If you’ve spent any time online over the course of the last year — particularly if any of that time was spent following music — you’ve no doubt heard the name Chris Weingarten. Author of the rightfully notable 1000 Times Yes Twitter, on which he reviewed 1,000 records over the course of 2009, Weingarten has been a passionate — and hilarious — defender of the value of good music criticism at a time when the art is being radically undervalued. His biting monologue about the state of the industry at the 140 Characters Conference last year was the stuff of internet legend.
Chris has been writing for us for a few years now, and his latest piece — while lighter in tone — is still sharp and keenly-observed. The title says it all: How ‘Weird Al’ Predicted the Future. In this eMusic Essay, Weingarten considers “Weird Al”‘s breakthrough album In 3-D not only as a reflection of a moment in pop culture history, but also as a weirdly prescient indicator of things to come. A sample –
Yankovic’s Nostradamus effect is natural since In 3-D is his most zeitgeist-obsessed work — exploring our movies, our TV shows, our music. More about American consumption, less about “talking about food to the tune of a popular song.” Duly, as history repeats itself, so does Al’s version of it. For example. Yankovic and a generation of moviegoers, laughed off ’83s 3-D movie resurgence as a fad — but today, someone had to make Avatar the highest grossing movie of all time, right?
Beginning with Mad Magazine and ending with a strangely touching portrait of the death of Michael Jackson, Weingarten’s essay leaves no plot point unconsidered.
Interesting coincidence: NME just announced today that Yankovic has been added to the Godspeed You Black Emperor-curated ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas festival (http://bit.ly/9FL7YE). The future is here, and it’s weird.
This is phenomenal. Remember when he directed that Blues Explosion video, “Wail”? I think the time for a “Weird Al” indie rock parody record is long overdue. We were trying to brainstorm possible song titles, but the best I could come up with was “I’m Trimming My Hedge” as a parody of “I’m Losing My Edge.”
I remember when “Another One Rides the Bus” was first played on the radio. I’ve been a fan ever since. It’s hard to believe how long ago that was. I remember someone saying that Weird Al would never last when In 3-D came out. I think they were wrong. He’s still here and a lot of the acts he parodied have long since disappeared. Hats off to Al for outliving the people he made fun of.
HOUSE OF! JELLY DONUTS!
(still working on weird al indie rock titles)
That’s The Way We Get Pie
“In The Mouth A Donut”
Do You Winterize???
He should just do the Underdog theme over Spoon’s “The Underdog.”