WEIRD AL YANKOVIC

We all know President Donald Trump lies all the time.  Remember how he insisted that the U.S. obliterated Iranian nuclear facilities?  If you missed that exaggeration, watch this.  Actually, he was partly right this time.  We did destroy one of the three sites.  As confirmed by his Administration this morning, though, the other two should be able to resume nuclear enrichment in next several months.  The Fordo site to the left and Isfahan below.

It was only earlier this month that I featured Dr. Demento, and mentioned how he was mostly responsible for making Weird Al Yankovic popular in 1976.  I did not realize that Weird Al was still active, and performed this past weekend for his first time at the Madison Square Garden, which has an audience capacity of 19,500.  This one and done show sold out.

Alfred Matthew Yankovic was born in Downey, California on 23October1959.  He is thus 65-years old.  

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  Started kindergarten earlier than most children and skipped second grade.
• Began playing an accordion at 7.
• When he was 16, Dr. Demento spoke at Lynwood High School in 1976, the year he graduated as class valedictorian.  Note that he was 16-years old.

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  At that first encounter, Al gave Demento a cassette tape  of the original parody song he put together, Belvedere Cruising (about his family's Plymouth Belvedere).  Later played on Dr. Demento's show, first exposing Yankovic to the public.
• Went on to get a degree in architecture from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.
• Inspired by Elton John to play rock 'n roll on the accordion.
• Other influences were Stan Freberg, Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer,  Allan Sherman, Shel Silverstein, Frank Zappa, Mad magazine and Monty Python.  Same for me, but I became a biochemical engineer.

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  Al frequently listened to the Dr. Demento Radio Show.  Here is his call on 11November1979.
• About his parodies, the law does not require him to ask permission from any artist he "improves," but does so because he does not want to make any enemies.

Here are his top ten on Billboard:

1. White and Nerdy, on 21October2006 hit #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, parodying Ridin by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone.  Only release to attain Platinum status.
2. Eat It, reached #12 on 14April1984, which parodies Michael Jackson's Beat It.
3. Like a Surgeon, 1985, for Madonna's Like a Virgin.
4. Amish Paradise, 1996, linked to Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise.
5. Smells Like Nirvana, 1992, from Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.
6. Go to this article for the rest.
7. My favorite is his debut song, My Bologna, a spoof of Knack's My Sharona.  First played on Dr. Demento, eventually gaining the #1 spot on his Funny Five countdown.  Yankovic wrote this spoof while a student at Cal Poly, listening to My Sharona, while fixing himself a bologna sandwich.

• 
  From Billboard:

During each of the first four decades of his career, he has had entries on the Billboard Hot 100, and eight of his albums have reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200 — including his most recent studio release, 2014’s Mandatory Fun, which became his first No. 1 on the chart. He has won five Grammy Awards and an Emmy. Billboard estimates he has sold 12 million albums in the United States (based on RIAA certifications pre-1991 and Luminate data from 1991 on).

There is a film of Weird's life.  

• This started out as just another parody in 2010, for he created with Eric Appel a fake trailer for a satirical biographical film titled Weird:  The Al Yankovic Story, and featured Aaron Paul as Weird, Olivia Wilde as Madonna and Patton Oswalt as Dr. Demento.  He used this clip during his shows.
• Then in January 2022, this film became a more serious reality.  Yankovic and Appel was aware that Daniel Radcliffe (of Harry Potter fame) was a fan of  comedic musicians like Tom Lehrer.  So he was asked to play Weird Al, and accepted.  Even learned the principles of playing the accordion.  The Roku Channel learned about this happening, so joined in with a film budget of $8 million.  This why the film never made it into theaters, and instead got all kinds of Emmy nominations, and won some.

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  Oswalt could not play Dr. Demento, for he had a broken foot. Aaron Paul, who was Yankovic in the fake trailer, had been retained as a bar heckler.  However, he came down with COVID-19 during filming, so Oswalt filled-in. Three days after filming began, Rain Wilson entered as Dr. Demento.

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  Lin-Manuel Miranda contacted Yankovic for a role, and was squeezed in as an ER doctor.
• If you watch the film, the pool has all sorts of stars.

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  The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8September2022, and released on Roku 4November22022.

• Got 8 Emmy nominations in 2024 and won two, including for Outstanding Television Movie.
• Earned 85/79 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes.

No one expected Weird Al to still be popular today, 49 years after first being heard on the Dr. Demento show.  

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  He launched his 65-date tour with a 6-night residency at the Venetian in Las Vegas last month. 
• After Madison Square Garden, he headed out on his Bigger and Weirder Tour this summer.
• 
  His next show is tonight, at 8PM, Broadview Stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York.  A few seats remain, from $56 on the lawn to $241 closer up. 

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  Then tomorrow, July 18 at 8PM at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut.  Whoops, sold out.
• Moves on to Philadelphia on July 19,  followed by two nights at the Filene Center, Wolf Trap National Park in Vienna, Virginia.
• Go to Stub Hub.

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