I'm really happy for the guy. If he's wanted it for this long I'm glad he got it http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/23/music.yankovic.reut/index.html 'Weird Al' Yankovic finally hits the top 10 NEW YORK (Billboard) -- Now this is weird. "Weird Al" Yankovic's new album, "Straight Outta Lynwood," has scored the enduring song parodist his biggest chart successes in a career that spans nearly three decades. "Lynwood," Yankovic's 12th album, debuted this month at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, his first top 10 album ever. Meanwhile, the Chamillionaire parody "White and Nerdy," reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, besting his previous high of No. 12 with "Eat It" in 1984. "I literally danced a little jig (when I found out)," Yankovic says. "It's just a number, but I've been obsessing over it for a long part of my career. Even with, you know, millions of records sold, I've never been in the top 10, and it's always been a goal of mine." So what's going on here? It could be the widespread appeal of comedy or that Yankovic's legacy and fame have expanded throughout his career (his first single, "My Bologna," was released in 1979). It could even be providential numerology associated with this being his 27th year of recording (Yankovic has a running joke with the number 27; witness the license plate on the cover of "Lynwood"). For his part, Yankovic tends to credit the Internet. "The ("Nerdy") video has gotten a lot of attention, and the proliferation of places like YouTube (has) been a big help," he says. Yankovic also has accumulated 155,000 MySpace friends since he joined the site in July -- all of which he says he personally added. "I used to be a little pickier. Now I just kind of click as fast as I can." New audience Once "Nerdy" hit outlets like YouTube, there was no stopping it. "We knew with 'Nerdy' that he'd hit on something incredibly relevant to different generations," Dan Mackta, senior director of marketing for Zomba Label Group, says. "Kids were discovering him like a new artist." Plus, with the advent of download services, Mackta says, suddenly Yankovic can be a singles artist again, and indeed, "Nerdy" has been safely tucked into iTunes' top five for the past few weeks. "I'd kind of written off the chance of ever having another hit single, since record labels weren't really releasing commercial ones," Yankovic says. "As much as people are griping about the Internet taking sales away from artists, it's been a huge promotional tool for me." "Lynwood" has also benefited from positive reviews and glowing responses from his targets -- even though Yankovic had to pull the song he originally slated for the first single, the James Blunt riff "You're Pitiful," after issues arose with Atlantic. (Yankovic released the track for free on his Web site.) Chamillionaire, whose song "Ridin' " is spoofed as "Nerdy," even posted Yankovic's track on his own MySpace site. "It seems like he's come full circle," Mackta says. "A lot of the artists he's parodied have come and gone, but Al is kind of a pop culture icon at this point." Yankovic takes such props in stride. "It's a little dreamlike," he says. "I can't believe I'm getting this at this point in my life."
have only heard "white and nerdy", but it's about time. lyrics in that song are pret-ty creative. congrats, al.
that's great. i thought "bad hair day" had sold pretty well with "amish paradise" on it but i guess it never actually made the top 10. i can believe this being the first top 10 single though.
His long time drummer Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz is a member of another forum I visit and a SUPER nice guy. He says Al is really stoked about this. I think it's ironic that most of the artists he's parodied are long gone, but he's still around and his career is actually peaking after 27 years. I also found this quote to be interesting: Hmmm....
if you have not seen or heard the white and nerdy song here you go <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rWs1FF-BS7c"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rWs1FF-BS7c" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Yeah, check on YouTube for all his videos. They're great. Good music and good videos. I love Donny Osmond in the White and Nerdy one.
Nice to see Chamillionaire be able to laugh at himself, too. Unlike Eminem... lol. I like the video Weird Al made of him interviewing Eminem... that stuff was classic. I'm glad he's "made it". He's got talent to do what he does, but he usually only gets credit for being a big dork (which he is, of course).
The poster known as "GriffinFan27" will now wipe the massive amounds of male discharge off his screen.
I liked his Star Wars/American Pie parody too. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Cc2gqPzVjbM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Cc2gqPzVjbM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> FAT was the first time I ever heard of Weird Al <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PFMvBH1edtU"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PFMvBH1edtU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
I loved that starwars one when I first heard it back in Highschool. I think it was the first time I heard of Wierd Al, or maybe Amish Paradise was the first time I heard his stuff. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GsfVw9xxoNY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GsfVw9xxoNY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> I actually think his version of the Nirvana song sounds better than the original...ROFL. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5lracrGwTnI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5lracrGwTnI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Weird Al does a Bob Dylan "Subterranean Homesick Blues" parody with all palindromes Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/j_pYYff7qP0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j_pYYff7qP0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Good for him. Nice guy, doesn't take cheap shots. He lost his parents in a tragic accident a few years ago (the fireplace flume in their house was closed, fill in the blanks ...), so this is some great news. Off to go listen to the song for the first time ...
New video from Weird Al. This one is a parody of R. Kelly's Trapped in a Closet: <a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2015512141">Trapped In The Drive-Thru</a><br><embed src="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" flashvars="m=2015512141&type=video" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="430" height="346"></embed> Pretty awesome stuff as always.
