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| Al TV | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | "Weird Al" TV |
| Genre | |
| Written by | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
| Directed by |
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| Presented by | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 1–4 hours |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | April 1, 1984 – December 12, 2006 |
Al TV is an American comedy TV series created by and starring singer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic, which aired as periodic specials on MTV and VH1, beginning in 1984.
The premise of the show is that Yankovic uses his private satellite transmitter to commandeer the airwaves of a music video station in order to show the videos that he wants to watch.
The program is primarily a parody of MTV itself, including that of MTV's Moon landing image sequence. As its theme music, the series featured a re-recording of MTV's own theme at the time, featuring Yankovic on accordion and manualist "Musical Mike" Kieffer. The show features commercials for imaginary products, fake interviews with celebrities, comments on the latest music news, letters from fans, and bizarre non sequiturs. For fake interviews, the show edits footage from unrelated outside interviews and manipulates it such that Al appears to be interviewing the celebrity in a silly or mocking way.
Al TV's main focus is music videos, especially his own, as well as others of an unusual or surreal comedy nature. As the series was conceived as a straight parody of the then-fledgling MTV network, early Al TV episodes featured music videos from popular artists of the time, including Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, and The Rolling Stones; these were eventually phased out. Al's own work consists of song parodies and "cover polkas", which essentially edit together the videos from the original artists with Al's music and vocals synchronized to the video segments. Al occasionally uses this tactic for certain song parodies for which no video was made. [1]
Clips from Al TV, mainly fake interviews, are shown during costume changes in Yankovic's live shows. Yankovic's 1985 "documentary" The Compleat Al also included clips from AL TV.
Ten episodes have been produced, the first eight specials on MTV, the last two on VH1:
In addition, Yankovic appeared as a guest VJ on MTV on February 22, 1984, using much the same format he would later use on Al TV.
A similar installment of shows hosted by Yankovic were broadcast in Canada, under the name Al Music, which aired on Canada's MuchMusic network to concurrently promote the release of 3 of his albums in the 1990s. Similar to Al TV, Al Music also featured Yankovic commandeering the network broadcast, but this was achieved by visiting MuchMusic's studio unannounced, forcibly removing the scheduled VJ on-air & replacing them with himself in order to show the videos that he wanted to watch. He also incorporated the same parodying of the music station format through fake interviews with celebrities, comments on the latest music news, letters from fans, airing music videos strewn with Yankovic voice-overs making wisecracks and humorous observational comments about their content, and bizarre non-sequiturs that were incorporated in Al TV.
Poodle Hat is the eleventh studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on May 20, 2003. It was the fifth studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop of the early-2000s. The album's lead single, "Couch Potato", is a parody of "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. The single failed to chart, although the album's song "eBay" eventually peaked at 15 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles in 2007.
Running with Scissors is the tenth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 28, 1999. It was the fourth studio album self-produced by Yankovic, and his first album for Volcano Records after its acquisition of Scotti Brothers. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the late 1990s, largely targeting alternative rock and hip-hop. The album's lead single, "The Saga Begins", however, was a parody of the 1971 single "American Pie" by Don McLean, and it recounts the plot of the film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which was released around the same time. None of the album's singles charted domestically, although "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi", a parody of "Pretty Fly " by the Offspring, charted at number 67 in Australia.
Alapalooza is the eighth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1993. By the completion of his previous album, Off the Deep End, Yankovic had already written all of the original songs that he planned to use on his next release. This new album, which would eventually be titled Alapalooza in reference to the music festival Lollapalooza, consisted of seven original songs and five parodies. It produced three parody singles: "Jurassic Park", "Bedrock Anthem", and "Achy Breaky Song". "Jurassic Park" was a top five hit on the Canadian magazine The Record's single chart.
UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff is the sixth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on July 18, 1989. The album is the final of Yankovic's to be produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between December 1988 and May 1989, the album served as the official soundtrack to the 1989 film of the same name, although the original score by John Du Prez is omitted. The album's lead single was the titular "UHF", although it was not a hit and did not chart.
Even Worse is the fifth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on April 12, 1988. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between November 1987 and February 1988, this album helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after the critical and commercial failure of his previous album Polka Party! (1986).
Dare to Be Stupid is the third studio album by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 18, 1985. The album was one of many Yankovic records produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between August 1984 and March 1985, the album was Yankovic's first studio album released following the success of 1984's In 3-D, which included the Top 40 single "Eat It".
