Unpopular Opinions-Al Edition

[anthontherun]

I'm not actually an Al fan. In spite of your tearful denial, you know it to be true. I've been playing everyone on this site for fools for over eight years now. It's all a part of my extremely vague master plan that somehow requires Al fans, and Al fans specifically, believe that I am one of them. Count your blessings, Al fans; your time has come!

I knew it! Dingo, you owe me five bucks.

[bizarreblair]

i never understood the naming of the Poodle Hat album. what does it mean, or what is it parodying with its title and cover art? most of his albums seem pretty obvious as far as their titles, but that one always baffled me.

and mayonnaise is disgusting.

I've always appreciated this album concept. Here is my take...

Have you ever heard of the expression that someone wears many different hats? It means that they do many different things. For example, a chef who also owns his or her own restaurant must wear many hats because they may help in the kitchen in addition to hiring, managing, etc. Plus, perhaps they have a family, and therefore also "wear the parent hat, or the husband or wife hat."

As we all know, Al is a singer, songwriter, director, actor, author, and many more things. His job description is so far out there that the "hat" he "wears" is the "Poodle Hat". On the album cover, he is on his regular morning commute, on his way to work along with everyone else, as exemplified by all the different " hats" everyone else is wearing. Al's weird "hat" matches his weird job.

Also, I acknowledge that, as he has told the story of Bela crawling up onto his head being the start of the album title concept, it's my belief that that was the beginning of the concept. I would assume that, considering his brilliant mind, the rest of the album concept is not meaningless. I don't think he's just "daring to be stupid".

Thought?

[Yankomaniac]

No way I got time to read this, how much time do you have??

[Kevbo1987]

and mayonnaise is disgusting.

I like mayo on a sandwich. And it's good in things like chicken salad and egg salad.

[alsfan]

Did you guys find the song "your pitiful" funny? If so why did you find it funny? To be honest the song upset me because the "loser" in the song had a life similar to many mentally disabled people, who are living up to their potential.

For example if someone has schizophrenia, with delusions of being adequate, he is doing GOOD to hold down a simple job and live with his mom at Forty-two. He shouldn't have to bear the burden of the world laughing at him. He's lucky to be doing THAT well. society should support him. Look at Kelly Thomas who was beaten to death by the cops. He wasn't even doing THAT well. Least nobody laughed at HIM for living with his mother still, as he was homeless.

So shouldn't we be giving people a pat on the back for doing their best and not be tearing them down just because we are doing so much better or just because MOST people are not mentally sick or cognitively impaired? Does that make someone who may never be able to marry or lead a normal life deserving to be the butt of jokes?


I've been simmering with resentment towards Al's fan base for awhile seeing as everyone but me seems to think the song is funny. SO I am asking. Why do you find it funny? Who are your laughing at? I'd like to forgive you people. Nobody felt offended. Nobody wrote AL and demanded he apologize to mentally ill delusional people. or retarded people, or people with autism who may NEVER get a girlfriend or boyfriend
because they can't connect socially.

[FreedomHaul]

The lyrics strike me as pretty innocuous. It basically recycles the concept of "White and Nerdy." I think Yankovic just took common markers of success in white middle-class America—having a career, maintaining a relationship, being independent—and played with those in a way his fan base would find funny. I don't think the song's directed at any one person or even any group of people specifically. The humor comes from the contrast between how we define success and the character's actual life. You could also interpret the song as a parody of cheesy love songs (like the original). This is funny to me, since Yankovic replaces the generic lyrics of many love songs with equally generic and toothless insults.

People are of course free to interpret the song however they want, but I think it's a huge leap to assume that song's character is in any way mentally disabled. For one thing, there's specific nothing in the song that suggests any disability whatsoever. I don't think we can assume that just because the guy lives at home or can't find a partner, he must be mentally disabled. To me, the main character from "Foil" is far more likely to be schizophrenic than the one from "You're Pitiful."

Given the care with which Yankovic has built up and maintained his persona as a nice guy, I can't imagine why he would suddenly decide to start making fun of people, much less those with mentally ill or delusional or retarded people, or people with autism. I don't think anything in his whole career suggests he would do something so mean-spirited.

I've been simmering with resentment towards Al's fan base for awhile seeing as everyone but me seems to think the song is funny.

Can I ask why? Is it just this song? In my personal experience, Al's fans are kind, friendly, and willing to help.

[KatrinatheGood]

Did you guys find the song "your pitiful" funny? If so why did you find it funny? To be honest the song upset me because the "loser" in the song had a life similar to many mentally disabled people, who are living up to their potential.

