Wow. Inspiring. Read the rest

"Weird Al" Yankovic announced this morning that he'll be touring in 2019 with a full symphony orchestra, well, several full symphony orchestras.

He explains*:

Two weeks from today – Monday, Nov. 12 – we’ll be announcing the dates for my 2019 tour, which we’re calling Strings Attached.

We’re going directly from my most scaled-down, low-key show ever (this year’s Ridiculously Ill-Advised Vanity Tour) to my most full-blown, over-the-top extravaganza ever. Not only are we bringing back the costumes and the props and the big video screen, but also… every single night we’ll be performing with a FULL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. For real. No, we’re not cramming an orchestra on our bus – it’ll be a different orchestra in every city. Sometimes it will be a “branded” local orchestra (like, say, the Colorado Symphony), and other times we’ll basically just be putting together our own orchestra with local musicians.

And yes, we’re back to PLAYING THE HITS… but we’ll also throw in a few deeps cuts too (including a couple songs that we’ve never played before – not even on the Ill-Advised Vanity Tour!) Of course it’ll be the same amazing band as always – Jim, Steve, Ruben and Bermuda – plus, for the first time ever we’ll be touring with female background singers (Lisa Popeil, Monique Donnelly and Scottie Haskell – incredible vocalists who have appeared on many of my studio recordings).

I think it’s really going to be a special show, and I can’t wait to get started!

Weezer pushes the "Africa" cover gimmick ever onward with a new music video for the Toto classic. The clip stars Weird Al Yankovic as Rivers Cuomo in a parody of Weezer's own "Sweater Song" music video.

Background here. Read the rest

Yesterday, "Weird Al" Yankovic (finally!) got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During his acceptance speech at the ceremony, he had one small, completely reasonable request:

Please, please don't pickaxe my star. I know it's all the rage these days, but that's not cool. Unless at some point in the future, I do something unfathomably monstrous and evil in which case, sure, fine, okay, go ahead

If you'd like to visit, but not pickaxe, the star, it's located at 6914 Hollywood Blvd., directly across the street from the world-famous Chinese Theatre (and a mere 200 feet, as he points out, from a Hooters).

Congrats, Al! Read the rest

At Weezer's show at The Forum in Los Angeles Wednesday, Weird Al got onstage mid-song to join the band in a cover of Toto's 1982 hit "Africa." You may remember that a 14-year-old recently convinced Weezer to cover "Africa."

So, this just happened. (Thanks, @Weezer.) pic.twitter.com/DIt5Sf25Vz

— Al Yankovic (@alyankovic) August 9, 2018

Billboard:

"We're gonna take you on a distant voyage," promised singer Rivers Cuomo, who was sporting a classic sleeveless Nirvana T-shirt and rocking a flying V guitar. "To the continent of your choosing... where do you kids want to go tonight?" The question was rhetorical, of course, as "Africa" has become the highlight of the band's sets on their current co-headlining tour with The Pixies. Just moments after the crowd shouted "AFRICA!!!," the band kicked into the song's familiar heat mirage intro and Cuomo awkwardly played some air drums and then, just after the third verse, it happened.

"Weird Al" wandered out on stage in his signature Hawaiian shirt, his accordion at the ready to rip off a wicked solo. Al joined in on the chorus and finished it off with an accordion/guitar riff-off with Cuomo. And then, officially, summer was over.

From Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" to Alice Cooper's "School's Out," Weird Al and his band covered a different song for the encore each night for Yankovic's recent "Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour." Now he's put together a video of all of those cover songs, 77 songs for 77 cities. It's nearly half an hour long and there's no footage, just the music, but it's totally worth a look/listen (if for no other reason to appreciate the effort).

