World of Weird Al Yankovic

Awww. This is my toughest choice so far. Surprisingly, Nirvana is at the bottom of my list. I am not a big fan of loud noise with screaming pretending to be music and singing respectively. Everyone loved Hammer, everyone loved Milli Vanilli before we found out they were fakes. Gerardo was a great one-hit wonder. I don't care much for the boy band stuff. So, between Hammer, MV & Gerardo, my vote goes to U Can't Touch This.

It appears everybody put little thought into this one.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" = best Al parody target of all time? Discuss.

Quite possibly! Certainly the heaviest which I am a fan of. My personal favorite is Money For Nothing but I could not disagree here, this will never leave the set and never gets old. But to say its the best target of all time is a stretch when you consider Eat It, Fat, Amish Paradise, etc. So many opinions and options!

anthontherun wrote:"Smells Like Teen Spirit" = best Al parody target of all time? Discuss.

Quite possibly, but look at the competition on this album. Al parodied one of the greatest songs in history, surrounded by some of the absolute worst.

Good point.
By the way, Jon, I like your coined term 'Parody Target'. At least, you are the first person I've seen use it. I've always just used 'original' when referring to the songs Al parodies. When I first saw this subject title on each album forum, I thought, "What's a best parody target?", but I avoided clicking on the thread until yesterday, when my curiosity got the best of me. Great thread idea.

TMBJon wrote:

anthontherun wrote:"Smells Like Teen Spirit" = best Al parody target of all time? Discuss.

Quite possibly, but look at the competition on this album. Al parodied one of the greatest songs in history, surrounded by some of the absolute worst.

Oh yeah, no denying that there are some absolute turds in this group--going based on OTDE parody targets alone, even though SLTS is winning in a landslide, 79% is a lower percentage than I'd have expected. But I'm wondering if there are any other parody targets ever that even come close to SLTS in terms of quality/stature. Maybe "American Pie," but I feel like I'm being generous there.

Personally, I'd rank American Pie above Smells Like Teen Spirit, but they're both way up there.

I think Piano Man would have to be in the top tier as well.

anthontherun wrote:"Smells Like Teen Spirit" = best Al parody target of all time? Discuss.

On an objective basis, it has to be (at minimum) among the best. I'm not sure what its strongest competition for the title would be, maybe "Beat It"? While I won't deny that "American Pie" and "Piano Man" are classics, being relatively new on the charts at the time of Al's parody should be a factor here.