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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies Number 11

The Original-Another One Bites the Dust (by Queen)
This song by Queen is a classic that most people have heard at some point in their lives. It was Queen's best-selling single and rank #34 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. It is also an ironic song because this song is at the same tempo as you would use for chest compressions when performing CPR. (For those of you who aren't trained, the rate is 100 compressions per minutes. I would recommend using the BeeGees hit Stayin' Alive instead, especially if you sing the song aloud.)

This is a fairly standard song with the lyrics focusing on something. I'll be honest here. No matter how many times I've listened to the song, the only thing I really remember is the awesome bass line and Freddy singing "Another one bites the dust." So I looked it up. Even after looking at the lyrics, I was still confused. In the first verse some guy named Steve either gets gunned down or does the gunning, in the second, some guy complains about his heart getting broken, and in the last we learn about some ways a guy can be hurt. I'm not sure what it's all about, but I know that I can't resist the main line.

The Parody-Another One Rides the Bus
This is one of Weird Al's earliest parodies. It was first presented to the world on the Dr. Demento show. (If you don't know Dr. Demento, look him up.) It was also the occasion where he met his future drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz. While Yankovic was waiting to perform, he talked to Schwartz. Schwartz offered to provide percussion by playing on the accordion case while Yankovic played. The song became so popular it got Yankovic his first television appearance on the Tomorrow Show.

What's this song about you ask? Well, it's basically about a guy stuck on an overloaded bus. Every time he thinks there will be a stop to let people off, more people just get on. The song also highlights all of the problems you might run into on an overcrowded bus. It doesn't sound like much but when you add in the accordion music and the delivery, it is worth the listen.

That's Number 11. Tune in next time for a song spoofing a song by a band you don't know the name of, but you definitely know the song. Leave any comments below.

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