This is the Frequently Asked Questions List (FAQ) for the Usenet Newsgroup alt.music.weird-al. Updated . The current version of this FAQ is posted to alt.music.weird-al on the 14th and 27th of each month. Information about copying and redistributing of this FAQ can be found at the end of this posting. Input on the FAQ is always appreciated.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
"WEIRD AL YANKOVIC" (Self-Titled, 1983)
IN 3-D (1984)- Was Buckingham Blues originally supposed to be a parody?
DARE TO BE STUPID (1985)- Who did the guitar solo on "Eat It?"
POLKA PARTY (1986)- Did Madonna really tell Al to do "Like a Surgeon"?
EVEN WORSE (1987)- "Toothless People" is a parody?! Why haven't I ever heard the original?
- Is "Christmas At Ground Zero" banned from radio?
UHF (1989)- Michael Jackson lent Al what?!
OFF THE DEEP END(1992)- Why does "Money For Nothin'/Beverly Hillbillies*" have an odd title, and who played guitar on it?
ALAPALOOZA (1993)- What's that bit at the end of the CD called?
BAD HAIR DAY (1996)
RUNNING WITH SCISSORS (1999)- What's the beef with Coolio?
- Why is Weezer thanked? They didn't do anything!
- Why does my friends copy of "Bad Hair Day" have Al sitting, while mine has a red picture of his face?
POODLE HAT (2003)- Is there something extra on the CD for "Running With Scissors" that's about 14 minutes long and can only be viewed on a computer?
- Am I the first person to find that?
- Didn't Eminem refuse Al to do a parody of "Lose Yourself"?
- In "Couch Potato", what does the line "King of Queens jumped the shark" mean?
- What does the line "now Tivo thinks I'm gay mean" in "Couch Potato"?
Updated: 9/26/06
"Straight Outta Lynwood", Al's 12th studio album was released on September 26th, 2006. It includes "White and Nerdy", the parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" as well of parodies of songs by Green Day, Usher, R. Kelly and Taylor Hicks! DualDisc includes PCM Stereo, 5.1 Surround and instrumental mixes of the entire album (with on-screen lyrics option), plus a 9-minute behind-the-scenes documentary and 6 BRAND NEW MUSIC VIDEOS! What more could you possibly ask for?
Added: 6/4/03
Uh, yeah. About half of Al's catalog consists of songs he's written himself. If this really shocks you, then you've never owned a "Weird Al" album, you hooligan! Most fans will agree that his original songs are funnier than the parodies.
Updated: 9/26/06
Well since "Straight Outta Lynwood" just came out, it'll probably be a while.
Added:6/4/03
On every album, Al has some original songs that sound almost like a parody of something else, but not quite. He replicates the sound of another band or artist. In some cases it's just a different genre of music, and not attributable to any single artist. Examples include "Dog Eat Dog" sounding like Talking Heads or "Germs" sounding like Nine Inch Nails.
Added: 6/4/03
A list doesn't exist and for good reason. There's been great debate over the years as to what things are supposed to sound like. What one person hears as a definite Aerosmith rip someone else says "are you high? That's definitely AC/DC!" and nothing gets resolved. So you need to listen and form your own opinion, and then keep it to yourself because really, the rest of us just don't care. Al has confirmed some style parodies.
No.
Added: 8/8/03
Remember that rule you learned in school that goes "I before E except after C"? Well, forget it. The people who came up with that were wrong. WRONG! When spelling "Weird", it's actually E before I even though there is no 'C'. Weird, huh? "W -- E -- I -- R -- D". Hey, speaking of the letter C, look at Al's last name, Yankovic. You see that 'C' at the end of it? Now, do you see an 'H' after it? No? GOOD! Then don't EVER pronounce his name "...vich". There's also no 'K' at the end of it. You should pronounce it like "Yank -- Oh -- Vick" but if you spell it with a 'K' on the end of it, you will be mocked at by all your friends, assuming you have friends. Even your imaginary friends will mock you, and that's sad. It's not "Jank -- ah -- vich" or "Crazy Al Yank -- o -- witz". Just simply "Weird Al" Yankovic. If you REALLY wanna get anal, you're supposed to put quotes around "Weird Al" and not Yankovic. Think you can remember all that for next time? Try anyway.
Added: 2/7/01
People tend to just assume anything funny is by "Weird Al", even if it's really bad. Other people write parodies besides Al, but since they're worthless nobodies, much like yourself, they don't get the credit. The only TRUE way to tell if a song is by "Weird Al" or not is to go out and buy all the CDs in Al's catalog. Everything else, is just a wasted download.
