No one was more surprised than Weird Al Yankovic himself when his new album, Straight Outta Lynwood, jumped onto the Billboard Top 10--a first for the prolific artist. Straight Outta Lynwood is powered by the hit single White and Nerdy. I spoke with Weird Al about his recent promotional tour for the album.
Buy Straight Outta Lynwood
Daniel Robert Epstein: So do you want people to download or not?
Weird Al Yankovic: Im just full of ironies arent I?
DRE: Youre a very complex man.
Al: Im very complex; Ill leave that to your self discretion as to how you want to handle that. I just present the options and let you decide.
DRE: Im going to steal all your music then.
Al: Ok [laughs].
DRE: What made you decide to do so many animated videos?
Al: Im a huge animation fan and I thought that this was a good opportunity since I knew that this album was going to be a dual disc. So I had a whole DVD side that I needed to fill with video content. As soon as I finished the music I made some phone calls and I was very happy and surprised to get some of my favorite animators involved in this project like Bill Plympton, John Kricfalusi, the guys from Robot Chicken and some of the hottest new Flash animators like Dave Lovelace and Thomas Lee. So heaven knows Im so happy to have all these extremely talented people working on the album.
DRE: I know you had animation in your TV show and in UHF, but have you ever had your own cartoon?
Al: No, like you said there are little bits of the Saturday Morning Show like there was The Adventures of Fatman and that was done by Keith Alcorn and the guys at DNA Animation who went on to do Jimmy Neutron. But I never had a full on animated show.
DRE: It just seems like a primer for you to do your own animated show.
Al: Well, thatd be cool. Id love to do that at some point.
DRE: What made you do a two-disc album?
Al: Well, its my own personal way to combat piracy. Instead of suing people or spending money to make better anti-piracy protection for the CD I thought the best way to combat it is just to make the CD package so great that people really want to buy it. Give them videos, 5.1 mixes, instrumentals, on screen lyrics, theres a 24 page color booklet. I just think that the best way to battle it is to give them something that they just cant not buy.
DRE: [laughs] At this point do you have total freedom in terms of working with your label?
Al: Pretty much within reason. They leave me alone and they dont tell me like, You should do this song or you should tackle this topic. Basically theyre fine with whatever I give them and theyre very supportive and we get along very well.
DRE: Is there any artist that you have to keep away from completely, like Madonna or The Beatles?
Al: The only artist over the years thats consistently turned me down is Prince but its not like I keep away from him. Every couple years we call him up and say Hey, just calling to see if you have a sense of humor yet. No? Ok, just checking.
DRE: [laughs] I read you finally made up with Coolio this year.
Al: Yeah, I certainly never had a problem with Coolio but I was always a little concerned that he seemed to have a problem with me because when I did Amish Paradise he didnt seem all that happy about it. But I was at a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas earlier this year and I was signing autographs at a booth. He came up to me and we gave each other a nice hug and it seems like theres no grudge there anymore so I was very happy about that.
DRE: Well the thing is it would just be pointless for you to parody him now.
Al: Well, I was actually trying to get him into my video.
DRE: Oh really?
Al: For White and Nerdy but we were trying to track him down and we couldnt find him anywhere, maybe the next video.
DRE: I know you tour a lot.
Al: Yeah, were probably not going to be on the road until next summer. Its a fun show. There are film clips and a lot of costume changes and a lot of stuff going on. Its a pretty theatrical show.
DRE: Do you find that like the fans as theyre starting to get a little older and theyre starting to bring their kids?
Al: Ive been doing live shows since the early 80s. My audience has always been multi-generational. Its a family show so there are kids and parents and grandparents. It always changes. People have grown up with me and theyre bringing their kids now, which is really nice. It is not like super G rated Disney fare. Theres some stuff in there that probably that wouldnt pass muster with the Disney crowd but I like to think that its a family show that many generations can enjoy.
DRE: Do you pick a song and decide to parody or if youre coming up with your own songs does the style just come together?
Al: Its not an easy process to describe because it really varies from song to song. Its whatever concept fits with me at a particular point. There are some songs that seem like theyd be great candidates for parody. They seem like theyre just begging for something and yet I cant think of a clever enough idea. I can think of bad ideas for anything but coming up with a clever idea doesnt always happen. So in those cases I just have to unfortunately walk away.
DRE: Parody doesnt seem to be in vogue anymore.
Al: Well parody has never really been in vogue per se. Its always been considered the lowest form of comedy, which is why it was so hard for me to get started in my career and for anybody to really respect what I do. It isnt that easy to do well and to do it consistently. Im happy to say that Ive been able to eke out a career thats longer than a lot of the people that I have parodied.
DRE: Would you ever do something for a very niche market?
Al: You mean like for like an Adult Swim thing?
