Though not necessarily a fan, I’ve long been a supporter of Weird Al Yankovic, the household name amongst satirical and parodic songwriting. Â The dude’s been cranking out funny hits since the early ’80’s, and, being a longtime lover of Dr. Demento, I’ve adored and admired Al from afar for most of my life. Â The man puts on an unsurprisingly entertaining live show, as well as some pretty decent original material alongside his trademark parodies of hit songs. Â It’s safe to say Yankovic has transformed from quirky pop culture footnote to a comedic legend over time – now, like being poked fun at by South Park and SNL, it’s considered an honor to be lampooned by Weird Al. Â That means you’ve made it to the top!
This week, Al sat down with AV Club and went through an array of new and old material in celebration and promotion of his latest creation, Alpocalypse. Â He talks about some of the well-known classics, some forgotten gems, and even some astonishingly catchy original songs. Read it here.
This year I made the big move from Lubbock to Austin, and the transformation has done wonders for my live music fix. I should have been writing down all the awesome bands I saw this year (and the years before, for that matter) but alas, hindsight, she is 20/20 once again. I think this post covers the highlights more or less, however. There’s plenty of great live music I saw this year that I’m leaving out, but after the jump, in no particular order, are twelve of the best shows I witnessed in 2010, eleven of them right here in the Live Music Capital of the World.
And for the record, I wanted to put the Sleigh Bells show on here, as fun as it was once they finally started playing, but everyone who attended knows Beauty Bar is at fault for that show’s omission. What a disaster.
Today the kids over at Fun Fun Fun headquarters announced the lineup for their 2010 festivities. Of course, with FFF being my favorite fest to attend for four years running, I bought my tickets well in advance of today’s news. But now that the artists have officially been made known to the public, here are a handful of bands, in no particular order, I intend to be front and center stage for. Who are you excited to see?
I feel incomplete not posting something before I go to bed, so here is the trailer for the upcoming “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” I just have one question: Is this real? I mean, I know it’s far from accurate, but this can’t be an actual movie…can it? It’s likely fake…but it shouldn’t be.