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Weird Al Says "Twitter Saved My Album"

Posted by samzenpus on from the 142-notes-or-less dept.

nudnik72 writes "Weird Al's latest album, Alpocalypse, was released today, but might not have if his fans hadn't taken his cause to twitter Al says. Yankovic had a well publicized disagreement with Lady Gaga's management over his parody of her song Born This Way. Within 24 hours of his fans spreading the word on the internet, Gaga's people reversed course and approved the parody, saying the whole thing was just a mix-up. The King of Pop Parodies explains that this wasn't the first time a music label and the parodied artist didn't see eye-to-eye."

6 of 160 comments (clear)

  1. huh? by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I can't believe a person as big of a publicity hound as Lady Gaga would every have a problem with a Weird Al parody. It means at the very least you've done a track that has hit the public consciousness and that you're famous. Plus she's been on shows like Graham Norton where you're sure to get made fun of in a good natured way.

    Probably a goon in the entourage taking upon him/herself to make a decision.

    1. Re:huh? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The Internet rumor is that Lady Gaga herself loved the track but was not consulted. She was in the middle of a tour and her management made the decision for her.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  2. That's what she said by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Interesting

    No, not the joke, literally.

    LG said that her publicist had never actually sent her the song and just said no. Obviously full of himself unlike Lady GaGa, whom I admire because she is definitely doing this all from the understanding the whole thing is kind of a laugh...

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  3. Re:I don't care who you are by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    His career and new music is still just as relevant (whatever level you deem that to be) after 30 years. Not too many artists performing today can say that.

  4. Is there still a place for Al? by jfengel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I was an immense fan of "In 3D", and one of the most notable things about it is the polka versions of classics (Hey Jude, My Generation, etc.) Some of the parodies were pending classics, like Eat It, Rye or the Kaiser, and King of Suede.

    But we've run out of classics. Can you really parody Lady Gaga, herself essentially a parody of the music industry today?

    Al is a gifted musician; his grasp of style and ability to mimic it are extraordinary: Songs like Mr. Popeil and Dog Eat Dog show a tremendous grasp of what makes the B-52s and the Talking Heads distinctive. Often his original works are funnier than the parodies, especially since parody so often relies on the meat of source material. Today's source material doesn't seem to HAVE any meat.

    I looked at the video of his Lady Gaga parody. It's obviously a huge amount of work, and it's funny for that. That kind of effort is what Lady Gaga brings to the table, when the song material is forgettable.

    This is not a dig on Al; it's a dig on the music industry, which as we've often noted here is dying, and with good reason. I'm thrilled that Al is still applying his tremendous gifts. I just wish he had better stuff to work with.

  5. Re:Legally stream the entire album for free! by Orgasmatron · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Holy crap. I'm going to have nightmares from that. Disturbing doesn't even come close.

    Still, Al is God. I hope she fire the tool that said no to Al without asking her.

    --
    See that "Preview" button?