Dual Disc Weird Al's New Album in 5.1

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This classic rocker definitely knows about Cake and Sparks, this'll be fun. I'm not old (48), but my collection can be that way at times...

Sparks I know....but do you think the majority of mainstream listeners know Sparks? To me it's only funny if it's something very iconic, like the Michael Jackson stuff or Nirvana.
 
Chris,

The Warner Brothers Boom Crash Bang DVD-A with "familiar" cartoon voices and sound effects probably seemed real promising on paper. But the NEW voice talent is pretty annoying so it gathers dust on all our shelves....

We both missed that DVD-A of Queensryche on eBay, oh well.

I forgot about "Empire" and it might have been available at a price I would have paid. I had planned to bid higher, I had just bid at the beginning of the auction to get it on my radar but not at my willing to pay price since I knew I was going to shop at a couple of used stores close by and might find it in the interim. No way to know what the winner really bid. I have been trying to get that one for a long time. I think I have lost with about 6 auctions. Queensryche is pretty new to me, the "Tribe" Silverline DVD-A is my only Queensryche experience. I also have "Geoff Tate", which I purchased first leading me into listening to Queensryche.

Chris
 
Any parodies of music classic rockers would recognize?

As someone else posted, there's a very clever Beach Boys parody. And "Don't Download This Song" is a terrific style parody of "We Are the World" types of songs.

Because he's primarily a comic performer, I think most people tend to overlook the fact that he and his band are genuinely good musicians. And they're incredibly meticulous when putting together their songs. Maybe it's just the 5.1 thing, but I found myself enjoying this album more than any of his others on a standalone basis--that is, I enjoyed his work as his work more than I got a laugh out of the parody aspect.
 
Sparks I know....but do you think the majority of mainstream listeners know Sparks? To me it's only funny if it's something very iconic, like the Michael Jackson stuff or Nirvana.

They aren't necessarily especially funny. But they are genuinely entertaining songs on their own merits. The Sparks one probably is a bit bizarre sounding to people who don't know Sparks, but the Cake style parody, for my money, can absolutely stand on its own as a flat-out good, catchy, well-produced song.

I agree that most mainstream listeners aren't going to know Sparks, but I think that makes his willingness to "do" them even more daring and, in turn, makes it all the more interesting.
 
They aren't necessarily especially funny. But they are genuinely entertaining songs on their own merits. The Sparks one probably is a bit bizarre sounding to people who don't know Sparks, but the Cake style parody, for my money, can absolutely stand on its own as a flat-out good, catchy, well-produced song.

I agree that most mainstream listeners aren't going to know Sparks, but I think that makes his willingness to "do" them even more daring and, in turn, makes it all the more interesting.

I wasn't even thinking of purchasing this one, but now I gotta to hear the Sparks one.
 
I wasn't even thinking of purchasing this one, but now I gotta to hear the Sparks one.

I have a few Sparks LPs ... Komono My House is a classic. Amateur Hour is hilarious! :mad:@: Given though, that they are a LOT funnier than Weird Al; how the heck is that going to work. Mike.
 
They popped up about ten or so years ago with an agreeably odd remake of "I Will Survive". Very dry vocals and dry sense of humor.

They're also from my town, so I might pay a bit more attention to them than I would otherwise, but they've definitely gotten airplay.

Re: Cake. Their big song I remember from alternative radio in the mid/late-90's was "Going the Distance" (He's going the distance/He's going for speed...). Interesting combo of guitar/bass/drum (machine) and...trumpet. The vocals are almost spoken rather than sung, very hipster-friendly. Soon to be appearing on a cell phone company ad near you...
 
I have a few Sparks LPs ... Komono My House is a classic. Amateur Hour is hilarious! :mad:@: Given though, that they are a LOT funnier than Weird Al; how the heck is that going to work. Mike.


Yes, that's one of my favorites. I named my internet radio show after it, "The Amateur Hour", and use it as the show's opening theme music.
 
Al does not get enough credit for his songwriting and performance skills. He is far deeper than a "novelty act".
 
Al used to take over MuchMusic (our MTV up here) for a day and call it Al Music. I almost peed my pants a few times! His fake interviews, where he'd take existing interviews and insert himself in asking stupid questions and editing in "answers" from rock stars were friggin hilarious!
 
Al does not get enough credit for his songwriting and performance skills. He is far deeper than a "novelty act".

Absolutely. Hey, he's been around and kicking (and still reasonably popular, if I gauge correctly) for 20+ years and a lot of the acts he's parodied aren't...
 
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I love his stuff, but he's lost me with keeping up with the current music. I guess current music left me behind too. I find myself collecting Hank Williams Sr. Buddy Holly Everly Brothers more than anything new. His self penned songs can be truly excellent. My favorite ones are One More Minute and Trigger Happy. I also like some of the unreleased ones like It's Still Billy Joel To Me, Pac Man, Gee, I'm A Nerd, Stop Draggin My Car Around, and Chicken Pot Pie!!!! The last one is a very clever parody of Live And Let Die, but McCartney wouldn't authorize it because it talks about eating Chicken! Gee, doesn't he have any sense of humor??? Weird Al is a vegetarian as well, it's not like its gonna cause people to eat more chickens. Sheesh.
 
I love his stuff, but he's lost me with keeping up with the current music. I guess current music left me behind too.

To some exetent I think it left him behind as well. In a recent interview he was talking about having to listen to different radio stations than he normally would while looking for songs to parody.
 
Al does not get enough credit for his songwriting and performance skills. He is far deeper than a "novelty act".
You're right to a certain extent, but as good as his parodies are, they just don't stand up to repeated listening. They're still fun to revisit from time-to-time, so I do agree that their value goe beyond simple novelty. I still enjoy revisiting classics like "Another One Rides The Bus", "My Balogna" and "Fat".
 
(copy/pasting this into the relevant threads - hope that's ok)

I've been a Weird Al fan since around 1987. In college, around 2003, I got into surround music. So, when this album came out, it was a real treat. Hearing his standard polka medley mixed in surround was actually a bit emotional. (That's also an interesting mix with tuba being the only instrument in the center channel!).

I've been going through a Weird Al phase lately and dusted off this DVD. Really tastefully done surround mixing. Discreet, but natural.
 
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