Updated: 9/26/06
He probably does, but you're not getting it. Drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, maintains The Official Weird Al Page. Take a look at http://www.weirdal.com for the latest news, tons of cool photographs, and much, much more. You can send questions to Al through Ask Al on the official page. However, updates aren't regular and there's no guarantee he will answer your question.
Also, if you want to try and get in touch with Al another way, try the Close Personal Friends of Al fan club. (See below). They now have an email address in which you can send comments and questions ABOUT MERCHANDISE ONLY. It's cpfoa@aol.com. All other inquires must go to the regular CPFOA address. Please be sure to include your FULL name and snail-mail address. In case you didn't know, Al does not consider song suggestions. Those will immediately be thrown out. This is for both personal and legal reasons. Sorry.
CPFA used to be the official fan club for Al... and for a while, it seemed to be completely defunct. Fortunately, it is still alive today and actually serves as an office where Al can receive all his fan mail. Yes, he does read it all, but there are helpers who "weed out" all the parody song ideas people send him.
Here's the address:
Close Personal Friends of Al
8033 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
You can email them at cpfoa@aol.com about MERCHANDISE QUESTIONS ONLY. All other inquires go to the address above. Be sure to include your FULL name and snail mail address. For a more detailed explanation, take a look at the Weird Al Information Source file underneath the subject Close Personal Friends of Al.
Sorry, Al does not allow himself to look at other people's song ideas. Legal issues (and personal issues) prevents him from using suggestions from his fans or anyone else. Plus Al has a lot of his own song ideas already. Please don't try sending any lyrics to him since this is the quickest way for your letter to be recycled into next week's newspapers, even if there is other stuff in the letter as well.
The best advice I can give is to record the song yourself and send it off to the Dr. Demento Show... just like what Al did when he was an embryo.
Updated: 6/4/03
Al had LASIK eye surgery in January 1998 which corrected his vision. He no longer requires the uses of his glasses anymore. He shaved off the mustache and his hair, still naturally curly, falls to the sides, instead of up and somewhat bushy. He's had this for about five years now, and it's about time you got used to it and quit calling it 'new'.
It seems pretty unlikely nowadays. Right now Al's pretty busy writing songs and directing other people's videos. However, if you got a lot of money to throw towards Al, I'm sure he could make some time.
Updated: 9/26/06
All 13 episodes of The Weird Al Show were released on DVD in August 2006. So run out and buy as many copies as you can. You might be able to find a place that rents it too if you're cheap like that.
Al-TV is whenever Al uses his pirate satellite to takeover the airwaves of MTV and aired around the release of an album. These gems however never made it to the retail market and were never intended to be released for sale. They were simply for limited broadcast use. The only way to obtain copies is to beg, plead, bribe or blackmail other fans for copy. Those fans were visionaries and recorded them when they originally aired to preserve the moments for all of humanity. Most fans work on a trading basis. That is, you provide them with something they want, and you get something you want in return. Good luck.
Updated: 6/4/03
If you're unfamiliar about the rare songs created by Al, I'll explain briefly... These are songs which Al sings in concerts only or were recorded very early in his career, and aren't available on any of his albums. The concert only stuff is called "concert only" for a reason. Either Al had a brief idea and the joke wouldn't survive a full length song, or permission was denied or never attempted. They're just some extra fun for his fans to enjoy and to keep 'em coming back for more. As for the early stuff, there's quite a bit out there, easily enough to fill an album or two, but don't expect to see those in a published collection...ever. Al has graciously released either a demo version, or previously unreleased song once a year to the Demento Society which is placed on their Basement Tapes CD members receive when they sign up for an annual membership.
The lyrics to all of Weird Al songs are available from the Dementia FAQ List Mail Auto-Responder. The quick way to get started is to send mail to jbmorris@steel.ucs.indiana.edu with the subject "LYRICS: LIST" for instructions on how to get lyrics for specific songs. For a complete list of subjects related to the Dr. Demento show, send email with the subject "LIST".
If you have access to the web, you could also try these pages:
Duh! Of course, there are "backward messages" in Al's songs. Ok, there's two The first one is in the song, "Nature Trail to Hell" on the album, "In-3D". The message is "Satan Eats Cheez Whiz". The second message is in "I Remember Larry" from the album "Bad Hair Day". The message is "Wow, you must have an awful lot of free time on your hands." Very funny Al. :)
[Thanks to Annie Sattler for this info]
On June 2, 1984, NBC broadcast "Welcome To The Fun Zone" as a
one-shot summer replacement for "Saturday Night Live." Hosted by Dr.
