Role of the Performer - Weird Al Yankovich
For my performer, I decided to go with Weird Al Yankovich. He was born October 23, 1959, and as of today is 64 years old. The reason I decided to go with him is because of how he became a performer. He got his start in music at the age of 16. He listened to a comedy radio show named Dr Demento's and when he came to his school Weird Al gave him a cassette tape that had some of his parodies. His college classmates gave him the nickname of Weird Al and at first, he took it as an insult before adopting it as his nickname. One of his parodies was put on the radio show and that is how he began his career. He did his first parody of the hit I Love Rock n Roll and changed it to I Love Rocky Road and the song made it to the Top 40 in 1982. He created the music video in 2011. Throughout his career, he has been a singer, songwriter, comedian, actor, and music producer. He has accomplished it all.
"Weird Al" Yankovic - I Love Rocky Road (Official HD Video) March 2011 / USA The song was made in 1982 before the internet but this video is from 2011.
Role of the Performer
The role of the performer for me is capturing the audience. If you can't get their attention and get them to enjoy what they're watching or listening to then you won't be able to keep them as fans. What Weird Al did was at the time something different. He literally made jokes from their songs and the videos are funny. I remember growing up as a kid and listening to his music and laughing. He added comedy to music, and it worked for him. He would keep the same beats and melody but change the lyrics to what he wanted, and it really worked.
Musical Elements
The musical elements for his songs kept the same melody and beats for the songs that he did but the main difference was the lyrics. He would add the comedy aspect to it, and it really worked for him. His vocals are way different, and he doesn't have great range but the lyrics he used and the videos to go with them when the internet became a thing really helped his career.
"Weird" Al Yankovic - Amish Paradise (Parody of "Gangsta's Paradise" - Official HD Video) Oct 2009/USA but the original song came out in 1996.
Musical Elements
Amish Paradise I love. It was one of my favorites growing up. His lyrics were just amazing in this song. He manages to keep all the melodies and beats the same as the original and add lyrics to make it his own is really unbelievable. His vocals are good, but he can't hit high notes like a Chris Stapelton but that's not what he was known for. I love how he took Gansta's Paradise and turned it into a joke.
Weird Al is a genius in his own right. He started as a comedian and turned it into a career of making songs into his own parodies. He is extremely accomplished artist and worked his but off for years. His YouTube alone has over 2 million subscribers. He is a perfect example of how you can do anything if you set your mind to it. He started with a dream and now has accomplished more than most of us can dream of. I now leave you with the best song that I know of and that is Fat.
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Fat (Official HD Video) (youtube.com)
Wallace, Lary. His Own Wavelength. The Paris
Review, 13 Aug. 2014, https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/08/13/his-own-wavelength/.
Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic.
Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.
I haven't thought about Weird Al in years! I loved his music when I was a kid. I am so glad that you picked him for this assignment. They just came out with a movie about his life too. I agree with you that he is a genius especially lyrically.
ReplyDeleteI remember as a little girl turning on the television to watch Weird Al's renditions of Michael Jackson's "Eat It" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." They made me laugh so hard that I cried! Thank you for sharing the backstory of how he combined comedy and music. It is a unique art form! Recently, a Weird Al Yankovic pinball machine was released, featuring many of his songs in the game. I heard it won many awards!
ReplyDeleteI wondered if someone would pick Weird Al! My 12-year-old son discovered him in the past 6 months so I have been listening to him A LOT! In fact, my 2023 Spotify Wrapped was completely dominated by him. thanks to my son's in-car DJing!
ReplyDeleteMy husband is also a big fan; in fact he went to one of his live shows in 2022 when we lived in Houston, Texas. It was a tour where he only played his own songs so the audience was full of truly diehard fans who didn't care about not hearing any of the more famous parody songs.
We were in the car a lot this weekend and we were just talking about how versatile his voice and style can be. Whether he's parodying a modern mainstream artist like Lady Gaga ("I Perform This Way"), Taylor Swift ("TMZ") or Miley Cyrus ("Party in the CIA"), creating scarily accurate social commentary about workplace jargon ("Mission Statement") or performing an homage to Hamilton in the style of polka ("The Hamilton Polka"), he has endless amounts of talent and creativity. He's really created a niche for himself that I don't think anyone else could fill.