Due to an increasing number of search hits on my blog for Weird Al Yankovic, I’m taking this opportunity to clean out my backlogged bookmarks related to Al from the last few months.
– 7.17.2009 — Al directs Beatles legend Paul McCartney in this photo (via Twitter).
– 7.12.2009 — I’ve added more links to my previous article on the “Al’s Brain” exhibit at the Orange County Fair in California.
– 7.11.2009 — Weird Al debuts a new music video, “Skipper Dan”:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNo8LvdOwSk&hl=en&fs=1&]
– Join your fellow “Close Personal Friends of Al” for AL FEST 2009 at the Holiday Inn in Costa Mesa, CA on Saturday, August 1st. Special guests include Dr. Demento, Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz (Al’s drummer), Jim “Kimo” West (Al’s guitarist), a performance by The Valtierra Latin Orchestra featuring Rubén Valtierra, and a “UHF” 20th anniversary celebrity panel. More details are available at AlFest2009.com. And if you want a preview of what to expect from the event, check out this article from The OC Register.
– The Wall Street Journal interviews Al “on Michael Jackson, YouTube, and Turning 50.”
– Rolling Stone Magazine: “Michael Jackson Remembered: Weird Al Yankovic on Imitation as Flattery.”
– Spinner.com interviews Al on his “love/hate relationship with the internet.”
– From the looks of a recent Twitpic, Al will be reprising his role as “Uncle Muscles” for an upcoming episode of [adult swim’s] Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job.
– Al’s latest song and music video, “Craigslist” [embedding link disabled] is a style parody of The Doors, and the track features keyboards performed by The Doors’ Ray Manzarek. When the video premiered on the web in June, Al told Spinner.com:
“I thought it would be anachronistically weird to have me as Jim Morrison screaming about Craigslist. That just seemed so completely wrong that I thought I had to do it. [Craigslist is] a big part of my life personally and it’s a very big part of pop culture. [It’s] certainly one of the major portals and it was very inspirational to me. My research involved going through all the categories and finding some of the more bizarre entries and posts. There’s the missed connections, the random obscure items, people who just want to rant about something. I tried to get a feeling of the whole Craigslist experience into the song.”
– Wired.com Blogger GeekDad ranks his picks for the top 10 Weird Al songs, complete with YouTube links.
– NPR’s Marc Hirsh explains why Al is a “Stealth Pop Musicoligist.” And on a related note, NPR’s program All Things Considered has launched a series called “You Must Hear This” with “chart-topping and critically-acclaimed musicians talk about the recordings they consider essential listening” (according to a press release). Weird Al is listed among the program’s guests, and an archive of his broadcast will be available on NPR.org once it airs.
– Comedian/actor/TV personality Michael Ian Black explains why he loves Weird Al.
– Al masters new songs at Bernie Grundman Mastering.
– Al joins Mike Nelson for a RiffTrax commentary on Jurassic Park.
– Transformers fansites TFW2005.com and Seibertron.com offer highlights of the Botcon 2009 panel Q&A with Weird Al and voice actor David Kaye discussing Transformers Animated.
Other previous related post: 4.13.2009 — Weird Al vs Malcolm McDowell