Demento, it is listed in TV Guide as "A 'late-night party' blending
comedy, music, and videos. It included: Dr. Demento, Howie Mandel,
John Paragon, puppeteer Mark Weiner and the Weinerettes, Bozo the
Clown, and John Candy in 'The Golf Course That Dripped Blood.'" Also
appearing are Victoria Jackson and Weird Al (who performed "I Lost
On Jeopardy" on the show).
Al also wrote a theme song for the show, but it was not used. The song he wrote evolved into "Fun Zone", which is on the UHF Soundtrack Album.
Updated: July 30, 1999
If you happen to own some of Al's music on LP format, take a close look at the inner circles on the records. Etched into most of Al's works are some surprising messages for the consumer. Could these be subliminal messages telling our kids to buy more Weird Al albums? Secret code being transmitted to our government? You decide.
[Thanks to Annie Sattler for the list]
Inscriptions at centers of vinyl LPs:
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Side 1: "AN ACCORDION IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE"In 3-D
Side 2: "EAT YOUR BROCCOLI!"Side 1: "POLKA DOWN WITH YOUR BAD SELF"Dare To Be Stupid
Side 2: "NOW HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY?"Side 1: MORE SONGS ABOUT TELEVISION AND FOODPolka Party!
[a takeoff on the Talking Heads' 1978 album title "More Songs About Buildings and Food]
no inscription on Side 2Side 1: "POLKA 'TIL YOU PUKE"Even Worse
Side 2: WHERE'S MY LIQUID PAPER?Side 1: "THE MAGIC RETURNS"
Side 2: "100,000,000"
No etchings were found on the LP version of the "Soundtrack to UHF (and other stuff)". And "Off The Deep End" was the first album NOT to be put into LP format. Why, you ask? Because VINYL IS DEAD! That's right! You heard me! DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD!!! They're deader than disco! MWA HA HA HA HA!!! DEAL WITH IT! (Note: The opinions expressed in those last few sentences are not necessarily those of "Weird Al" Yankovic or anyone directly affiliated with him.)
According to Cindy Caturia:
Cheech Marin's monologue in "Taco Grande" (Spanish and English):
Buenos noches Senor y bienvenidos al Enrico's Casa de Salsa. Tenemos muchos platos muy sabrosos. Se puedo recommendar el ardiente pollo al infierno. Muy delicioso. Sus ojos se quemaran. Su estomago estaran en fuego. Se quedaran en el bano por una semana. Entiendes lo que digo gringo estupido tonto?Good evening sir and welcome to Enrico's House of Salsa (or Salsa House). We have many very delicious dishes. May I recommend the burning chicken from hell. Very delicious. Your eyes will burn. Your stomach will be on fire. You'll be in the bathroom for a week! Do you understand what I'm saying you really stupid Gringo (a derogatory name for an American)?
According to Allen37594@aol.com, the rest of the Spanish in the song translates to:
I want chimichangas and chile colorado
I have the money for a chopped steak
the flautas and tamales, always really good
and the stuffed pepperI am really hungry and now I want
a ranch-style burritoNo thanks, I want jalapeqos, nothing else
Where are the nachos?
And you sir, the check please.
If you've never attended a Weird Al concert before (yes, he does concerts) then you're missing out on quite a show!
This was first introduced at the Dr.Demento 20th Anniversary Show, as part of Another One Rides The Bus. Now, Al and the band has been reciting this amazing chant in concert as part of an encore rendition of "Yoda" for the past few years, in perfect synchronosity, choreography, and possibly telepathy.
You can find an actual written text version of the Yoda chant at:
http://www.yankovic.org/WeirdAl/Unpublished/yodachant.txt
In the beginning, Scotti Bros. Records had accidentally put the current "album version" of "My Bologna" instead of the "Capitol Records Single Version" on all of the box sets. All sets sold in stores now have the single version.
Both came out in 1985 and both are "Mockumentaries" of Al's life. "The Compleat Al" is a video tape complete with authentic home movies of Al's childhood, videos, and some not-so-true stories. "The Authorized Al" is mostly the same thing in book format. Both are out of print and very difficult to find original copies of.
Updated: 12/4/02
"Prosthetic Lips" is a fans' tribute album to Al. It is a compilation of parodies, and remakes of Al's work as well as some songs simply inspired by the master. Unfortunately, all copies of it are now sold. Luckily, once again, Dave "Elvis" Rossi comes to the rescue. He gives instructions on his page at http://weirdal.0catch.com/pl.html on how to get your own copy.
In November 2002, Insane Ian released a second tribute album called "Me Myself and I". The two projects are not related.
