200th Post!

For the 200th post, I decided I would put up links to my favorite posts so far. They are in no particular order, but they are all a lot of fun. Enjoy!

12 of my Favorite Opinion Pieces (in no particular order)

Bedwetter:Stories of Courage and Redemption
I love Sarah Silverman, and her autobiography is inspiring and hilarious. Worth the read.

Review of the Silver Chair movie
What happens when you take a book and completely rework it to make a move?

My Plans for the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who
This won't happen, but it should.

Christmas Songs I'm already sick of hearing
One year I just got sick of these Christmas songs.

Signs of the Apocalypse
What happens when you put Justin Bieber and Willow Smith together? The end of the world.

My Top Weird Al Song
I love Weird Al and here is my favorite song.

Fake rules for being Irish
What do you have to do when it's St. Patrick's Day and you want to be Irish

Top Firefly Episode
I love Firefly, and so I did a Top 12 list of the 14 episodes.

Shadowcat is my favorite X-man (that is all)
Top 12 X-men based on my preference and their roles in the Marvel Universe, but Kitty is my favorite over all.

Stupid Sexy Costumes
I did lame scary costumes the year before, so I chose stupid sexy costumes for 2012

Picard Primer
I decided to do a Top 12 storylines in Star Trek TNG and then realized I need to do an entire list for Captain Picard. This is the primer on the Captain to get the list started.
Top 12 Christmas hymns
This is the entire list with videos of performances of each song.

Why I love and hate iTunes (and all things Apple)

So I've always had a love/hate relationship with Apple and the stuff they make. It started in school where we had access to Apple computers back in the Stone Age of technology. (With our first computers, we had to use a tape player to load programs.)

There really isn't much to relate about those days. We basically got to play around with really simple graphics and games (that are very similar in content to what you might get from Addicting Games or a site like that.

We loved our Apple computers because we were able to play games on them and pretend to be hi-tech computer gurus. I still remember doing lots of DOS style programming. We were able to figure out all sorts of basic games to play with the computer including a number guesser and the game that locks your computer in an endless loop.


So that makes it sound like I just love Apple, right? Well, that was the early days of computers and we didn't know any better. Later on, we started working with PCs. I found those computers to be more intuitive and easier to use. The other major problem I had with Apples versus PCs was the lack of a right-click button. I love right click. It's one of my favorite things in the world.

Yes, I know there are all kinds of keyboard tricks to get those same things done, but I'm not sure what they are, and I'm not really excited about figuring them out.

So what about iTunes and iEverything? First, I really don't understand the push to put a lowercase 'i' in front of everything. iTunes, iPad, iPhone, and the like are just annoying to me. I want to be able to just type without having to think about my Shift

key.

I do enjoy my iPod and iTunes. I like the easy acces to content without having to worry about dealing with legal issues on the other end. I'm watching the Jim Gaffigan special right now. I also have all the seasons of the new run of Doctor Who available any time I want to see them.

However there is a big downside to  this. My content is tracked by Apple. I can't just put it somplace and have access to it. If I lose the file, then it stinks to be me. I don't think there's much we can do about the situation though. We'll just have to continue out love/hate relationship until something better comes along.

Forget you is better than nothing



Cee Lo Green wants to either FU, or Forget You

The other day I was driving home and listening to the radio when a certain profanity flinging song came on. You've probably heard the song at some point in one of it's many incarnations. I knew better than to expect the original version of the song, that has only found air time on YouTube and I'm sure plenty of other websites, but "Fuck You" isn't a song that's going to hit many mainstream venues. I'm sure the Cee Lo Green wasn't too worried about that point when he put the song together. He had a message he wanted to get out to the world, and it's a lot easier to get that message out to the public.

I'm not here to rant about the song, or the word choices, or any of that, I'm here to complain about the radio versions of the song. More accurately, the FU version. You see, there's two versions of the original song that are acceptable for the radio and other monitored public airwaves. The first version is called "Forget You" and replaces the F-bomb with forget. It's a pretty easy fix that works well with the song. The other version is called "FU" and simply blanks out the inappropriate words leaving dead air in their place.

