What's your favorite video so far?

[mellow weasel]

Alright. My stand on the videos so far
1. Foil
2. Handy
3. Tacky
4. First World Problems
5. Sports Song
6. Word Crimes
7. Mission Statement

How come you've seen all these, but no "Lame claim to fame"?

[drewdy9999]

It's an interesting philosophical question I often think about when listening to Weird Al.
Are we supposed to think of each song as Al himself singing it, the original artist singing it, a new character? If it's a new character, are we supposed to pretend that this is an original song, or does the character know he's singing a parody? In the case of style parodies, are we supposed to think of it as if we're hearing a new song by that band?

I think it definitely varies per song. In Don't Download This Song, for instance, Al is singing as himself ("don't take away money from artists just like me"). In songs like Smells Like Nirvana or Perform This Way, Al is clearly singing as the original artist. And there are songs from the perspective of a character, such as The Saga Begins or White & Nerdy. In these cases, there's not usually many hints regarding said character is aware they're singing a parody - Achy Breaky Song may be the closest I could think of.

[Well, Well, Well]

I'm surprised to see Word Crimes doing better than Tacky here. I certainly like WC the song better but Tacky has a far superior video I think.

[Skippy]

In these cases, there's not usually many hints regarding said character is aware they're singing a parody - Achy Breaky Song may be the closest I could think of.

I think "Achy Breaky Song" could be considered Al himself, singing about the original song but not necessarily aware that he is singing a parody. I know that sounds a little weird, but I think it's different from the interpretation of "Handy" as a handyman who is parodying "Fancy" for an ad or the "Foil" Al, who is aware he is singing a food parody before he decides to go off on a conspiracy rant.

[PlayAWarGame]

In these cases, there's not usually many hints regarding said character is aware they're singing a parody - Achy Breaky Song may be the closest I could think of.

I think "Achy Breaky Song" could be considered Al himself, singing about the original song but not necessarily aware that he is singing a parody. I know that sounds a little weird, but I think it's different from the interpretation of "Handy" as a handyman who is parodying "Fancy" for an ad or the "Foil" Al, who is aware he is singing a food parody before he decides to go off on a conspiracy rant.

I see Achy Breaky Song as analogous to several Allan Sherman songs - the singer isn't aware that they're singing a "professional" parody, but they're aware that they're singing along with the original song's music; they're doing it out of mocking/frustration.

the narrator is a handyman who's decided to do a "Fancy" parody for his commercial.

Oh, I really like this interpretation of the song!

Thank you!

[CharlesNelson]

My vote was the 27th for "Foil."

Absolutely well done, one of my favorite Al videos of all time. It really seems like a CollegeHumor song parody video to me, for some reason. The specifics have already been discussed. I can't imagine having another video from this cycle blow me away like that, though I'm looking forward to the "Lame Claim to Fame" video next.

[jacobpacek]

It's an interesting philosophical question I often think about when listening to Weird Al.
Are we supposed to think of each song as Al himself singing it, the original artist singing it, a new character? If it's a new character, are we supposed to pretend that this is an original song, or does the character know he's singing a parody? In the case of style parodies, are we supposed to think of it as if we're hearing a new song by that band?

[Muppetboy09]

Just like to say, I unvoted for Foil, then voted for it again to be the 27th Voter...

[TMBJon]

Just like to say, I unvoted for Foil, then voted for it again to be the 27th Voter...

I hate to tell you this, but I just did the same thing after you.

[mellow weasel]

Someone should add new videos to the poll.