DRE: Yeah but maybe not for them in particular. I dont think the money would be worth it.
Al: Sure, even if its not a big money maker but if it makes sense creatively. I like being involved in projects that I think are of quality.
DRE: I know in the past few years youve had some personal tragedies. How did you push forward?
Al: A lot of denial. I figured the best way for me to emotionally get through it would just be to keep myself as distracted as possible. It wasnt easy but I think it was helpful to continue on with the tour just because it helped me, at least for a few hours each night, take my mind out of my situation. It was definitely the hardest thing Id ever done but the outpouring of love and support from the fans helped me get through an extremely difficult time.
DRE: Is your three year old daughter funny yet?
Al: Well, she makes me laugh. Shes very amusing. Her names Nina and we play all sorts of little role-playing games. I cant be flip or make jokes about her just because all the clichs are true about how it changes your life and changes your perspective and its just a wonderful thing. Shes a great, wonderful child and Im just very happy to have her in my life.
DRE: Usually when someone gets really popular like you did in the 80s there are imitators, there were a few but nobody got that big. Why do you think that is?
Al: Maybe Im just lucky. [laughs]. People that do what I do for a living generally have one hit and then you never hear from them again. The fact that Ive been able to last as long as I have just doesnt seem to make sense [laughs]. But Im very lucky because I love what I do and Im glad that Ive been able to sustain a living and do movies and TV and everything Ive ever dreamed of doing. I have a degree in architecture so I figured Id have a typical adult job right now but thats not the case.
DRE: UHF is one of my favorite movies, do you want to do another movie?
Al: Id love to but it would have to make sense. All the stuff Im being offered is stuff that I really wouldnt want to do. I get scripts every now and then and its just not funny or its vulgar or its bad or it just doesnt work creatively for me. Id rather not work than do something that Im not comfortable with. I suppose I could write up a screenplay and pitch it but its so much work doing a movie. It was a miracle that UHF got made and at this point in my life dont know if I want to spend a year writing a screenplay that may or may not ever get made. Id rather put all of my effort into something that I know is going to come out like my albums.
DRE: Whats the next step for you?
Al: There are a lot of things that Id like to do that Ive never done before. I just got an offer earlier this year for a major part in a Broadway play, which for a number of reasons I couldnt accept. But Im open to any of that stuff. I would love to have new live experiences and Id like to do more feature films and TV and various other types of performances.
DRE: Have you ever heard of SuicideGirls?
Al: [laughs] Yeah, just dont tell my wife I go to the website.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Buy Straight Outta Lynwood
Daniel Robert Epstein: So do you want people to download or not?
Weird Al Yankovic: Im just full of ironies arent I?
DRE: Youre a very complex man.
Al: Im very complex; Ill leave that to your self discretion as to how you want to handle that. I just present the options and let you decide.
DRE: Im going to steal all your music then.
Al: Ok [laughs].
DRE: What made you decide to do so many animated videos?
Al: Im a huge animation fan and I thought that this was a good opportunity since I knew that this album was going to be a dual disc. So I had a whole DVD side that I needed to fill with video content. As soon as I finished the music I made some phone calls and I was very happy and surprised to get some of my favorite animators involved in this project like Bill Plympton, John Kricfalusi, the guys from Robot Chicken and some of the hottest new Flash animators like Dave Lovelace and Thomas Lee. So heaven knows Im so happy to have all these extremely talented people working on the album.
DRE: I know you had animation in your TV show and in UHF, but have you ever had your own cartoon?
Al: No, like you said there are little bits of the Saturday Morning Show like there was The Adventures of Fatman and that was done by Keith Alcorn and the guys at DNA Animation who went on to do Jimmy Neutron. But I never had a full on animated show.
DRE: It just seems like a primer for you to do your own animated show.
Al: Well, thatd be cool. Id love to do that at some point.
DRE: What made you do a two-disc album?
Al: Well, its my own personal way to combat piracy. Instead of suing people or spending money to make better anti-piracy protection for the CD I thought the best way to combat it is just to make the CD package so great that people really want to buy it. Give them videos, 5.1 mixes, instrumentals, on screen lyrics, theres a 24 page color booklet. I just think that the best way to battle it is to give them something that they just cant not buy.
DRE: [laughs] At this point do you have total freedom in terms of working with your label?
Al: Pretty much within reason. They leave me alone and they dont tell me like, You should do this song or you should tackle this topic. Basically theyre fine with whatever I give them and theyre very supportive and we get along very well.
DRE: Is there any artist that you have to keep away from completely, like Madonna or The Beatles?
Al: The only artist over the years thats consistently turned me down is Prince but its not like I keep away from him. Every couple years we call him up and say Hey, just calling to see if you have a sense of humor yet. No? Ok, just checking.
DRE: [laughs] I read you finally made up with Coolio this year.
