Weird Al in the Halls of Rock?

Weird Al has always been lurking in the background of pop culture, at the very least since the early 80’s. Every song he has released is either parodying the song itself or the theme of a particular artist/band.  He rose to stardom, winning Grammy awards for “Eat It”  and “Fat” parodying Michael Jackson.  Weird Al moved beyond parodying the King of Pop, out of the 80s to successfully parody Nirvana (Smells like Nirvana), Coolio (Amish Paradise), Don McLean (The Saga Begins), etc. heading into the 2000s. In the 2000s, Weird Al again made breakthroughs in his pop culture spin-offs of; Chamillionaire (White and Nerdy), Robin Thicke (Words Crimes), Miley Cyrus (Party in the CIA) showing off his talents as not only a singer, but a rapper who could bring out the best why it’s so cool to be such a nerd.

It is most possible that Weird Al is even more popular now than he has ever been.  He is career has spanned over 30 years, recreating and adapting himself along with pop culture more successfully than anyone who has made of career of parodying others. The question that started coming from his diehard fans and now the overall musical community is, “ Does Weird Al belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?”

I know the obvious support for a “No” response to the question would be that; Weird Al doesn’t create his own music, just takes ideas from others, makes them goofy, sells some records and every now and then creates a pretty decent hit that gets some media attention every now and then. Additionally, what Weird Al does doesn’t require a whole lot of talent or skill. Anyone can do what he does, he was just lucky to be on the first ones to do it and be successful at it.

 

Those might not be all the reasons for a thumbs down for a Weird Al Induction to the RRHOF (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) but I imagine I’m on the right track.

 

Either way, that is not my opinion for my points below are reasons WHY Weird Al belongs in the RRHOF:

 

• Weird Al is a pioneer in his basically self-created genre and should be respected for his prowess, years of success.
• What Weird Al does I would say is almost harder than writing a “normal, original” song itself. (Just think about it, Weird Al has to remake a song, change the words to not only make it funny, but have it make sense in addition to staying true to the theme/artist/band his is parodying
• Weird Al has done my explanation in point #2 while being very successful at it, more successful than anyone else previously (which points back to my point #1)
• Weird Al actually does write his own songs and has done so many times. He doesn’t only recreate a song strictly by changing the words, making a music video but actually has written songs that parody in style and are original themselves ( One More Minute, My Baby’s in Love with Eddie Vedder, Skipper Dan, Jackson Park Express, The Night Santa Went Crazy to name a few)
• If Hip Hop artists and bands are now getting inducted into the RRHOF, why wouldn’t you continue to ride the unique, diversified train of music and let Weird Al in?

 

Overall, my point is: Weird Al for all his goofiness he displays through song writing, music video and stage show, is tremendously talented and has plenty of merit in his credentials for the RRHOF.

Now onto the lighter part of this post where I list my favorite top 10 Weird Al Songs of all time:

Honorable Mentions: Jackson Park Express, I Want a New Duck, Good Enough For Now, The Night Santa Went Crazy, Everything You Know Is Wrong, Harvey the Wonder Hamster (but it was too long of a song for my list)

My top 10 (in no particular order):

 

• Amish Paradise
• Word Crimes
• Christmas at Ground Zero
• Yoda
• The Saga Begins
• I Lost on Jeopardy
• Genius in France
• Truck Drivin Song
• Albuquerque
• White and Nerdy

 

Please comment on your favorite Weird Al song or list