The lyrics mostly focus on show plotlines, like Ricky’s bongo drums, Fred and Ethel’s company, and the classic “I wanna be the show” gag. The end of the song even features a guitar fist of the TV show title theme. Regardless, it’s a clever song, accompanied by a fun video, spoofing antics from the show, including Lucy’s trademark cry and Ricky’s trademark laughter. While “Another One Rides the Bus” is Al’s first official parody, many people note “Ricky” as being his first, because it’s the first track on his self-titled 1983 debut album, and also the first one a lot of fans have heard. RICKY (Parody of Toni Basil’s “Mickey”)Ī pop ballad about a cheerleader fawning over a man…how does that get the Weird Al treatment? Easy, Al makes it about the popular 1960’s sitcom “I Love Lucy,” with Tress MacNeille singing as Lucy and Al portraying Ricky Ricardo, both in the song itself and the actual video. Definitely something all aspiring artists should shoot for.Īfter all, when Weird Al spoofs one of your songs, you’ve definitely made it.Ĩ. Pharrell himself is a big fan of the parody, and called it a “huge honor” to be spoofed by Weird Al. The video, shot in one static shot (awesome) and featuring cameos by Aisha Tyler, Margaret Cho, Eric Stonestreet, Kristen Schaal, and Jack Black, has them lip-synching the song wearing bizarre clothing that makes them look extremely…tacky. The song is a big list of things someone who is tacky would do, from wearing obnoxious outfits, being cheap on dates, and listening to advice by Kanye West, to name a few. Anyway, Pharrell’s song was good, but dare I say it, Al’s parody was even better. Okay, so that Gangman Style song and Call Me Maybe were catchy…shut up. It’s brand new, so I really couldn’t justify putting it much higher on the list, but Tacky NEEDS to be ranked, because it’s freaking amazing! Pharrell Williams wrote the song “Happy” for the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, and the song blew up, because it’s one of the catchiest songs that’s been released in at least 5 years. TACKY (Parody of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy”) This song hits all the major requirements for a classic Weird Al parody: it’s funny, clever, catchy, and memorable. The culmination of the hilarity is when Al, dressed in scrubs, performs Madonna’s sexual vogue dance moves on the floor of his operating room. The video features tons of ridiculous antics, like magic tricks from inside the (now) cadaver’s body, medical sinks being used for washing dishes and feet, and a rotating number system of patients. The lyrics suggest that the surgeon in question is awful at his job, dealing with tons of malpractice lawsuits in a ridiculously over-the-top and unprofessional environment. The single from Al’s 1985 “Dare to be Stupid” album is very unique, because it’s the first (and right now, only) time that the original singer was responsible for the creation of the parody! Madonna was joking with a friend of hers, who happened to know Al’s agent, that it was only a matter of time before he spoofed her pop hit song with “Like a Surgeon.” Both Al and his agent thought it was a great idea, and well, here it is! LIKE A SURGEON (Parody of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”) Enjoy my countdown, and most importantly, enjoy Weird Al’s music!ġ0. I want to hear your picks in the comments below. Your list will likely vary, and that’s a good thing! Weird Al’s parodies are so clever and so catchy that it only makes sense fans would differ on what’s best and what isn’t. Now, like the previous top 10, let me again point out that these are merely my personal picks of the songs I feel are his best. Nevertheless, I got the list down to…well, ten of something. Narrowing it down to just ten songs was an improbable task. And with the daily music blogs no longer sitting in the way of my writing, it is time to focus on something near and dear to my heart. I’ve talked enough about my unprofessed love for Weird Al in the last blog. I also did a top 10 about the original songs he’s written, promising that the next time I did a top 10, it would be the main event of Weird Al – a list of his best parodies. I mentioned that he’s possibly my favorite musical artist of all time, and that I own every single song he’s ever written in some form. Last time, I wrote about a man called Weird Al Yankovic.
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