, but still...a movie!
Weird Al says that he just signed a big production deal with the Cartoon Network to produce stuff...TV shows, cartoons, movies, and such forth. And figured that a TV movie would be the best place to start.
Weird Al is writing and directing it, and will give himself a small role. Weird Al mentions that the Cartoon Network wanted a young protagonist, so the main character is a teenager.
No word yet on a plot or what it's about, but Weird Al says that it's not a sequel to UHF and it's not a documentary about Winston Churchill.
Weird Al says that he goes on tour this summer, and the earliest he could probably start filming it is this fall.
No word yet on when it'll air on the Cartoon Network.
Alright, I've been away from a computer for two weeks, so let's get to it. A lot happened in the world of "Weird Al" Yankovic while I was gone.
First up, the fifth and final song from his Internet Leaks project was released. It's a cute little ditty about a problem of the modern age, called Ringtone.
I like this one. This is some old-school Weird Al, from the guitar solo to the arrangements. This would be right at home on UHF, despite the timely subject matter.
And that's not all!
While I was gone, Weird Al announced the release date of his next album! Sad news, it's not a new album. It's going to the long-awaited Greatest Hits vol. 3. It's called The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic and drops on Oct. 27.
Thing is, this is a 2-disc CD with 38 SONGS on it! In the past, Weird Al could only fit 12 songs onto a greatest hits album. As he explained it once on his website, he still has to pay royalties to the original artists for his parodies. And when he did greatest hits albums in the past, he'd eventually reach a point where royalties paid out to the artists became more than the royalties he'd get, and thus the album become unprofitable. But, his new record label figured out a way around that, hence the massive number of songs.
Alright, the summer of "Weird Al" Yankvoic continues! His new song was released today. It's a loving homage to both The White Stripes and Charles Nelson Reilly entitled CNR:
I really like this one. The sad thing is, though, you don't get the joke until someone clues you in that Charles Nelson Reilly was a flamboyant effeminate television personality and actor back in the 1970s. I'm already seeing the comments, "Who the heck is Charles Nelson Reilly?"
Hey! Back on Tuesday, "Weird Al" Yankovic released his latest song! Here it is...a little ditty called Skipper Dan.
As with all others in his "Internet Leaks" project, it's already available at iTunes and many other MP3 retailers.
My thoughts on this one? This one is more "funny/sad" than "funny/ha ha." It's always weird to get some pathos out of a Weird Al tune. But it's got a great beat that just kind of gets stuck in your head.
Ladies and gentlemen, "Weird Al" Yankovic has released a new song!
A loving homage to the Doors called...Craigslist.
Some notes about the music video: it was directed by Liam Lynch, who directed such fine films as Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny and Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic. Weird Al says it was an incredibly low budget affair, filmed completely in Lynch's garage.
This is the second in Weird Al's new project called "Internet Leaks." Weird Al is going to be releasing 5 songs online over the next few months...this is the second. The first was his TI parody Whatever You Like which came out back in the fall.
It goes on sale tomorrow everywhere were MP3s are sold!
My heroes are hard ato work, producing new stuff, so let's update you on what's going on.
First up, Kevin Smith. Smith got a bad reputation in the comic book world, what with his 3-year delay between issues 3 and 4 of Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do. But, Smith has been slowly working his way back into writing comics. He swore, after that Spider-Man/Black Cat fiasco, that we would take a new approach to writing comics. And that is, if the story arc is going to run for x issues, he'll sit down and write all x issues and fire them off to the publisher. No more of this, "Writing one issue per month" crap. that way, if an issue runs late, he can deflect the blame to the artist.
That's how he wrote his return to comics, the 3-issue miniseries Batman: Cacophony, which ran December-March and is due out in trade paperback form this fall. And, based on that, DC is giving him another crack at the Dark Knight.
Smith's next maxi-series for DC is Batman: The Widening Gyre. This 12-issue series will chronicle Batman training a new hero to patrol the streets of Gotham. And here's what Smith is doing to incorporate his trademark tardiness. The 12-issue series will be published in 2, 6-issue books. The first six issues (aka "Book I") come out, he takes a six month break, and then the final six issues (akak "Book II")come out. He says he already has those first six issues completed and sent off to DC.
But here's where things get tricky. During that six month break, he's going to start writing a bi-monthly comic about this new hero that Batman has trained.
But that's not all!
Smith goes on to recount how, after he finished setting this up with DC, he got a call from the comic book publisher Dynamite Entertainment. Turns out Dynamite just got the comic rights to the Green Horent, and how would Smith like to write the first arc in their Green Hornet book?
Smith said, "Sure!" Smith's Green Hornet arc is going to be largely based on his unproduced screenplay, back when he signed on to write and direct it and then chickened out because Jersey Girl tanked.
So, there you have it. Smith is back in comics.
And, my other hero, "Weird Al" Yankovic. On his Twitter feed, Weird Al has just announced that he's finished recording all the original, non-parody songs for his next album! Now, is he going to put them in the vault for six months while he works on parodies, like he usually does?
Nope!
He's going to release them digitally (e.g. on iTunes) next month.
Nothing really fancy in this blog entry...just some news that's been bubbling up inside me that I need to share.
First up, news on my hero, "Weird Al" Yankovic! This is, perhaps, a little bit out of left field, but it is very cool.
A few weeks ago, Weird Al posted on his Twitter feed a picture of himself with Rob Zombie and Malcolm McDowell. A few hours later, the Weird Al websites had it figured out.
Weird Al has a cameo in Zombie's upcoming slasher film, Halloween 2!
Zombie officially confirmed it on his MySpace page earlier this week. The set-up: Malcolm McDowell is back as Dr. Samuel Loomis, the psychiatrist who seeks to rehabilitate Michael Myers. He's like the Van Helsing to Michael Myers' Dracula. Anyway, in #2, Loomis has written a book about his encounters with Michael Myers, and goes onto a talk to show to pimp it. And who else is on that talk show? Weird Al!
Wow. Who knew that Zombie is a Weird Al fan? Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 is due out Halloween this year. It's a proud Pixar tradition to have an animated short film in front of their feature films. Pixar's latest, Up, comes out at the end of May, and they have announced the details on the short film that'll be in front of Up.
Partly Cloudy seeks to answer that age-old question about cartoons: if storks bring babies, where do the storks get the babies?
The answer: storks get them from clouds, who sculpt babies out of clouds.
What happens when a stork and a tempermental cloud get into a fight? Find out in...Partly Cloudy.
Partly Cloudy was written and directed by Peter Sohn, a Pixar animator and storyboard artist who worked on Finding Nemo, the Incredibles and Ratatouille.