Now back to the story. I was driving down the street when the song comes on the air. I've only heard "Forget You" on the radio so I'm expecting that to be what I'll be hearing, but instead the DJ opted to go with the "FU" version instead. It's his job to make those kinds of decisions, but personally, I'd rather have something than nothing. "Forget you" works well as a song. When I listen to it, I only think about the original lyrics less than half of the song. It feels like a natural fit and it is enjoyable to listen to, but the "FU" version always makes me think about the other versions. Every time there is that moment of silent air, I think about one of the other two options.

A similar thing happens with movies on cable television. You can have two options with swear words. You either blank them out or fill them in with something else. It's hard to decide which one is better. I think it depends on the skills of the dubber. As a general rule, I prefer to have something over nothing, but there's a fine line between something and something that makes no sense at all. Fudge may make sense as a replacement word in "A Christmas Story," but not in "The Godfather." (And that's a nice example.)

An example of a good replacement choice is "Frack" from the new run of "Battlestar Galactica." Everyone knows what Frack really means, but as long as the actual word doesn't slip out, everyone looks the other way. Or on "Firefly" when the characters swear in Chinese, you know they're saying something bad, but you let it slide because you can't understand what they're saying.

I guess I should get back to my original topic and talk about my preference on the Cee Lo song. In my previous example, I would much rather have a perfectly acceptable and enjoyable complete song in "Forget You," than suffer through the continual interruptions in the flow of the song. You may want to disagree with me on that, and that is fine. Just leave a comment below and let me know how you feel about the matter.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 1

The Original-Ridin' (aka Ridin' Dirty) by Chamillionaire
For our top pick of Weird Al parodies, I have picked two songs of lament. What's a song of lament? Well, it's basically a fancy way to describe a song that is upset about something that is happening in the life of the singer. In the case of Ridin', Chamillionaire sings/raps about racial profiling and police brutality. The song is better know as Ridin' Dirty because the phrase is used so many times in the song. It refers to being in a vehicle with drugs and other contraband in it. The song definitely addresses a serious issue that needs to be addressed. The video attempts to show situations of police brutality with varying success.

The Parody-White and Nerdy
What could Weird Al possibly have to lament about? Well, I think based on his other songs, the answer should be obvious, Weird Al is one big white nerd. That's the brilliant basis of my number one pick of parodies. Look at what happens with this song. Not only does Weird Al get to embrace his total nerdiness and make fun of it, he also gets to lament how his condition separates him from rollin' with the gangsters.

This song pulls out all the stops and the whitest and nerdiest people Weird Al could find. Seth Green makes and appearance as well as Donnie Osmund. I don't know how Yankovic managed to cram so many nerd references in this song. It's just crammed with them including all the stereotypes that go along with the NERD label. The Star Wars Christmas Special, fanny packs, mayonnaise, and the unending debate over which Captain of the Starship Enterprise is better are just a few of the nerd stereotypes that are thrown into this song.

The video makes the most of the visual side of nerdiness. There's a great scene where Yankovic rolls up on his Segway and a couple of 'gangsters' flip him off. Another great shot comes with the line "I wanna bowl with the gangsters." It's shot at a bowling alley. The 'gangsters' definitely look out of place and shoo Yankovic off to bowl with the other nerds. Yankovic also pulls out a second character who does the rapping

This song is Yankovic's most popular song and his first platinum song and album ever. In case you're wondering about Chamillionaire feels about the song, he not only put the song on his MySpace, he also said in an interview that Weird Al was actually a pretty good rapper.

Elton John may not be making the best choice here...

I don't usually follow much when it comes to celebrity gossip, and I'm not terribly worried about what is going on in the life of Elton John. (Unless he decides to unretire 'Candle in the Wind' and then I'm going to complain a lot.) However, I was a little curious about the reason that Elton John would be at the top of Yahoo's trending list. I was surprised enough with what I saw to convince me to put my lists on hold for a day so I could rant for a while about this topic.

