Yankovic is known in particular for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. Since receiving his first accordion lesson a day before his seventh birthday, he has sold more than 12 million albums (more than any comedy act in history). Here are his top 10 songs.
10. Couch Potato
9. Like a Surgeon
8. Gump
7. Eat It
6. Smells Like Nirvana
5. Another One Rides the Bus
4. The Saga Begins
3. White and Nerdy
2. Amish Paradise
1. Fat
It should be weird. I was going to post you that little ‘i before e’ meme, but I just realised it doesn’t work here…
I don’t really like this guy… Too much cheesy American humour!
I like the parodies of rap songs he does. He’s one big gigantic cheese ball.
No American Pie? I'm not sure what the Weird Al version name is, but it's about Star Wars. I love that one. I enjoyed watching all of these, though.
The Saga Begins is the parody of American Pie.
I was thinking of remixing the intro to Americas biggest loser and including Fat as the song. Great list.
JT: thanks – I just got home from shopping which is why it has taking so long to fix
Cute list. Weird Al is very funny
I love Weird Al, I have all of his stuff, and this list is pretty good.
There’s a few other songs that weren’t so mainstream (no videos) that were very good too:
I Remember Larry, and The Night Santa Went Crazy to name a few.
steve: I considered “The Night Santa Went Crazy” – it is nice to have a fan posting that is reasonably happy with my selection
I like the song selection too. I haven't listened to any of this guys songs for about two years but I'm relatively sure that I have heard all of these.
I’m partial to “Happy Birthday” myself. I’ve been a Weird Al fan for years – ever since he first appeared on the Dr. Demento show down in LA. I’ve gotten to see him in concert 3 or 4 times. He puts on a great show.
Great list Jamie!
Kelsi: erm – number 4 maybe? I DID include it
Oh. My bad.
Ah, jeez….my brothers are fans of Weird Al, so I now have these songs running through my head. LOL, I’m a starwars geek, so for xmas one year, my younger brother burned me a cd of StarWars spoof songs – there are quite a few of them – including The Saga Begins and Yoda, by Weird Al. (Others on the disc, for the curious, include a dico version of the StarWars theme and ‘Star Wars Cantina’ aka ‘Copacabana’.
i’m such a HUGE weird al fan…. i was so excited to see this list. i just saw him in concert last weekend. it was AWESOME! al started way before i was born, but i’ve still been listening to him since i was little, and i still have all his older albums on cassette.
i basically agree with your choices. i was just surprised to see two michael jackson parodies on the list. then again, he did a few of those, and they were very popular.
i’m glad you included some of his old songs as well as some new ones. dunno if i would have included “couch potato” though.
you have pretty much all the classics covered, but “my bologna,” “yoda,” “the night santa went crazy,” “albuquerque,” and “you’re pitiful” (unreleased on his album, but available on his website and played in concert), are worth mentioning.
(sry long post)
awesome list!
Remember when Al cut his poodle puppy locks and took away his nerd glasses??? Remember that? and if you squinted hard enough at your mtv screen, he kinda looked handsome?…remember? and suddenly the gimmick clouds parted and we all considered him a modern day satirist?
Back before the web was widespread and the net was still a bit of a frontier, I used to hang out with Al’s band on a quasi-secret IRC channel they kept. Al himself never showed up (alas), but I got to know the group quite well (they used the IRC channel to keep in touch and coordinate stuff with people all across the country). Great fun.
Wow – so many fans here!
Fe: what great brothers you have to come up with such a clever idea for Christmas!
theDEFENESTRATOR: I was actually a bit unsure about including Couch Potato. The extras you mention totally deserve to be on the list.
Diogenes: I remember!
Late O’Day: I am envious!
Love Weird Al! The Saga Begins is one of my favorites, but I, too, like “The Night Santa Went Crazy” and “One More Minute,” and dozens more. I’ve seen him in concert once, and it was a great show. This was a great idea for a list.
boliyou: I haven’t seen him in concert but would definitely like to – hopefully I will get the chance some time.
Definitely worthwhile. Check out http://www.weirdal.com for a concert schedule. There’s a mailing list, too. I don’t know if he performs outside the U.S., but he might. At least we have the videos!
