Our atom bombs were just no use.
I've always had the sense that my previous selves had better musical taste than my current self. Records that I bought in the last two years invariably end up collecting dust on my shelf (or with 0 plays on iTunes), while records that I bought while I was in high school and college get tons of play. It's a bad sign. But an even worse sign is one I just discovered, i.e., that not only did I have better taste in music ten years ago, I also had better taste in music as a nine-year old.
Consider Weird Al Yankovic.
Recently, while trading music with Money Changes Everything (henceforth on this blog: MCE), I was reacquainted with two Weird Al records: the classic "Dare to be Stupid," and "Weird Al Yankovic: In 3-D!". I had no idea that Weird Al was not only a talented jokesmith, but also a musical genius in his own right. Leave aside his song parodies for the moment, such as "Like a Surgeon" or "King of Suede." There are two other essential facets of Al records: original tunes, or "style" parodies, and Polka Medlys.
Let's take the latter first. On "Hooked on Polkas," it seems almost as if Al is putting the pedal to the metal, so to speak. The song starts out SO FAST - it's as if he's daring the audience to keep up with the 3:45 of the song. Something like 11 songs go by in the midst of this polka, it's really amazing, as are the transitions between songs. Sometimes he sticks to standard polka musical staples, but other times, he appears to be building between songs to create a sort of mid-song "metasong," as, if you listen, the transition between "Footloose," "The Reflex," and "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" becomes. It's really quite astounding. Maybe you think I'm crazy describing a guy who does polka as a genius, but don't knock it until you really listen.
Second are his original tunes, or "style" parodies. There are many of these, including "Velvet Elvis," which is a Police parody from "Even Worse." But two especially deserve mention. The first is "Dare to be Stupid" from that same record. This is clearly a Devo parody, but it's really done with a sense of command over the genre. It's as if Al himself has inhabited the Devo universe and taken control, produced "Dare to be Stupid," was overthrown, and returns to our universe with the original master tapes of his creation. And furthermore, the music is dense, the track is deep, it's overall very satisfying. Slap some non-joke lyrics on there, and you'd have yourself an extremely good synth-pop tune.
But the one that I think just cements Al in the canon of musical greats is the track "Slime Creatures from Outer Space." I listened to this tune yesterday, and I immediately was suspicious that it was an Oingo Boingo parody. But as Al did another Boingo parody later ("You Make Me" on "Even Worse), I was unconvinced. One thing that I knew was the track was totally sweet. Great arrangements, incredibly tight vocal harmonies. Really tight. When writing harmonies like that, you have to know what you're doing. You really have to know what you're doing. The various parts move in an out of 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths in a super compelling way, with each harmony part sounding like a melody of its own. Now that's hard to do.
I didn't know who it was a parody of, but I remember saying to myself: whoever this is a parody of, I really want to listen to because this is so good. Answer: it's Thomas Dolby. You know, that Thomas Dolby I've been going on and on about for a while now. The Thomas Dolby who's super-sweet. But it's a testament to Al's genius that I could find the same affection for Thomas Dolby in one of Al's tracks without consciously knowing that it was a parody of Dolby. Again, he inhabits a musical universe and returns with extremely delightful results.
So, as it happens, not only would the high-school-me slap me around for listening to crap, so would the nine-year-old me. And, frankly, I'd have to agree.
Consider Weird Al Yankovic.
Recently, while trading music with Money Changes Everything (henceforth on this blog: MCE), I was reacquainted with two Weird Al records: the classic "Dare to be Stupid," and "Weird Al Yankovic: In 3-D!". I had no idea that Weird Al was not only a talented jokesmith, but also a musical genius in his own right. Leave aside his song parodies for the moment, such as "Like a Surgeon" or "King of Suede." There are two other essential facets of Al records: original tunes, or "style" parodies, and Polka Medlys.
Let's take the latter first. On "Hooked on Polkas," it seems almost as if Al is putting the pedal to the metal, so to speak. The song starts out SO FAST - it's as if he's daring the audience to keep up with the 3:45 of the song. Something like 11 songs go by in the midst of this polka, it's really amazing, as are the transitions between songs. Sometimes he sticks to standard polka musical staples, but other times, he appears to be building between songs to create a sort of mid-song "metasong," as, if you listen, the transition between "Footloose," "The Reflex," and "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" becomes. It's really quite astounding. Maybe you think I'm crazy describing a guy who does polka as a genius, but don't knock it until you really listen.
Second are his original tunes, or "style" parodies. There are many of these, including "Velvet Elvis," which is a Police parody from "Even Worse." But two especially deserve mention. The first is "Dare to be Stupid" from that same record. This is clearly a Devo parody, but it's really done with a sense of command over the genre. It's as if Al himself has inhabited the Devo universe and taken control, produced "Dare to be Stupid," was overthrown, and returns to our universe with the original master tapes of his creation. And furthermore, the music is dense, the track is deep, it's overall very satisfying. Slap some non-joke lyrics on there, and you'd have yourself an extremely good synth-pop tune.
But the one that I think just cements Al in the canon of musical greats is the track "Slime Creatures from Outer Space." I listened to this tune yesterday, and I immediately was suspicious that it was an Oingo Boingo parody. But as Al did another Boingo parody later ("You Make Me" on "Even Worse), I was unconvinced. One thing that I knew was the track was totally sweet. Great arrangements, incredibly tight vocal harmonies. Really tight. When writing harmonies like that, you have to know what you're doing. You really have to know what you're doing. The various parts move in an out of 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths in a super compelling way, with each harmony part sounding like a melody of its own. Now that's hard to do.
I didn't know who it was a parody of, but I remember saying to myself: whoever this is a parody of, I really want to listen to because this is so good. Answer: it's Thomas Dolby. You know, that Thomas Dolby I've been going on and on about for a while now. The Thomas Dolby who's super-sweet. But it's a testament to Al's genius that I could find the same affection for Thomas Dolby in one of Al's tracks without consciously knowing that it was a parody of Dolby. Again, he inhabits a musical universe and returns with extremely delightful results.
So, as it happens, not only would the high-school-me slap me around for listening to crap, so would the nine-year-old me. And, frankly, I'd have to agree.
posted by dd0031 at 12:19 PM
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