Katie Compa: Comedian

Inside Weird Al's Comeback

seankeane:

This article claims Weird Al is suddenly cool again - but stopped being cool from 1999 to 2006. This is a common theme in Weird Al journalism, and a similar story is written every time he releases a new album. People notice one of his new parody songs, and feel like he’s having a revival, when he’s actually just releasing an album every 2-3 years, just like always. And his primary fan base is still exactly the same - teenage boys - so it’s a constantly regenerating fan base. He’s like the Wooderson of novelty music - he gets older, but his fans stay the same age.

What brought Weird Al back in 2006? A parody of a Chamillionaire gave him street cred again:

“In 2010, a white guy rapping has become stale. It’s been done so many at time this point that it’s beyond cliché; it’s just annoying. But in 2006, the gimmick was still, well, gimmicky, and Weird Al used it to his benefit.”

White guys rapping was still novel in 2006? Fifteen years after Vanilla Ice - and even six years after Dynamite Hack - it was still hilarious. But now it’s played out. Unfortunately, the author does not weigh in on the pressing issue of whether rapping grandmothers are still fresh, but I have a feeling he’s a fan of incongruous profanity from old people.

Aside from his Lasik surgery and hairstyle, Weird Al is exactly the same as he’s ever been. He’s not really defined by the rules of cool or uncool; his entire career exists outside of that, like Leslie Nielsen’s acting career. That is, until he follows his destiny and finally writes a Broadway musical. It would probably have to be about a singing food critic, but it’s no dumber than a musical made up of Billy Joel songs.