So what is Sir Elton John up to in the news today? Well, I'm sure that you've heard that John is raising a child with his partner David Furnish via a surrogate mother. (I'm too lazy to find out who the Dad is, but you can comment below if you know the answer.) Anyway, the big story right now is that the couple plans on naming Lady Gaga as the baby's godmother. Let me repeat that for you, Lady Gaga is going to be some kid's godmother.

Let me step back a little bit and explain what I'm concerned about with this. These days, being a godparent isn't really that big of a deal. We don't treat it as anything whereas it used to be pretty significant. I'm sure Gaga won't be expected to do anything with the John/Furnish baby, but it still goes against the idea of godparents. Godparents are supposed to be connected to the family and someone that is significant in the lives of the parents. Is there really any kind of friendship between Elton John and Lady Gaga? Have they ever even met?

John states that the couple selected Lady Gaga because of her inclusiveness and tolerance. That's fine, I have no problem with that idea. Lady Gaga certainly reaches out to everyone to some extent, but is she really the best role model for being yourself? I didn't see her eggmobile, but it seems like she's always redefining herself which makes me wonder if she knows herself at all.

Well, that's my rant for now. More work on the top 12 lists coming up. Leave any comments or questions below.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 2

The Original-Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
Smells like Teen Spirit was the song that really made Alternative Rock a legitimate form of music. There was certainly lots of confusion about what the song was about for a variety of reasons. First, there was not lyrics for the song on the lyric sheet. Second, Kurt Cobain isn't exactly easy to understand with the way he sings. Third, the song wasn't played as widely as it could have been because of the previous issues. The song still managed to top the charts and eventually the song was widely played after the lyric issue was cleared up.

I love this song (in either form) because it is so much of a theme song for the Alt Rock genre. The cord structure is compelling even if it is odd and even though I have no idea what words are coming out of Cobain's mouth I'm still compelled to mumble along. The video shows Nirvana playing at a high school pep rally with cheerleaders included. The video does a great job of recreating the feel of watching Nirvana play live (I'm not sure if this is completely true since I never did see the band live, but the video makes you wish you could.)

The Parody-Smells like Nirvana
There's a reason that Kurt Cobain was worried that this parody might be about food, but fortunately, Weird Al had a better idea for this song. As always, the band manages to recreate the Nirvana sound so it's hard to know which version is playing if you didn't hit play yourself. But what makes this song really great is the topic of the song. After hearing the song and all the controversy around it, Yankovic decided to make the song about how hard it is to understand the original song. There are great lines through the entire song. "all these marbles in my mouth," "Sing distinctly? We don't wanna. Buy our album, we're Nirvana."

The video looks like the same as the Nirvana version, at least at first look, but there are all sorts of bizarre things that pop up. There's a cow at one point and the cheerleaders have extremely hairy armpits. There's even a janitor in a tutu. At the time this was the best in Weird Al parody, but there is one that I'm putting above this. You'll have to tune in for the last part of this list to find out what it is though.

Leave some comments or questions and I'll get back to you.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 3

The Original-Gangster's Paradise by Coolio
So this is a song based on a Stevie Wonder song called "Pastime Paradise." Both songs deal with situations that the singers have encountered in their own lives and the places they have seen. Gangster's Paradise pulls into question the 'gangsta' lifestyle and some of the tough choices that are made on the streets.

The music for this song is what really makes it an epic song. An orchestra and chorus lend to the hard rapping style that Coolio brings to the song. The message and the music work together to make the message stand out. Definitely a great song.

The Parody-Amish Paradise
This song takes the difficult life of the streets and turns it on it's ear. I'm not really sure how the conversation on this song went down. I can imagine Al sitting there with the band and saying "You guys know that Coolio song? I think we should do a parody that talks about how rough Amish life can be." It seems like the perfect idea now that it's been done, but I can't imagine trying to see it working without seeing it.

The video is what really makes this song work. Weird Al dressed in black with the big beard is classic. He came up with a lot of great visual gimmicks to sell the idea too. Amish men stomping on electronic devises, churning butter, and an Amish girly magazine all give an idea of the difficulties of the Amish life. The really interesting part of the song and the parody is that both the gangster and Amish lifestyles are a choice made by the individuals. (There aren't many outside options, but there is still a choice being made.)

