Sep 262011
 

“Weird Al” Yankovic first debuted his new “Polka Face” covers medley live last year, and now, 15 months later, we move from shaky concert footage to off-the-wall music video. Now, normally Al’s polkas get music videos for his concerts consisting of the original video clips synced to his medley (like this one), so this marks his polka-video debut. Continue reading »

Jun 152011
 

No question, music-comedy pioneer “Weird Al” Yankovic is known for his parodies and, to a lesser extent, his original musical numbers. But he performs a third, perhaps underappreciated, category of song: the cover. Every album includes a “polka” medley which, though not labeled as such, fits the dictionary definition of a cover: same lyrics, different music. His latest, Alpocalypse, includes another instant classic: Polka Face. Continue reading »

Mar 162011
 

Every Wednesday, our resident Gleek Eric Garneau gives his take on last night’s Glee covers.


In “Original Song,” the kids from McKinely High once again compete in the regional glee club competition. Thanks to the machinations of Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), they discover they can’t sing their show-stopping My Chemical Romance number, and instead decide to compose and perform…wait for it…original songs. Will the glee club’s newfound creativity be enough to secure a trip to the national competition in New York City?

Last season’s regionals episode, “Journey,” provided some of Glee‘s most powerful moments to date. Bursting with anthemic music and sharp setpieces (the delivery of Quinn’s baby comes to mind), that episode reminded audiences that at its best Glee packs a lot of punch. “Journey” closed out season one, and, other than a few glimmers to the contrary, the second season’s been unable to live up to those previously established highs. Continue reading »

Jul 232010
 

The parody is the cover’s evil twin. While a good cover keeps the lyrics and changes the music, a parody does the exact opposite. As such, much of what “Weird Al” Yankovic does falls outside this blog’s purview (though covers of Weird Al songs are always popular). His polkas, however, fall strictly in the cover camp. On every album he creates a medley of popular hits set to polka tunes. The lyrics stay intact, the music goes oompah-oompah. Sounds like a cover to me!

He has been opening the shows on his latest tour with a brand-new polka featuring Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Kid Cudi and more. It will presumably appear on his next album as a track titled “Polkaface.” The bummer flipside is that any song included in a polka is now off the table for parody, but you can count on another Lady Gaga song getting the Al treatment. Continue reading »