MetaChat - Yesterday's Transit of Venus

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06 June 2012

Yesterday's Transit of Venus lead to a meandering conversation that reminded me that this song exists. →[More:]

This thread is for your favorite Weird Al "b-sides" or deep cuts — the songs that you forgot about, or that were never huge hits. If you have any.

post by: Eideteker at: 11:29 | 17 comments

I've always had a soft spot for some of his non-parody songs, like Frank's 2000" TV.

posted by Eideteker 06 June | 11:31

Or his style parodies, like Good Old Days.

posted by Eideteker 06 June | 11:32

Everything you know is wrong!

posted by Eideteker 06 June | 11:45

what you do to me

posted by Eideteker 06 June | 11:53

don't spoil the big surprise!

posted by Eideteker 06 June | 11:55

Well, I know what I'm going to be doing all day today...

Few people know that Weird Al's "Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" is based on the weirdest song Harry Chapin ever wrote: "30,000 Pounds of Bananas". (sit back, these are two long songs - and Chapin's has multiple endings)

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 12:08

One of his earliest non-parodies (so expect a lot of accordion) is "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead"

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 12:12

It doesn't get better than Yoda.

posted by JanetLand 06 June | 12:12

One of my all-time faves is "Hardware Store" (with the best WOW/Machimina music video I've ever seen - yes, better than Jonathan Coulton's NSFW "First of May" - I promise that will be my only Yankovic/Coulton comparison today)

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 12:21

Yes, JanetLand, "Yoda" is pure wonderfulness, but even BETTER when (as he did when I saw him in concert on MY BIRTHDAY a few years back) played back to back with his other Star Wars song.

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 12:23

One of the coolest things about a Weird Al live show is when he does 'little parodies', songs he knew shouldn't be dragged out into full-length songs, but work wonderfully as one-minute make-the-joke-and-get-out bits. This may be his greatest ever (and he looks good in the Gilligan outfit).

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 12:28

And of course, his tribute to Charles Nelson Reilly still brings a tear to my eye.

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 14:27

And then there was his no-lyric-changed polka-styled cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" that for extra awesomeness had a fan-video made featuring scenes and characters from "Lost".

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 17:22

Then there's his 9-minute style-parody/tribute to Frank Zappa: "Genius in France".

And if that's not enough time wasting for you, there's the 11:23 shocking well-animated fan vid of "Albuquerque" (the same toonist also did a better video of "Everything You Know Is Wrong", sorry - not really).

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 17:47

Speaking of Weird Al-mination, the infamous John 'Ren & Stimpy' Kricfalusi and cartoon babe designer Katie Rice did the closest-to-NSFW authorized Al video ever made with "Close But No Cigar"

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 19:06

One more: before he was even Weird Al, he was a student at Cal Poly U. in San Luis Obispo (my current home and favorite place in the world) and entered a contest for local-themed songs... his entry made it into the contributors' album, and yes, there is a LITTLE Weird in there.

posted by oneswellfoop 06 June | 21:13

omg, how did I forget this one?

posted by Eideteker 08 June | 07:48

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