Check out both songs and if you have any comments, leave them below.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 4

The Original-Lump by The Presidents of the United States of America
Now this isn't my favorite song by The Presidents of the United States of America, but it is a good one. (My favorite is of course Peaches.) The topic of the song isn't very happy, but the beat is fun to listen to and the band sort of keeps you from thinking to much about what the song is about.

We have an unclear subject referred to as Lump. We get scant details about her situation and her life, but it's hard to know what Lump's condition is at this point. Just check out the chorus:
She's lump, she's lump//She's in my head//She's lump, she's lump, she's lump//She might be dead

The Parody-Gump
Gump takes a different kind of twist from your typical Weird Al spoof. Sure he's done lots of pop culture cross overs. We've already seen I Love Lucy and Star Wars so what's the big deal about Forest Gump? Well this is one time where we don't see Yankovic playing the lead role. You'd think with a song parodying Forest Gump that he'd be Weird Al, but he also likes to be the lead singer as well so in this case, he decides to put on the bad cap and dance around in the swamp.

The video is what really makes this song work. You get to see the guy dressed up as a very close match to Tom Hanks trying to connect to the people around him. You of course get the box of chocolates offered to a variety of people including Ruth Buzzi in her famous Laugh-in character, Gladys Ormphby, who swats Gump with her purse. You also get to see Gump edited into scenes just like happens in the movie, but for comedic affect. This is another great combo to watch back to back so you can see the similarities and differences.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 5

The Original-Pretty Fly for a White Guy-by The Offspring.
This is the anthem for wannabes. The subject of the song is trying so hard to be cool that he's obviously spotted as a faker by everyone around him. Everything this wannabe tries goes wrong. He gets the wrong number cut into his hair, and the store was out of Ice Cube so he has to settle for Vanilla Ice. The wannabe is obvious and he isn't fooling anybody.

I really enjoy the music of this song too. Even if I'm not following the lyrics, I'm enjoying the song. One of my favorite parts is count down to start the song. It's something different that I always have to think about when the song starts. "Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, cinco, seis." How does it work in comparison to the "One, two, three, four" that is used traditionally? I'm still not sure, but I love to hear it. I also love this song because it reminds me of one of my best friends. It's like his own personal theme song.

The Parody-Pretty Fly for a Rabbi
I can't really decide which of the two versions of this song is better. I love the parody because it matches so well with the original. This song focuses more on the the life of a rabbi, but it's still focused on just how cool the subject can be given who he is. How cool can a rabbi be? I'm not really sure, but this song makes it sound pretty good.

In this case, I think that I just love the idea of a rabbi trying to be fly. I stumbled across this song and didn't realize what was going on with it the first time I heard it. That probably adds to the connection I have with it. I like both of them no matter the time or the setting. Go check them out back to back and see what you think about them.

That's all for now, feel free to leave a comment.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 6

 The Original
Money for Nothing by Dire Straights is one of the band's most popular songs. Part of the reason for that was the 'high tech' graphics. In Dire Straights' defense they were about as high tech as you could find at the time, but it's hard to see it that way these days. The song is from the perspective of a TV, appliance, everything kind of store who is talking about his perspective on life as a rock star.

The main gist of the song is that the main character/singer is jealous of the sweet con that rock stars are running. Think about how this works. The band travels around and puts on a show or two and then moves on. They don't do much but travel and play, but they get tons of money and plenty of women, providing the memorable line "money for nothing and the chicks for free." The song and video are fun even if it does get a little offense from time to time. Also listen closely for the "I love my MTV in the background."

The Parody-Money for Nothing/Beverly Hills
So what better way to put together a parody than to make it a crossover? Weird Al does it quite often and it usually works out pretty well. This one isn't Star Wars. Instead it ties in with the Beverly Hillbillies. It pretty heavily borrow the lyrics from the Beverly Hillbillies' theme song, and the video is almost the same as the Dire Straight's version with the exception of Weird Al watching the TV and the main speakers becoming Jed Clampett. It's just a lot of fun to hear such a great song with those familiar lyrics. 

