"Couch Potato" | |
---|---|
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic | |
from the album Poodle Hat | |
Recorded | March 21, 2003 |
Genre | |
Length | 4:18 |
Label | Volcano |
Songwriter(s) |
|
Producer(s) | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
"Couch Potato" is a parody song by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the Academy Award winning song "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. In it, the narrator details his obsession with watching television and the television shows he watches.
"Couch Potato" was originally going to be the lead single of Poodle Hat , but due to Eminem's concern that it might hurt his career, its commercial release was cancelled. "Couch Potato" has never been released as a promo, nor a commercial single. It is only available on the Poodle Hat CD, or as a digital download on the internet.
Yankovic intended to make a music video for the song, but the plan was scrapped at the last minute when Eminem denied him permission to make a video, expressing concerns that it might disparage his image. [1] According to Yankovic, the video would have included a "patchwork quilt" pastiche of scenes from other Eminem videos. [2]
Yankovic told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2004, "Last year, Eminem forced me to halt production on the video for my 'Lose Yourself' parody because he somehow thought that it would be harmful to his image or career." [1]
Yankovic mocked the situation on his Al TV special where he staged a mock interview with the rapper. Eminem said "I believe in...artistic expression." Al countered with "So you think, for example if somebody wanted to do, oh, I don't know, a parody of somebody else's video, they should be able to...artistically express themselves and just do it?" Eminem was shown at a loss for words.
Also in the mock interview, Al simply played the first verse on a boombox while sitting in a chair, reading a newspaper until Eminem eventually turned it off.
Eminem references the interview in his book The Way I Am, saying that Weird Al took some jabs at him. He said he thinks Yankovic is funny, and thought the "interview" was funny.[ page needed ]
Poodle Hat is the eleventh studio album by the American parody musician "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.
Bad Hair Day is the ninth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on March 12, 1996. It was Yankovic's last studio album for the Scotti Brothers label before it was purchased by Volcano Entertainment in 1999. The album produced an array of hit comedy singles; lead single "Amish Paradise", which lampoons both Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and the Amish lifestyle, charted at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Gump", which parodies "Lump" by the Presidents of the United States of America and the movie Forrest Gump, reached at No. 102.
Off the Deep End is the seventh studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and January 1992, the album was a follow-up to the unsuccessful soundtrack to Yankovic's 1989 film UHF. Off the Deep End and its lead single "Smells Like Nirvana" helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after a lull following his last hit single, "Fat", in 1988.
Al TV is an American comedy television series created by and starring singer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic that aired as periodic specials on MTV and VH1, beginning in 1984.
"Amish Paradise" is a 1996 single by satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the hip hop song "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio featuring L.V.. Featured on the album Bad Hair Day, it turns the original "Gangsta's Paradise", in which the narrator laments his dangerous way of life, on its head by presenting an Amish man praising his relatively plain and uncomplicated existence.
Polka Party! is the fourth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on October 21, 1986. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between April and September 1986, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his successful 1985 release, Dare to Be Stupid. The album's lead single, "Living With a Hernia", failed to chart.
"Smells Like Nirvana" is a song parody written and performed by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. A parody of Nirvana's song "Smells Like Teen Spirit", it was released as the lead single from Yankovic's Off the Deep End album in April 1992. "Smells Like Nirvana" was written during a three-year career low for Yankovic after the financial failure of his film UHF, but captured the quickly-rising popularity of grunge and Nirvana's success. The song was written to ridicule the fact that many people could hardly understand Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain's lyrics in the original song. After being unable to contact Nirvana conventionally, Yankovic called Cobain while the band was on the set of Saturday Night Live, where Cobain quickly gave permission to record the parody.
"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.
"Yoda" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic from his third album, Dare to Be Stupid (1985). It is a parody of the song "Lola" by the Kinks. Inspired by the events of the movie The Empire Strikes Back, the song is told from the point of view of Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker and concerns his dealings with Master Yoda on the planet Dagobah. The song was initially written and recorded in 1980, during the original release of The Empire Strikes Back and achieved success on The Dr. Demento Show; however, securing permission from both Star Wars creator George Lucas and "Lola" songwriter Ray Davies delayed the physical release of the song for about five years.
"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 and Klingon, editing Wikipedia, and playing Dungeons & Dragons.
"Canadian Idiot" is a song by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on 26 September 2006 from his album Straight Outta Lynwood. It is a parody of Green Day's song "American Idiot".
"eBay" is a song by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys. In the song, the narrator describes how he impulsively purchases unneeded items on eBay. The song was taken from his eleventh studio album Poodle Hat.
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing comedy songs that 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.
Internet Leaks is the second EP released by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. Released digitally on August 25, 2009, its lead single is a parody of "Whatever You Like" by artist T.I. For Yankovic, the EP was an experiment in using the Internet as a way to release music in an efficient and timely manner. As a result, the lead single, "Whatever You Like", references the Great Recession of 2008. The EP also contains style parodies of the Doors, Weezer, the White Stripes, and Queen; all of the songs, except for "Ringtone", had been released as separate digital singles between October 2008 and August 2009, preceding the record's release.
Mandatory Fun is the fourteenth and final studio album by the American parody 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.
"Tacky" is a song by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic from his fourteenth studio album, Mandatory Fun (2014). The song is a parody of the 2013 single "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. The song mocks questionable style in fashion as well as activities considered gauche. Yankovic recorded the song as one of the last on Mandatory Fun, and received Williams' approval directly, through email. He remarked he was "honored" to have his work spoofed by Yankovic.
Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic is a 15-album box set by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on November 24, 2017. Squeeze Box marks Yankovic's second box set since 1994's Permanent Record: Al in the Box.
"Bob" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic from the 2003 album, Poodle Hat. The song is a parody sung in the style of Bob Dylan, and all of the lyrics are palindromes as is the title. For example, the song's first line is "I, man, am regal—a German am I", which reads the same when reversed.
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