Wednesday, December 27, 2006

I Love Weird Al Yankovic and I'm not afraid to admit it. I am a dork.

I uploaded all of my old Weird Al Yankovic albums onto my ipod and I am dorking out right now, listening to classics such as "I Love Rocky Road," "My Bologna," and "Like a Surgeon." Weird Al makes me so happy. I'm not afraid to admit it. When I was a kid, Weird Al was all I listened to.

Okay, I was really vague just now with the whole "when I was a kid" thing, implying that I'm talking about my elementary school years, but I pretty much only listened to Weird Al through junior high school too.

I remember the first few times I hung out with my stepgrandmother Joanne (or Granny Joanny, as we like to call her) (calling her "granny" is funny because she's really young) (like, my mom's age, or thereabouts)--this was before she was my granny, this was when she and my grandfather were still dating--Joanne and I would talk about music, and she was really hip and listened to people like Madonna and Michael Jackson (this was back when he was hip and good), and I wanted her to think I was hip too, so I pretended that I knew all of the bands that she was talking about, but in reality I pretty much only knew Weird Al. (I was such a dork that I didn't even honestly know the songs that Weird Al was spoofing) (when I finally started listening to other music, I can't even tell you how many "ah ha!" moments I had when I'd be like: Oh, it's really I Love Rock'n'Roll! And wow, it's My Sharona! And ha, Like a Virgin!) (I still can't listen to a lot of those songs without mumbling under my breath the Weird Al lyrics) (which my brain thinks of as the "real" lyrics to all of those songs)

And then I remember going to a party at the beginning of my freshman year of high school at my friend Lanie's house, and she put on the first Violent Femmes album and it was like a religious experience because (a) the album was amazing and (b) I'd finally grown out of Weird Al.

But I never really grew out of Weird Al. I just pushed him over to another part of my brain so that I could start taking in all of the music that I had been ignoring. (And now I can actually have real conversations with Granny J about Nirvana, Outkast, or whatever.) But sometimes, that part of my brain where my love for Weird Al lives, that part of my brain needs to be fed, and so, tonight, I'm taking him in.

As Weird Al would sing: "Never gonna stop, eat it up, such a tasty snack, I always eat too much, and throw up, but I'll soon be back, for my, my, my bologna."

(Obviously, bologna is a metaphor for Weird Al in the above quote.)

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, I love the violent femmes. It is such an honor to know that I assisted you in having a "religious experience!" :)

Lanie

Anonymous said...

Nothing to be afraid of, admitting you like Weird Al! And a lot of people like him, dorks or otherwise. He's a true genius and master showman, and his concerts genuinely FUN!

Anonymous said...

Nothing to be afraid of, admitting you like Weird Al! And a lot of people like him, dork or no. He's a true genius and master showman, and his concerts genuinely FUN!

Joe Chandler said...

he's the most consistent artist of our lifetimes.

Anonymous said...

For you it's Weird Al, for me Barry Manilow. Some loves last a lifetime!

Anonymous said...

I don't like or dislike Weird Al, currently. I actually like "White and Nerdy."

However, when I was in middle and high school, and in Girl Scouts, a girl in my troop, who was a dear close friend of mine, was OBSESSED with Weird Al. I remeber every field trip we went on as a troop I kept my fingers crossed I didn't have to ride in the van with Kristen because the van had a tape player and she always brought her Weird Al tapes. So we always listened to it. I guess I got burnt out on it.

Please excuse the overuse of commas. I'm sick and feverish and cannot be held responsible for my actions. ;)

Anonymous said...

dude, i love weird al! angela makes fun of me because i love weird al and allan sherman. please convince her that this is not dorky!

-eric

Erik said...

Lanie, I remember listening to that album at your house SOOOOO vividly.

And I also have many fond memories of driving around in your Cougar when suddenly Blister in the Sun would start playing on KROQ and we couldn't help but all sing along, whispering during the whispery parts.

Erik said...

And of course shouting during the shouty parts.

Erik said...

pamylla, hello! welcome to my blog.

he IS a true genius. I totally agree. he's, like, the patron saint of dorks.

Erik said...

Joe Chandler, I already replied to your comment.

Erik said...

Barry Manilow??????

(I say that with disdain, but in all honesty, i don't really know Manilow's music well enough to be disdainful) (I bet I would love the Manilow)

Erik said...

Nichole/soleclaw: I'm mad at Kristen for ruining Weird Al for you. Not that he's for everyone. I also feel like maybe you were introduced to him too late in life. To really appreciate Weird Al, you have to start listening to him in elementary school. NOT in middle and high school. Oh gosh no. I can't imagine liking him if I started listening to him then.

Erik said...

ERIC.

DUDE.

DUUUUUUDE.

You. Are. A. Dork.

Admit it! It's okay.

Being a dork is sooo okay.

I am a dork. We're all dorks.

Be okay with being a dork.

If you like Weird Al:

You are a dork.

Sorry.