Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I swear I've (almost) been here before...

OK, so I've admitted that I've been known, on occasion, to listen to pop music. On my own. Without any of my children holding me down or beating me with their rubber truncheons. Does that make me a pop culture whore? Well, I don't think so, but... do I listen to Weird Al?

Do I look white and nerdy?

(The answer is probably "yes," but I don't want to influence your vote...)

But here's the issue. It seems that Weird Al has had a rough week.

See, he had a great idea for a parody (which, you know, is what he does), which would be the lead-in for his upcoming album. So he emailed Lady Gaga's camp, asking permission. Her handlers informed him "Well, she'll need to see the lyrics first."

So he wrote them out (in the middle of a tour in Australia, having only come up with a concept at this point), and got back the reply that "She doesn't read, you plebian! She needs to hear it first!"

OK, so, quick note. Mad Magazine, back in 1964 (in the case of Irving Berlin et al. v. E.C. Publications, Inc.) had won an important finding: that parody (and later, satire) were protected under "fair use." Mr Yankovic was under no legal requirement to even consult with The Holy Gaga. Just so you know.

But, despite that, Mr Yankovic went to the trouble and expense of producing the first draft of his song. Only to receive word, a few hours later, "You suck. Fuck, no!"

He probably sighed, and his narrow shoulders might well have sagged (not that you'd notice, but that isn't the point here). But he still released the song to Youtube, noting only that, since the original version was a gay-rights anthem, all profits would have gone to the Human Rights Campaign.

Now, weirdly, he suddenly got word that this was all the fault of Gaga's manager, and She hadn't heard the song at all. And, in fact, She thought the song was hilarious, and loved him with every fiber of her being.

(Not that we're clear what fiber that would be. I'm betting Dacron.)

Where do I fall on this? Hell, I don't know. (OK, I do, but the Daughter is a major Gaga fan, so I'm not saying.) Could the parody have been worse? Hell, I don't know.

"Porn this way/There is porn this way/I'm not quite naked/But there's porn this way..."

All I know is, I hope he comes up with a video to match the song.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I was totally speechless when Weird Al posted that she had said no. Especially since Miss Gaga tweeted her love of Sherry Vine's parody "More This Way", which has lines like "I'm a whore for pay."

Was it really the manager's fault? Or did Gaga just change her mind in fears of bad publicity?

Meh, I don't care. I'm just excited that Al will be making another hilarious video!