Al: Yeah, I certainly never had a problem with Coolio but I was always a little concerned that he seemed to have a problem with me because when I did Amish Paradise he didnt seem all that happy about it. But I was at a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas earlier this year and I was signing autographs at a booth. He came up to me and we gave each other a nice hug and it seems like theres no grudge there anymore so I was very happy about that.
DRE: Well the thing is it would just be pointless for you to parody him now.
Al: Well, I was actually trying to get him into my video.
DRE: Oh really?
Al: For White and Nerdy but we were trying to track him down and we couldnt find him anywhere, maybe the next video.
DRE: I know you tour a lot.
Al: Yeah, were probably not going to be on the road until next summer. Its a fun show. There are film clips and a lot of costume changes and a lot of stuff going on. Its a pretty theatrical show.
DRE: Do you find that like the fans as theyre starting to get a little older and theyre starting to bring their kids?
Al: Ive been doing live shows since the early 80s. My audience has always been multi-generational. Its a family show so there are kids and parents and grandparents. It always changes. People have grown up with me and theyre bringing their kids now, which is really nice. It is not like super G rated Disney fare. Theres some stuff in there that probably that wouldnt pass muster with the Disney crowd but I like to think that its a family show that many generations can enjoy.
DRE: Do you pick a song and decide to parody or if youre coming up with your own songs does the style just come together?
Al: Its not an easy process to describe because it really varies from song to song. Its whatever concept fits with me at a particular point. There are some songs that seem like theyd be great candidates for parody. They seem like theyre just begging for something and yet I cant think of a clever enough idea. I can think of bad ideas for anything but coming up with a clever idea doesnt always happen. So in those cases I just have to unfortunately walk away.
DRE: Parody doesnt seem to be in vogue anymore.
Al: Well parody has never really been in vogue per se. Its always been considered the lowest form of comedy, which is why it was so hard for me to get started in my career and for anybody to really respect what I do. It isnt that easy to do well and to do it consistently. Im happy to say that Ive been able to eke out a career thats longer than a lot of the people that I have parodied.
DRE: Would you ever do something for a very niche market?
Al: You mean like for like an Adult Swim thing?
DRE: Yeah but maybe not for them in particular. I dont think the money would be worth it.
Al: Sure, even if its not a big money maker but if it makes sense creatively. I like being involved in projects that I think are of quality.
DRE: I know in the past few years youve had some personal tragedies. How did you push forward?
Al: A lot of denial. I figured the best way for me to emotionally get through it would just be to keep myself as distracted as possible. It wasnt easy but I think it was helpful to continue on with the tour just because it helped me, at least for a few hours each night, take my mind out of my situation. It was definitely the hardest thing Id ever done but the outpouring of love and support from the fans helped me get through an extremely difficult time.
DRE: Is your three year old daughter funny yet?
Al: Well, she makes me laugh. Shes very amusing. Her names Nina and we play all sorts of little role-playing games. I cant be flip or make jokes about her just because all the clichs are true about how it changes your life and changes your perspective and its just a wonderful thing. Shes a great, wonderful child and Im just very happy to have her in my life.
DRE: Usually when someone gets really popular like you did in the 80s there are imitators, there were a few but nobody got that big. Why do you think that is?
Al: Maybe Im just lucky. [laughs]. People that do what I do for a living generally have one hit and then you never hear from them again. The fact that Ive been able to last as long as I have just doesnt seem to make sense [laughs]. But Im very lucky because I love what I do and Im glad that Ive been able to sustain a living and do movies and TV and everything Ive ever dreamed of doing. I have a degree in architecture so I figured Id have a typical adult job right now but thats not the case.
DRE: UHF is one of my favorite movies, do you want to do another movie?
Al: Id love to but it would have to make sense. All the stuff Im being offered is stuff that I really wouldnt want to do. I get scripts every now and then and its just not funny or its vulgar or its bad or it just doesnt work creatively for me. Id rather not work than do something that Im not comfortable with. I suppose I could write up a screenplay and pitch it but its so much work doing a movie. It was a miracle that UHF got made and at this point in my life dont know if I want to spend a year writing a screenplay that may or may not ever get made. Id rather put all of my effort into something that I know is going to come out like my albums.
DRE: Whats the next step for you?
Al: There are a lot of things that Id like to do that Ive never done before. I just got an offer earlier this year for a major part in a Broadway play, which for a number of reasons I couldnt accept. But Im open to any of that stuff. I would love to have new live experiences and Id like to do more feature films and TV and various other types of performances.
DRE: Have you ever heard of SuicideGirls?
Al: [laughs] Yeah, just dont tell my wife I go to the website.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 25 of 35 COMMENTS
saraj:
Weird Al is so awesome! I've been a fan since I was little.
destijl4:
How's Dan Butts?