Al Yankovic and the "Weird" Science of Parody

By Kim Bellware in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 8, 2010 10:10PM

Digging through the personal music histories of our friends and associates, it’s always amazing to hear how many have “Weird Al” Yankovic claiming the spot of “the first concert I ever saw.”

Yankovic has been at it for just over three decades now, and unlike many stars that greedily try to hold on to their 15 minutes for as long as possible, he’s given us plenty of reasons to keep paying him our attention. Since his parodies stay au courant with whatever is hot on the scene, Yankovic satirizing of pop culture is always fresh and funny, his polka medleys and cleverness remaining the only real constants. His albums have served as mini time capsules showcasing the biggest hits of a period and have covered the spectrum of musicians from Madonna to Chamillionaire to Michael Jackson to Nirvana.

Lately Yankovic has been most active directing, producing, writing children’s books, Twittering like a fiend, and popping in for other artist’s music videos. His last release was the web-only Internet Leaks EP that debuted last year—a clue that there may not be as many traditionally released albums in the future; Yankovic has mentioned in blogs and interviews that he’s embracing Internet releases more since he can make his songs available sooner and have them heard while the original material is still charting.

Plans for his Cartoon Network series seem to have hit the skids, but for the summer and into the fall, Yankovic will be touring and previewing new songs, taking the show to Europe for the first time after his North American summer tour wraps. Fans checking out his Friday show at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrilville, Ind. might even get a listen of which artist will be the next to be immortalized in a polka-inspired parody.

"Weird Al" Yankovic plays Friday at 8 p.m. at the Star Plaza Theatre, 8001 Delaware Place, Merrillville, Ind.