‘Weird Al’ Yankovic: Laughter guaranteed

Three-time Grammy Award winning artist “Weird Al” Yankovic proves the old adage that “Imitation is the best form of flattery”.  CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/theatlantic.com

If “Weird Al” Yankovic’s name rings a bell and sounds familiar especially to older music aficionados, it very well should.

Why? For 30 plus years… “Weird Al” Yankovic has not only parodied what became timeless classics, occasional one-hit wonders, even those rare cult favorites, and so on. More importantly, he adds his own twists to his version of these songs that he leaves his signature style to each of them he has parodied which quickly become uniquely and undoubtedly “Weird Al”.

It is for those aforementioned reasons that he has survived this long in the music industry.

A good number of parodists have come and gone over the years but only one has lasted to this point and is considered to be still on the top of his game… and that is “Weird Al” Yankovic. For his impressive longevity alone, “Weird Al” has become a celebrated artist in the music industry!

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CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/theatlantic.com

“Weird Al” Yankovic has for the longest time—even before I was born—solved the puzzling question which almost every other parodist in the music industry could not, and that is: “How do you spoof a popular song without sounding like a cheap knock off that would end up insulting the artist you are parodying ?”

“Weird Al” Yankovic certainly knew the answer to that puzzle all along! And this has brought him international fame as also considerable commercial success in terms of album sales for every studio-release coming from him.

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“Weird Al” Yankovic’s first Number 1 record

It is so fitting that after three long decades in the music industry, “Weird Al” Yankovic has finally struck gold by reaching the Number 1 spot in the Billboard 200 with his latest studio-release ‘Mandatory Fun’.

It has been, in fact, long overdue that one of his albums would become his crowning achievement in his colorful career. After all, he has the uncanny ability–a gift, indeed–to make us see and hear humor even in some of the most serious and gloomy of songs!

The timing is just right that “Weird Al” finally has a Number 1 record. And this recognition could not have come at a better time after he has come out of “hibernation” and he proves again to us music aficionados why he is the best at what he does! Because, believe you me, there are a few artists now “just begging” to be spoofed by him! I don’t have to further elaborate on this; I know some of my fellow music aficionados get my drift on the matter.

Going back to “Weird Al” Yankovic, I highly recommend listening to his parodied versions of the following: Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Coolio’s “Gangsters Paradise”. Wait, it doesn’t stop there. There are just too many to mention.

It would be best for you to just further explore his extensive back catalog of his works on your own. There will always be something there that would tickle your funny bone. It will even make you think differently of some of your favorite artists in a light manner that you would not have expected—were it not for the musical genius of “Weird Al” Yankovic.

Laughter is guaranteed!