White and Nerdy

I was scouring the internet attempting to find a topic for my blog today and I somehow found myself on Robert Scoble's website. I came across his posts for September 21, 2006, and at the top of the page was a post about Weird Al Yankovic. When I was reading, although it was a short post, I was still reminded of when I was younger and I used to see Weird Al video's everywhere. As a kid I remember growing up and watching the video's by the original artists and then not long after Weird Al's spoof would premiere and make me laugh. I think that is what he is all about. Weird Al is one of the very few artists who has made his career by creating spoofs of other artists, and he is only artist to become successful because of it.

He started his career in the late '70s, he made a name for himself in the '80s, kept it big in the '90s, and is remaking himself today. He was a pioneer in the music field and when everyone else was idolizing big names like Madonna and Michael Jackson, he was making fun of how they got there. While Madonna's "Like a Virgin" was a huge hit, Weird Al created his Like a Surgeon. Michael Jackson made hits like "Beat it" and "Bad," Yankovic created hits like Eat It and Fat. His career has spanned generations and he does not appear to be slowing down. He made hits that spoof off of Madonna and Michael Jackson, he kept his name strong in the '90s by creating Amish Paradise (a spoof of Coolio's "Gangster's Paradise"), and he is keeping his name strong today with the September release of his latest album, Straight Outta Lynnwood, which hails tracks like Canadian Idiot (a spoof of Green Day's "American Idiot") and White and Nerdy (a spoof of Chamillionare's latest hit "Ridin' Dirty"). Throughout the years, Weird Al has proven himself to be a strong presence in the musical industry and he has shown that he is not going any where.

Weird Al has changed the music industry in more ways than one. He has created an entirely new genre of music that is all his own and he has proven that he can make a very successful career out of other people's music.

If you have never heard of Weird Al before, or even if you've just never heard his music or seen his videos, then please take a look. Take his lyrics lightly, they are meant to entertain, but he is a serious artist and he is good at what he does.