So why does this one rank as high as it does? I love both versions and I love being able to patch either set of lyrics into the music. I don't even care which is playing, I'll just sing the song I want it to be at the moment.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 7

The Original-American Idiot by Green Day
This song is a response to a song about red necks. Green Day decided the best way to fight red-neckism was to write a song trashing Americans. I don't take it personally. Some people just need to vent their frustrations and I'm more than willing to let the band do this in their music. There is, however, not much more to say about this song.

The Parody
There isn't much to say about Canadian Idiot either. It's basically the red-neck American knee jerk reaction to American Idiot, or at least the reaction that Yankovic imagines would come from the Green Day song. The singer includes lines like "Don't want to be a beer swilling hockey nut." The song also calls for a preemptive strike because the Canadians must be up to something. Like I said, the run down on this song is pretty short, but it's worth a listen, especially if you play the parody right after the original.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 8

The Original-Lola by the Kinks and American Pie by Don McLean.
Yes, I did put two songs in for this pick as well. For number 9 we had two songs by Michael Jackson, and this time we have two songs that are used to poke fun at Star Wars. But before we get to the parodies, let's look at the original songs.

Lola by the Kinks-So, I had to look this one up. I don't know if I'd ever actually listened to the original song, but as far as I can tell it has song is about a guy meeting a transvestite at a bar and having a romantic encounter. For the most part, the song is more well known because of the instrumental music.

American Pie by Don McLean-This is a classic song that has many interpretations. McLean has continued to deny any interpretations for the song, but there is a pretty strong impression that 'the day the music died' is a reference to the tragic plane crash that took the lives of Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and The Big Bopper. I think most music fans will recognize the main theme of the song: "Bye Bye Miss American Pie."

The Parody
Yoda and The Saga Begins are both parodies of songs but also parodies of Star Wars. The best part is that these parodies are better connected than the movies they are based on. Yoda focuses on that little Muppet from Episode V and The Saga Begins takes us to the unfortunate events of Anakin being discovered in Episode I.

Yoda-This parody follows the story of Luke Skywalker meeting Yoda. If you've seen the movie, I don't have to tell you how that part goes. The real fun of this song comes at the end where Luke or more accurately Mark Hamill ponders his future as an actor. Here's a great example (that didn't quite come true): "The long-term contract I have just signed says I'll be making these movies til the end of time with my Yoda."This song is also a bit of a main theme for Weird Al's career. It has been a part of every concert since it's release, usually as a closing or final encore song.

The Saga Begins-This parody of "American Pie" is a brilliant retelling of the first movie in the Star Wars prequels. It is sung from the perspective of young Obi-Wan as he encounters young Anakin and all the adventures they face. It was written based on Internet rumors and then adjusted after Weird Al saw the movie, and that edit session was a minor one. This song, like most Yankovic parodies, is well liked by the original artist. In fact, McLean has reported that he will accidentally sing lines from the parody when performing his own song.

Well that's it for number 8. Leave a comment if you have one. Number 7 is on the way.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 9

The Original(s)
So in this case, I'm going to cheat a little bit. Weird Al usually diversifies his parodies, but in some cases he will come back to the same artist because the music works for what he wants to do. One such artist is Michael Jackson. Weird Al parodied two of his songs, Beat It and Bad and had also requested to do a parody of Black and White, but Jackson didn't want the message of his song distorted by the parody.

It's fitting that these are the two songs that were used because they really do seem to be connected. In Beat It, Jackson plays the tough guy telling the listener that they'd better get away while they have a chance to do so. Whatever is going to go down is not something you can handle. I always like to think that it's the same character in Bad stepping up again to show the world just how tough they are. I may be wrong on that, and Jackson may not have ever had that intention, but that's how I view it.


The Parody
Eat It and Fat are the parodies based on the Jackson hits, and they also have a common theme-food. If you listen to Weird Al parodies long enough, you begin to notice his love of food or at least a love of singing about food. The thing that is great about these songs isn't the actual songs. They're good, but the music videos are better. Let's talk about each song.