Added: 2/27/01
He's the thug that's holding Ed, Nordberg, and a random officer at gunpoint. His line is "You pigs....say your prayers" before Frank unknowingly knocks him out with the door.
Added: 8/12/03
Why yes, there has. Alcon was held in 1998, then Alcon 2000 in um, I forget what year, and Alcon 3 in 2002. Al showed up unannounced at the first one, skipped the second, and showed up as planned to the third one. one brought in a few hundred fans from around the country and the globe to participate. These were run by fans, and took a lot of work. There are no plans for another Alcon.
I'm glad you asked! First of all, this amazing number in Al's life was first discovered by someone on "The Midnight Star", when somebody asked Al if the number 27 in the "Like a Surgeon" and "This is the Life" video had some certain special meaning. Al hadn't actually noticed this number in the beginning. His final reply: "Twenty-seven is a pretty funny number".
And thus a new age was born, Twenty-seven. Soon after that, the staff, readers, domesticated animals, and twenty seven kitchen appliances started noticing more and more occurances of the number "27". It was amazing! It was surprising! It was mediocre, even! Every where we looked, another "27" popped into Al's life.
In the latest album, "Poodle Hat", there's another 27 reference! In the song, "Hardware store", one line goes: "There's a great big purple sign out front saying every 27th customer will get a ball peen hammer free!"
Now, superfan David 'Elvis' Rossi (dprossi@webspan.net) posts "The 27 List" to alt.music.weird-al on the 27th of every month. To get the latest version take a look at:
- Was Buckingham Blues originally supposed to be a parody?
Updated: 6/4/03
According to catradohtm(catradohtm@aol.com)
Al once said that it was supposed to be a parody of "Life Goes on" (Jack and Diane), and John Cougar Meloncamp was okay with the idea.....but some movie studio was going to make a film version of the song and there would be some legal technicality involved that would make it hard for JCM to give Al permission, so Al decided to re-work the song idea as an original.In the 14th season of the Simpsons, Al and band made a cameo appearance in the episode "Three Gays of the Condo." On that episode, Al sang a different parody of "Life Goes On" simply known as "Homer and Marge".
IN 3-D (1984)
DARE TO BE STUPID (1985)- Who did the guitar solo on "Eat It?"
Michael Jackson asked Eddie Van Halen to do the guitar solo on "Beat It", so Al asked guitar legend and producer of In-3d and his first album Rick Derringer to lay down the tracks.
- Did Madonna really tell Al to do "Like a Surgeon"?
This isn't 100% accurate, but it's close. Madonna had just released her song, "Like a Virgin" and was walking down some street in New York when she questioned out loud, "I wonder when 'Weird Al' is gonna do 'Like a Surgeon'." A friend who was with her was also a friend of Al's manager and the word got back to Al. He thought about it and said "Hey, that's not bad! Mayybe I'll do it." This is the only case in which Al has created a parody based on a suggestion. Just to re-state, Al does NOT take suggestions for song ideas, unless you are Madonna, and it's a decent suggestion.
POLKA PARTY (1986)
- "Toothless People" is a parody?! Why haven't I ever heard the original?
The song is a parody of Mick Jagger's song "Ruthless People" which he wrote for the film of the same name. Al heard about the movie and figured, "a movie song by Mick Jagger just has to be a big hit." Al requested to get permission for the parody. The film flopped worse than a sumo wrestler on a high dive, and "Ruthless People" didn't even break the Top 40. However, shortly after the film was an obvious failure, Al was approved permission. Figuring it'd be an insult to Mick Jagger to not go ahead with the parody after obtaining permission, he recorded "Toothless People" anyway.
- Is "Christmas At Ground Zero" banned from radio?
No. The FCC never said "this song can't be played." However there are many radio programming directors who feel that the song is just too depressing or offensive to the general population and have banned it from their stations rather than receiving a swarm of angry phone calls and letters. Obviously, those people take things too seriously. The song has been a regular on the Dr. Demento radio show each December.
EVEN WORSE (1987)
- Michael Jackson lent Al what?!
Michael was pleased with Al's success for "Eat It" a few years back, and when Al came around a second time to ask for permission to parody "Bad", Mikey agreed. He was feeling generous and also said "I'll even let you use the same subway set I just had built for 'Moonwalker' for your video of 'Fat'".
UHF (1989)
- Why does "Money For Nothin'/Beverly Hillbillies*" have an odd title, and who played guitar on it?
Well, lawyers are screwy when you take one legal work and mix it with another. Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits said "You can do the parody, but I have to do the guitar work." Um, OK!
OFF THE DEEP END"(1992)
- What's that bit at the end of the CD called?