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on February 28, 1984, by Rock 'n Roll Records. The album was one of many produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between October and December 1983, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his modestly successful debut LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Greatest Hits Volume II is a compilation album of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, featuring his best known songs that did not appear on "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits, plus the new single "Headline News" which had first appeared on the box set Permanent Record: Al In The Box, released a month prior. The compilation album was met with mostly positive critical reviews, and it managed to chart on the Billboard 200 at number 198. However, it ranks as one of Yankovic's least-selling records.
"Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits is a compilation album of parody and original songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, featuring his best known songs from his first five studio albums, all of which were released in the 1980s. "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits was met with mostly positive reviews from critics, with Heather Phrase of AllMusic noting that it provided a good overview of the early part of Yankovic's career. Despite this, the album failed to chart upon release, and ranks as one of Yankovic's lowest-selling records.
"Dare to Be Stupid" is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a musical pastiche of the band Devo. Released as the flipside to "The Touch", the song was included in the soundtrack for The Transformers: The Movie and is his most popular original song.
Straight Outta Lynwood is the twelfth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on September 26, 2006, the title drawing inspiration from hip hop group N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton. It was the sixth studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the mid-2000s. The album's lead single, "White & Nerdy", is a parody of Chamillionaire's hit single "Ridin'". The single debuted at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #9 the following week; "Canadian Idiot", a parody of Green Day's "American Idiot", also charted, peaking at #82.
"White & Nerdy" is the second single from "Weird Al" Yankovic's album Straight Outta Lynwood, which was released on September 26, 2006. It parodies the song "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone. The song both satirizes and celebrates nerd culture, as recited by the subject, who cannot "roll with the gangstas" because he is "just too white and nerdy". It includes many references to activities stereotypically associated with nerds and/or white people, such as collecting comic books and action figures, being fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon, editing Wikipedia and playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).
The discography of American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, actor and parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic consists of fourteen studio albums, two soundtrack albums, nine compilation albums, eleven video albums, two extended plays, two box sets, forty-six singles and fifty-four music videos. Since the debut of his first comedy song in 1976, he has sold more than 12 million albums—more than any other comedy act in history—recorded more than 150 parody and original songs, and performed more than 1,000 live shows. His works have earned him five Grammy Awards among sixteen nominations, along with several gold and platinum record certifications in the United States. Yankovic's first single, "My Bologna", was released in 1979, and he made his chart debut two years later with his second single, "Another One Rides the Bus", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. His self-titled debut studio album was released on Scotti Brothers Records on May 3, 1983, peaking at number 16 on the US Billboard 200 and being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Ricky", the album's third single, became his first single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 64.
"Trapped in the Drive-Thru" is the eleventh song from "Weird Al" Yankovic's twelfth studio album Straight Outta Lynwood, which was released on September 26, 2006. This song is a parody of Trapped in the Closet by R. Kelly. To date, the song is Yankovic's longest parody, and his second longest song ever released on his studio albums.
Alfred MatthewYankovic, known professionally as "Weird Al" Yankovic, is an American musician best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, as well as polka medleys of several popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion.
Alpocalypse is the thirteenth studio album by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 21, 2011. It was the seventh studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the late 2000s and early 2010s. The album's first single, "Whatever You Like", was released almost two and a half years prior to the release of the album, and the single peaked at number 104 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's final single, "Perform This Way", was released digitally on April 25, 2011, but failed to chart.
Mandatory Fun is the fourteenth and most recent studio album by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. The self-produced album was released by RCA Records in the United States on July 15, 2014. Yankovic had previously released Alpocalypse in 2011 and was touring in support of it when he first spoke of his next record. When he began to work on Mandatory Fun, Yankovic found himself listening to older acts, many of which he stylistically spoofed on the album.
Face to Face with "Weird Al" Yankovic was a short-lived American YouTube comedy series hosted/written by comedian "Weird Al" Yankovic. It ran on the YouTube channel Nerdist, from early April-mid August 2012. It was presented as a talk show. At the start of each episode, Yankovic would introduce the celebrity he interviewed that day. Usually, there would be two celebrity interviews per episode. The interviews featured footage from already-existing interviews with movie stars, with Yankovic edited into them, asking bizarre questions to comical answers from the celebrity. The celebrities he interviewed include Denzel Washington, Megan Fox, Uma Thurman, Nicolas Cage, Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Patrick Stewart, Harrison Ford, Rose McGowan, Jeff Bridges, Robert Pattinson, Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin, and William H. Macy.
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