The song for Eat It sounds like a parent telling their kid to eat something. It even includes the standard parental excuses like there are kids starving in China. The video is shot for shot like the Jackson video for Beat It with the exception of the dancing skills. Weird Al goes out of his way to show he can't move like Michael Jackson. The biggest thing to note about this song is that it reached #1 on the charts while Beat It only reached #3.

Fat is one of the most bizarre videos ever made. Visually it is as close to the Bad video as a frizzy-headed accordion player can manage. What makes this video so great is the moment that the title of the song makes sense. You get all the build up of the Jackson video. Michael hiding out in the subway station and confronted, but in the Weird Al version they are fat guys questioning his fatness. Then you get the amazing scene where Weird Al goes from his skinny self to a fat man. Then you get the dance scene with the song.

Both songs and videos are worth a look especially if you watch the original and the parody one right after the other. Leave any comments below. Number 8 is on the way soon.

Signs of the Apocalypse-Willow Smith will be touring with Justin Bieber

Well, I just saw a scary news story, Willow Smith, the 10-year-old singing sensation, is teaming up with Justin Bieber, another singing sensation that is often mistaken for a lesbian. I might be over reacting, but this does not sound like a good combination. It might just be part of one of those scrolls in Revelation. OK, I am over reacting. There's only one thing that keeps it from being that bad. I don't have to go to any of their concerts.

I have lots of issues with this anyway. First, who decided that "I whip my hair back and forth" was something that should be performed live? There's no way that Willow can actually sing and whip her hair. It works out fine in the video, but the poor girl's going to get whiplash and have to wear one of those goofy collars. Then she'll wish she could whip her hair back and forth.

More importantly, what are Will and Jada thinking letting their 10-year-old daughter go on tour? Will Smith has been there and should know what it will be like. How many stops will this tour be taking? How long before this poor girl either drops out from fatigue or ends up like the younger version of Drew Barrymore? (Thank God Drew got herself cleaned up.) It's not a good environment for such a young girl.

In other Willow Smith news, the article also says that Willow will be filling the starring role in the new remake of Annie. Wait a minute. Isn't Little Orphan Annie supposed to be a red head? How are they going to make that work? I'm not against diversity, I'm all in favor of it, but let's be fair to the source material. This sounds like it could be as bad as that one Disney TV version of Cinderella where the prince was Asian, but his Dad was George Costanza and his mother was black. (How does that make sense at all?)

OK, I've rambled on long enough. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the matter. Comment below.

Top Twelve Weird Al Parodies-Number 10

The Original
I Love Rock and Roll has been covered by many artists and bands since it was originally put together by the band Arrow. (Don't worry, I'd never heard of them before I looked up the details on the song.) Because of poor promotion and distribution this song's best-known version wasn't done by Arrow, but by Joan Hett & the Blackhearts. This song was even performed by Britney Spears in her movie Crossroads.

The song itself is pretty straight forward and should be considered a Rock standard. The verses are about the singer spotting a guy she likes and imagining what will happen. More important that whatever the lyrics might be is the chorus. This is the part to follow along with. It reinforces the statement 'I love Rock 'n' Roll over and over again and you can't help but sing along even if it is Britney doing the singing.

The Parody
I Love Rocky Road is the second Weird Al song to be turned into a music video. This video takes place in an ice cream parlor rather than a bar. This song also follows a common theme of Mr. Yankovic, centering his song on food. We will see more of this in the future installments. One interesting factoid about this particular video is that even though the song is called "I Love Rocky Road," there is no ice cream in the video. This is because the ice cream wouldn't stop melting under the hot lights of the studio. Instead it is scoops of mashed potatoes. How would you like some of that on a scoop? 

This song isn't terrible, but it's still early on in Weird Al's career. Better songs will be coming up soon. Remember to leave a comment if you have anything to say or add. Look for Number 9 coming soon.

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.