For example if someone has schizophrenia, with delusions of being adequate, he is doing GOOD to hold down a simple job and live with his mom at Forty-two. He shouldn't have to bear the burden of the world laughing at him. He's lucky to be doing THAT well. society should support him. Look at Kelly Thomas who was beaten to death by the cops. He wasn't even doing THAT well. Least nobody laughed at HIM for living with his mother still, as he was homeless.

So shouldn't we be giving people a pat on the back for doing their best and not be tearing them down just because we are doing so much better or just because MOST people are not mentally sick or cognitively impaired? Does that make someone who may never be able to marry or lead a normal life deserving to be the butt of jokes?


I've been simmering with resentment towards Al's fan base for awhile seeing as everyone but me seems to think the song is funny. SO I am asking. Why do you find it funny? Who are your laughing at? I'd like to forgive you people. Nobody felt offended. Nobody wrote AL and demanded he apologize to mentally ill delusional people. or retarded people, or people with autism who may NEVER get a girlfriend or boyfriend
because they can't connect socially.

I have a wide range of experience in helping with treatment or just being a friend with people with a wide range of mental handicap. From completely debilitating to yes he is very high on the autistic spectrum, but holy crap I have no idea what he does for a living. I think he writes codes for computer programs or something. Anyways, what I am trying to say is the person in the song doesn't fit the bill of a mentally handicap person, because to me just because one has a handicap that doesn't mean they can't have a good independent life. Do some people still hve to har supervison at home yes, but not everyone. Those with Down Syndrome can go to normal schools and college because we now know it doesn't har to be debilitating anymore. The person in the song makes me think more along the lines of Comicbook Guy from the Simpsons and a mentally handicap person. That's just my opinion.

[Kevbo1987]

It is a colossal leap, and a completely unwarranted one, IMO, to assume that Al was making fun of mentally disabled people in YP. As FreedomHaul stated, there is absolutely nothing in the song to suggest that the character is in any way mentally disabled. If you consider the lyrics, the song is talking about someone who is completely unmotivated and lazy (half undressed, eating chips off his chest while he's playing Halo 2), and just has nothing going for him in general. He's a bit of a nerd who never really grew up. Obviously this character is the butt of the joke in this song because he WILLINGLY lives with his mom when he's 42. He could go out and make something of himself, but he doesn't have the motivation.

Katrina also put it very nicely. My girlfriend is a provider for developmentally disabled individuals, and I spend a lot of time with her and these individuals on group outings and social gatherings. I can tell you firsthand that the character in this song would not come anywhere close to describing any of them. They are all independent, hardworking, happy individuals whose lives bear no resemblance to the one described in this song. I'm really not sure why you immediately came to the conclusion that the character in this song was mentally disabled, but I couldn't disagree more.

While we're on the subject, you could, I suppose, make assumptions about any character in an Al song. Maybe we shouldn't find Truck Drivin' Song funny because the character might be confused about his gender identity. Maybe the main character in Another Tattoo is a little deranged. We probably shouldn't laugh at him either. I think all you really need to do is look at Al's track record. He's one of the kindest people you will ever meet, and he doesn't take cheap shots at anybody. He's the kind of guy who does a duet of Yoda with a girl with autism. He's the kind of guy who will spend two exhausting hours pouring out every once of his energy on stage, spend another hour doing backstage meet and greets, and then still come out to his bus to sign autographs for a line of 150 fans. Does that really strike you as someone who would demean and degrade those with developmental disabilities?

[mellow weasel]

That is absurd. The reason the character is pitiful is that he doesn't accomplish anything despite being healthy. If, hypothetically, someone was making fun of a disabled person for being pitiful, I'm sure they would call him retarded, criple, etc.

[anthontherun]

I think the above posters summed it up perfectly--there's no reason to jump to the conclusion that the song is directed at a mentally handicapped individual--but I'd like to submit at the other end of your argument, I don't think "You're Pitiful" was ever a really popular song in the Al fan community. It was cool to get as a freebie, but I think we all realize it's not up to Al's usual standards in the cleverness department. The only parts I even chuckle at are the false start in the beginning and "Your dog would much rather play fetch by itself."

And coming at it from another angle--if a 42-year-old person left their job and moved back in with his mom because she was sick and needed 24/7 attention...would that be "pitiful"? Of course not. Not everything in the song is an automatic example of someone being pathetic, and Al hardly declared himself the arbiter of what is and what isn't pitiful.