Revenge of the nerd: 'Weird Al' gets all white and nerdy for summer tour
When having a conversation with "Weird Al" Yankovic, it's hard not to notice how, well, not weird he is. He comes off as sincere, engaging and down to earth - call him "Normal Al." Of course, that demeanor belies the fact that Yankovic, 47, has spent the last 25 years as the world's premier pop music parodist. (Quick, name another one. See?)
And the curly-tressed singer, who first came to prominence with 1984's Michael Jackson spoof "Eat It," has cultivated a whole new bumper crop of fans with his first top-10 hit "White & Nerdy," last year's spoof of Chamillionaire's "Ridin.'" In addition to being a hilarious melding of geekdom and gangsta rap, "White & Nerdy" - with lines like, "Shoppin' online for deals on some writable media; I edit Wikipedia" - shows that Al's radar for pop culture absurdity is as sharp as ever.
The song comes from "Straight Outta Lynwood," Yankovic's highest-charting album, which also features "Trapped in the Drive-Thru," an 11-minute epic parody of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet," and "Don't Download This Song," a satire of charity singles that implores music fans not to "take away money from artists just like me; how else can I afford another solid gold Humvee?"
In anticipation of Yankovic's Aug. 11 concert at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, we talked to the multi-platinum artist and onetime high school valedictorian about success, file sharing and pie.
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North Shore Sunday: Most acts from the '80s are not winning new fans 25 years later, but my 11-year-old nephew is a huge fan of yours, just like I was when "Eat It" came out. How have you succeeded where Duran Duran and the Thompson Twins have failed?
"Weird Al" Yankovic: [Laughs] Oh gosh, I don't know - there are so many ironies in my career. The fact that I've been able to last longer than most of the acts I've parodied is pretty amazing to me. And I don't really have any justification or reason for it - I don't know how that happened.
I've been able to surround myself with really great people; I've had the same band since the early '80s, I've paid a lot of attention to detail, I try to be good to the fans, I work hard, I floss my teeth regularly … I don't know - everything's just kind of worked out for me.
North Shore Sunday: "White & Nerdy" is your biggest hit ever - it's almost like you know something about being white and nerdy.
"Weird Al" Yankovic: It's almost as if that song might be slightly autobiographical somehow! That song was definitely written from a lot of personal experience. I have to admit that I'm not quite as nerdy as the character in the song, but it does draw on a lot of personal experience. So I do know whereof I speak.
North Shore Sunday: Some questions on the concert: First, will there be some '80s favorites for us old guys?
"Weird Al" Yankovic: Oh, absolutely - we do pretty much all the "hits," as it were, as well as stuff from the new album, and a few oldies and a few surprises. We mix it up and try to make everybody as happy as possible.
North Shore Sunday: Can you reveal if we're going to see the Fat suit?
"Weird Al" Yankovic: Uh … I … [pause] Yes, you will see the Fat suit.
North Shore Sunday: Excellent! Also, will you be doing "Trapped in the Drive-Thru" in its entirety? Because I think we need to prepare ourselves mentally for that.
"Weird Al" Yankovic: That might try some people's patience … It will make an appearance in the show, let me just say that.
North Shore Sunday: Not that I've ever downloaded music illegally, but I'm told that the file-sharing services attribute basically every parody song ever written to you, even the really bad ones. Would you like to take this opportunity to verify that you are not the actual author of "Sesame Street on Crack"?
"Weird Al" Yankovic: My biggest problem with the whole peer-to-peer file-sharing thing is there's so much misinformation, and any parody out there it seems at some point or another gets attributed to me. And I try to keep my songs family friendly, and I try to keep them amusing and, you know, a lot of these songs out there are off color and just not very good. And it doesn't do me any favors if my name is attached to them and people start going, "Gosh, I didn't know Al wrote songs like that," or "Maybe I shouldn't let my kids listen to this stuff, it's not very appropriate."
It's just unfortunate because I try to keep somewhat of a reputation, and I like to think I have a pretty good track record of parodies, and the fact that all these mediocre or vulgar parodies have my name attached to them is just unfortunate.
North Shore Sunday: Would that have been some of the impetus for "Don't Download This Song"?
"Weird Al" Yankovic: I suppose partly … That song's more of a reaction to the fact that illegal downloading has certainly been a hot topic for the last few years, and it was sort of like the 800-pound gorilla in the room, and since it's my job to comment on pop culture I felt I should at least have a song about it.
My opinion of the whole thing is a bit muddled - it's a bit of a gray area, which I did on purpose. I didn't want people to know whether they should take the song at face value or ironically. So people can read whatever they want to into that song.
North Shore Sunday: What advice would you give to all the budding pop music parodists out there?
"Weird Al" Yankovic: It's dangerous work - you shouldn't try it at home. Leave it to the professionals, really.
North Shore Sunday: Do you have any geographically specific greetings for your Boston-area fans? Maybe something about clams?
"Weird Al" Yankovic: [Laughs] Um … I love your cream pie!
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">"Weird </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Al" Yankovic appears Saturday, Aug. 11 at North Shore Music Theatre, 62 Dunham Road in Beverly. For more information, call 978-232-7200, or visit www.nsmt.org. </span>