Oh come on! It's printed on the disc and the CD cover. Duh, it's "You Don't Love Me Anymore". Man, you're lazy. I suppose the REAL answer you're looking for is the same as your response to the YDLMA answer: "Bite me!"
ALAPALOOZA (1993)
BAD HAIR DAY (1996)
- What's the beef with Coolio?
Added: 8/12/03
The story goes like this. Al wanted to do a parody of Coolio's 'Gangstas Paradise' called "Amish Paradise". He tells his record label to get permission. They do. Al records and releases the song. Coolio then hears the song and says he never gave permission for it and wasn't happy about it. Al figures there was a communications breakdown somewhere and sends Coolio a public and sincere apology for the mixup saying he wouldn't have done the song if there was no permission. Coolio doesn't respond. This all took place back in the day of 1996, and by now, it's old boring news.
- Why is Weezer thanked? They didn't do anything!
Added: 8/12/03
Well, they did something. They refused to give Al permission to include their song "Buddy Holly" in The Alternative Polka. Unfortunately, that came in after the liner notes had already gone into production, and it was assumed there wouldn't be a problem.
- Why does my friends copy of "Bad Hair Day" have Al sitting, while mine has a red picture of his face?
Added: 7/17/00
There's three different versions of what's printed on the "Bad Hair Day" CD. The first 500,000 have Al sitting cross-legged with his hands on his head, and this is in color. After that, to try and save a few pennies, the record company printed the next batch in black and white. Then Scotti Bros. ceased to exist and the people at Al's new label made a mistake and put the "Alapalooza" picture on the "Bad Hair Day" CD. There, now go collect 'em all!
RUNNING WITH SCISSORS (1999)
- Is there something extra on the CD for "Running With Scissors" that's about 14 minutes long and can only be viewed on a computer?
Added: 7/26/99
Yup.
- Am I the first person to find that?
Added: 7/26/99
No.
POODLE HAT (2003)
- Didn't Eminem refuse Al to do a parody of "Lose Yourself"?
Added: 6/4/03
Eminem gave full permission to do the parody, but asked to hear the final mix before granting permission to use his visual likeness in the video. Al recorded "Couch Potato" and sent it to Eminem's people. Figuring there wouldn't be a problem, Al started into pre-production of the video when the call came in from the Eminem camp giving a thumbs down to video permission. There was no reason given, but it was disappointing. It appeareared to be a double standard since Eminem himself has parodied people in his own videos, but wouldn't let someone who even had the decency to ask first to parody him. Big meanine. :(
- In "Couch Potato", what does the line "King of Queens jumped the shark" mean?
Added: 6/4/03
Well, for one it means you're not up on your cultural references, but of course that's why you're reading this to being with. There is a website called, oddly enough http://www.JumptheShark.com, which explains it's theory. In short, the authors felt that "Happy Days" was a great show. That is, until the episode in which Fonzie performs a daredevil stunt and jumps over some sharks while waterskiing. They believe that is the defining moment when the show started to become far-fetched and lose it's original appeal. And thus, a cultural term is born. Al is simply saying that the show 'King of Queens' went downhill as soon as it aired.
- What does the line "now Tivo thinks I'm gay mean" in "Couch Potato"?
Added: 6/4/03
Tivo is a device introduced to the US Market in 1999 and acts like a VCR recording TV shows for you, however it uses a giant hard drive to record them digitally. Tivo also has the feature of figuring out what kind of shows you might like to watch based on what you tell it to record. It will then automatically record it's findings for you There have been several reports or sitcom plots that involve Tivo recording shows that appear to have more and more 'gay' content on it due to the shows the users watches, or accidentally watches. The feature may be turned off on Tivo, but then you'll never get to experience the spanish version of Disney's "Tarzan". Your loss.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this FAQ list. Special thanks to Annie Sattler, Jeff Morris, and Mike Steele without whom this document would be considerably shorter.
And also very special thanks to the "Constantly Changing Our Names With Each New Album" band members: Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, Steve Jay, Jim West, and Ruben Valtierra.
Ummm, I suppose Al deserves a "thank you", too... :) For all the incredibly funny parodies and original songs you've brought to our world, thanks for everything Al!
Feel free to quote from this document as long as proper credit is given to the editor and (if specified) the contributor of the information. If you intend to reprint or redistribute the entire FAQ or quote large chunks of it, please contact the editor for permission. All rights reserved by the editors, "Happy Steve" Chai (webmaster@yankovic.org), 1995-1997 and Marty "Gumby" Lick (webmaster@al-oholicsanonymous.com), 1997-present.