Top Twelve Weird Al parodies-Number 12

The Original-Jeopardy by the Greg Kihn Band
This song is all about that time in a relationship where everything seems to be going wrong. In the music video, Kihn is at the church for his wedding and really wants to run. Everywhere he looks there's another reason to get out. Their love is in jeopardy because of it. What's a man to do in a situation like this? Well, in this video Kihn has to deal with zombies and monsters and everything else the director could throw at him. In the end, it turns out to be a dream and Kihn runs for it before the wedding can start. He jumps in his convertible only a girl who has just run out of her own wedding sitting beside him, and the two ride off into the sunset.

The Parody-I lost on Jeopardy (obviously by Weird Al)
This song has absolutely nothing to do with the original. It's all about poor Weird Al going on Jeopardy. This song has an interesting twist because it was prophetic. Weird Al did go on an episode of celebrity Jeopardy and lost really badly. At the end of the episode they played this song rather than the standard Jeopardy music.

So let's take a moment to talk about some interesting parts of the video. First it was made during the original run of the show, so it was not hosted by Alex Trebek, but by Art Flemming. You also get the awesome voice work of Don Pardo. If you don't know who Don Pardo is by name, you know his voice. Pardo, among other things, is the announcer for Saturday Night Live, a position he has led for the entire time the show has been on the air. A couple other quick notes: one of the categories is famous accordion players which could include Mr. Yankovic, and the video has a cameo by Dr. Demento, the radio host that got Weird Al his start.

I guess I should also mention that the end of the two videos do have a similarity. Like the end of the original, we see a convertible with Greg Kihn and a bride. Weird Al collapses in the back seat and it drives off. You should notice that the plate reads "LOSER."

So that's #12. I'll be back with number 11 soon.  Leave a comment if you have one.

Top Twelve Weird Al parodies (part I)

Weird Al Yankovic has taken the practice of parody and turned it into something of an art form. There has always been impersonation an parody in the world. We might have learned it from that bird  that borrows other bird songs to sing. You do it too, even if you don't realize it. Stop and think the next time you're in your car and the radio is on. If it's a song you know, you probably sing along. If it's a song you don't like, you probably make a mockery of it, sort of your own personal parody.

With this in mind, it's obvious that lots of artists have taken part in parody, so what makes Weird Al so special? Weird Al and his band go out of their way to make the parody as close to the song as possible. If you listen to the two songs back to back, you can hear how well they cover the song. The main difference is that Weird Al is singing completely different lyrics. Not only that, but Weird Al manages to sound like the singer. (if he wants to) In some cases there is a significant difference because of the message of the song. (Listen to "Smells like Nirvana" and try to tell me that doesn't sound like Nirvana, well, until the cow starts mooing.)

I've been thinking about the way I want to do this list, and I've decided to break it up into 12 separate blog posts. In each post I'll talk about the original song and then the parody. It will still be a top twelve list, but it will follow that format. Before we get started with that, I will make a couple of honorable mentions to get us started.

Honorable Mentions

Confessions Part III-(Parody of Confessions and Confessions Part II by Usher.)
This song makes fun of the idea of the Confessions songs. In Confessions (parts I and II) Usher takes on the persona of a cheating man who wants to tell the woman he loves about all of his transgressions. (In part II he fills in some of the details he forgot in the previous song.) In the parody, Weird Al makes sure to include all of the unpleasant things that were left of in parts I and II. These include lying about knowing Pauly Shore, killing her goldfish, and not changing his underwear for 27 days.

Ricky- (Parody of Mickey by Toni Basil)
What better way to parody Mickey to change the name to Ricky and turn it into a double parody. Double Parody? That's right, this song parodies the song Mickey, but it also parodies the show I Love Lucy. The song is pretty good on it's own, but you need to look up the music video, which was probably the first comedic video on MTV. What's so great about it? Just imagine Weird Al dressed up like Ricky Ricardo with a girl dressed like Lucy and all the trappings of the show. It's great, but the best moment is around 30 seconds when a door opens on the band and Weird Al does one of those rock jumps that is usually done with a guitar, but he does it with his accordion.

So that's the introduction to our top twelve Weird Al parodies. Be on the lookout for Number 12 coming soon. Leave a comment or a question if you have one.

Christmas songs I'm already sick of hearing.

