Podcast Recommendation
If you need some solace in these unsettling times, I recommend The Daily, The Sunday Read The Weirdly Enduring Appeal of Weird Al Yankovic.
It is thoroughly charming.
Or, you can read the story here.
Side note: I became aware of Weird Al Yankovic in the early 1980s via the Dr. Demento show vis syndication in Waco, TX and then via KMET in Los Angeles when I moved to Orange County, CA. I owned his first several albums on vinyl.
I have seen him in concert twice. Once in Orange County in the late 80s and a couple of years ago in Birmingham, AL. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen live.
He is a national, nay global, treasure.
I got roped into interviewing Al Yankovic at some book thing when he was pushing a picture book. In the pre-interview I asked him if he’d deliberately included a masturbation reference. He agreed he had. I didn’t follow up in the actual interview.
“Weird Al” Yankovic – Germs
Dr. Demento. Memories…loved the Boot To The Head skits! I can thank my brother for my exposure to Dr. Demento and learning that sometimes Grandma gets run over by a reindeer.
Well, that is my not particularly valuable contribution to this thread. Carry on folks.
One of the things that always impressed me about Yankovic was that he always asked for permission to parody the songs he did, despite the fact that US copyright law specifically calls out an exemption for parody. It was a classy thing to do, and from what I remember, very few artists ever refused him.
I saw him a few years ago at a State Fair or something, north of Seattle. He was excellent — put on a great show with a lot of energy and excitement. One of the best shows I’ve seen, which kind of baffles me since he is a novelty act.
The best and worst shows I have seen were both Elvis Costello, by the way.