00:00 - Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple) 00:35 - Blue Suede Shoes (Elvis Presley) 00:52 - I Saw Her Standing There (The Beatles) 01:24 - Johnny B Goode (Chuck Berry) 01:40 - Do Wah Diddy Diddy (Manfred Mann) 02:00 - Dirty Water (The Standells) 02:13 - Honky Tonk Women (The Rolling Stones) 02:29 - Tutti Frutti (Little Richard) 02:46 - Wipeout – in 4 different keys (The Surfaris) 02:58 - All Day and All of the Night (The Kinks) 03:11 - Should I Stay or Should I Go (The Clash) 03:39 - Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes) 03:56 - Uncontrollable Urge (Devo) 04:06 - 867-5309 (Jenny) (Tommy Tutone) 04:27 - Psycho Killer (Talking Heads) 04:50 - Hello There (Cheap Trick) 05:10 - Refugee (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) 05:34 - (They Long to Be) Close To You (The Carpenters) 05:56 - Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young) 06:14 - Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting (Elton John) 06:45 - Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry) 07:03 - Free Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd) 07:17 - China Grove (Doobie Brothers) 07:36 - Rebel Yell (Billy Idol) 08:03 - Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealers Wheel) 08:11 - Accordion Boogie (Charles Magnante) 08:25 - Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet) 08:43 - All Star (Smash Mouth) 09:02 - Squeeze Box (The Who) 09:24 - Beat on the Brat (Ramones) 09:38 - Last Train to Clarksville (The Monkees) 10:02 - Beer Barrel Polka (traditional) 10:16 - Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) 10:44 - What I Like About You (The Romantics) 11:03 - We’re an American Band (Grand Funk Railroad) 11:23 - Peaches (Presidents of the United States of America) 11:43 - It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It) (The Rolling Stones) 11:58 - Gimme Some Lovin’ (Spencer Davis Group) 12:11 - Glad All Over (Dave Clark Five) 12:26 - Sunshine of Your Love (Cream) 12:47 - Particle Man (They Might Be Giants) 13:00 - Land of 1,000 Dances (Wilson Pickett) 13:18 - Crocodile Rock (Elton John) 13:34 - Viva Las Vegas (Elvis Presley) 13:45 - Fire and Rain (James Taylor) 14:17 - Werewolves of London (Warren Zevon) 14:35 - I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones) 14:52 - It’s the End of the World as We Know It (R.E.M.)

Weird Al's "The Hamilton Polka" inspired Michael William Hunter to create a song about the accordion-playing musician's life. It's a Hamilton parody set to the tune of the musical's "Alexander Hamilton," called "Alfred Matthew Yankovic."

It's really great! Here's a taste of the lyrics:

Well, the word got around said, “this kid is so weird, man!” Soon he’s posing with an accordion in his mere hands.

Perfect yo skills with classes, get glasses with a thick frame! And the world will surely know your name! What’s your name man?

Alfred Matthew Yankovic.

My name is Alfred Matthew Yankovic.

I can’t find and rhyme for “Yankovic.”

But just you wait. Just you wait.

When he's not making a "Weird Al"-Hamilton parody, Hunter runs "Weird Al"Phabet, a podcast that discusses every "Weird Al" Yankovic song in alphabetical order.

(Neatorama) Read the rest

"Weird Al" Yankovic is currently traveling North American performing for his Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, one that he promised would not be business as usual. Living up to that promise, he recently performed Billy Idol's 1983 hit "Rebel Yell" live in Carmel, Indiana. No, not a parody of it, the actual song.

(He's also been playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird"!)

(The Awesomer) Read the rest

If I had a hit pop song that was fresh off a Grammy win, I would follow Portugal. The Man's lead and do all the things.

First, I'd want to perform on Ellen like they just did. But that's not big enough, I'd also want to bring the USC Marching Band onstage with me, like they did Thursday.

Then, just because I could, I would get "Weird Al" Yankovic to performing a rousing remix of my Grammy-winning song, like they just did with "Feel it Still."

Then I'd continue touring with my new album, like they are with "Woodstock." 'Cause: "Go big or go home."

(COS) Read the rest

On The Late Late Show with James Corden, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda said that, while on a recent vacation, he digitized all the VHS home movies he made in his childhood. Read the rest

To appeal to the people of North Korea, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver enlisted the help of "Weird Al" Yankovic to write an accordion-based song about how Americans are not that bad (because North Koreans supposedly love accordion music). The brilliant ditty is called "The North Korea Polka" and the chorus is aptly, "Please don't nuke us, North Korea!"

image via Al Yankovic Read the rest