I'm not a scrooge, and I don't really hate  Christmas or Christmas music, but there are just some songs that either get overplayed or I just don't want to listen to at Christmas or any time. Here's a listing of some of the songs I'll be glad not to hear after Christmas.

Jingle Bells by Barking Dogs

I haven't even heard this song yet this year, and I've heard it too many times. I think it's an interesting concept, but it get's old after about five seconds. Why do people want to listen to this song? If your dog starts barking, you don't try to teach it to bark with the song. You tell them to shut up and go back to what you were doing. Why do we have a song that teaches dogs to bark whenever they want to?

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer by Elmo and Patsy Shropshire

I will admit that I loved this song the first couple of years that I knew what I was listening to around Christmas time. It's a funny take on Santa and paints him as the bad guy, but it gets old fast especially when it seems to be everywhere you go. Here's a bigger issue with the song-what's the real story here? Isn't it much more likely that Granddad just made up the story about Grandma getting run over by a reindeer? What really happened to Grandma? Maybe Granddad ran her over because he couldn't see where he was driving or something even worse. How's that for a reason not to like this song?

Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart by Wham!

"Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away. So this year to save me some tears, I'll give it to someone special." That's the song. End it already. Actually there are verses, but after I hear the chorus 5000 times (yes this is hyperbole but not by much) I can't remember ever hearing any of them. This song just doesn't want to end, or stop complaining about how horrible it was that their heart was broken on Christmas. I'm sure people can relate to the song, but it doesn't make it any easier to listen to.

Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley

Don't take this the wrong way. Elvis is great. He is the King of Rock and Roll. I don't want to get into an argument about that, but I can't stand it when this song his the air. I think it has a lot to do with the death of my mother during 2009. It was hard to listen to Presley sing about having a blue Christmas just because some girl dumped him when I was facing that first Christmas without my mother. Elvis just didn't know enough about being blue when the song was done.

Wish you the merriest-Frank Sinatra

A while back I wrote a relatively short post stating that Bing Crosby was the voice of Christmas. (Check it out here: http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/bing-crosby-is-voice-of-christmas.html) There's a reason, and this song is it. I've got nothing against Sinatra, but where "Last Christmas" at least has a reason to exist, this song is just a long-winded "Merry Christmas."

Instrumental versions of songs I want to hear someone sing

If you're going to play a Christmas song, then have the words in there. This complaint does not go for songs that don't have words. In that case, don't add words to songs that don't need them. It seems like a small problem, but I want the words to my favorite Christmas songs. If you want it to be instrumental, then play the "Carol of the Bells," or "Sleigh Ride." That will make everyone happy.

I could go on, but I think this will be enough for this year. Feel free to leave a comment on your opinion on the matter.

Bing Crosby is the voice of Christmas!

I was listening to the radio today while I was driving home and the guy was talking about Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. He called himself a "Frankie fan" and that's all good and fine, but since it is almost the end of December, I'm more inclined to be thinking about the music of Bing Crosby.

Let's jump in the time machine for a minute and go back to the days when movies were in black and white because there wasn't another option rather than for artistic reasons. Hollywood saw the potential to take the Christmas holiday and turn it into a money-making opportunity. All it would take is a few good movies that would set the standard, and draw audiences into the holiday. Another big part of the old black-and-white movies, was music. The musical movie was an idea that got overused at times, but that was how the era worked. There were plenty of Christmas movies: "A Miracle on 34th Street," "It's a Wonderful Life," and a little movie called "White Christmas."

"White Christmas" wasn't the first Christmas movie, and it wasn't the first time Bing Crosby had sung the title song in a movie. (It was fist sung in "Holiday Inn," starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.)  Nevertheless, "White Christmas" became one of the main songs of the holiday even in parts of the country that seldom see any snow.  We can look to other popular songs of the holiday, but it is this song and others sung by Bing Crosby that really speak to the holiday.

There are plenty of Christmas songs, and just about everyone tries their voice at them at some point, but Bing Crosby is the man that makes it really happen.  You may disagree, but that's how I feel about it. Feel free to share your opinion below.