“When Weird Al called, that’s when I knew we’d made it.” ~ Kurt Cobain
bollyou: great – thanks for that – I am hoping to get to the US soon anyway – so even if he doesn’t come to the UK I might get a chance to see him live.
trebek: haha great quote
Great list! My only gripe would be the exclusion of Yoda, my personal favorite….
Funny Stuff! I love his ebay song. It reminds me of my mum’s online shopping addiction. I have never seen an official video of it though, just fan creations. So, not as cool as these clips.
Judit: hah I remember that addiction
Is it still happening?
It sure is! I am still receiving boxes of all the stuff she doesn’t want. Problem is I don’t want it either! So after all the effort of buying the items, they often end up at the local hospice shop.
Judit: haha at least someone is benefiting
I always liked the Jerry Springer song done to “One Week” (“It’s been one week since we had the fued between the KKK and the gay, Jewish black dude…”)as well as “My Baby’s In Love With Eddie Vetter”
or feud. Take your pick…
Ryan, c’mon we Americans had to put up with the top 10 britcom songs! Sheesh, sometimes I think there is going to be another war between the British and the US right here on this site. BTW, I love British comedy but before BBC America we only had PBS – “Are You Being Served?” and “Keeping Up Appearances!” Maybe some Monty Python.
i say good list
but i like
Yoda
I’m a Danish
My Bologna
Best and those weren’t on here
oh yeah I lost on Jeopardy is great 2.
!!!!
Lol weird al is my favorite singer! I saw him in concert with my fiance as a birthday present.
I loved it!
My favorite Weird Al song is Everything You Know is Wrong, that should be on here.
Every once in awhile I’ll hear another One bites te dust on the radio and I can’t help to sing #5 version to it.
jbjr: I can’t hear that song without thinking of Weird Al now
Didn’ weird al do “rikki” a spoof of micki by Toni Basil? The theme was I love lucy.
jbjr: I am not sure – I haven’t heard of it but I didn’t notice it when looking through youtube for this list. I am sure you would be able to find it if it is out there though.
I think its called Ricky from his self titled debut. I saw Weird Al front row in Hartford CT years back. That was before he performed at the big casinos like he does now. I got his first 2 tapes back in the mid 80s and have been listening to him ever since. He has a huge catalogue of songs ranging from almost every type of music genre. I think my favorite song is Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota from the UHF soundtrack.
I see all these lists with references to Led Zep, Beatles, Bob Dylan, Queen, and every major music artist ranked. Strange, of all the most popular, I think I know and enjoy Weird Al the best. He seems like a real guy without any of the drama or bad habits.
my favorite is still “I love Rocky Road”.
I heard there was one about ***** that parodied “devil went down to georgia”, but I can never find it.
copperdragon: The song you are talking about is not a Weird Al song. It is by David Allen Coe. It is called “Devil went down to Jamaica”. Here is a youtube with a dorky cartoon to go with.
Devil Went Down to Jamaica
No “The Saga Begins”? Some list this turned out to be…
Good list , but I would’ve had “Christmas at Ground Zero,” “Stop Draggin’ My Car Around,” and “Bohemian Polka” instead of “Couch Potato,” “Gump,” and “White and Nerdy” with a bonus mention of Ode to a Superhero and Money for Nothing/ Beverly Hillbillies. I guess that I prefer the older sound to the newer Weird Al.
My absolute favorite Al song of all time is “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota” off the UHF soundtrack. It is a great snapshot of Middle America and catchy and funny all at once, and it’s a shame more people haven’t heard it.
Great list jfrater…
I also liked his songs “Yoda” and “You Don’t Love Me Anymore”…
Liked the Ebay one too.
i think smells like nirvana is the best.
Trapped in the drive-thru is my favorite one, my second is Smells Like Nirvana even though I’m a huge Nirvana fan.
Strange. Based on people today, WHite and nerdy is the most popular song…
Love AL!
No “eBay”? FOR SHAME!
Eat it
I’m not too big a Wierd Al fan, but I do think that White and Nerdy and Amish Paradise are hilarious!
I never liked Eat it, though. Also, the eBay song should be on here.
hello
All but one of these video links are dead now, get new ones!
Wow!
They were all actual Al songs!
I’m amazed!
*****es Weird Al Sucks Nuts
Wow! It would be totally awesome if any of these videos worked!
Amish Paradise actually managed to be better than the original song, Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio.
You forgot Canadian Idiot. I may be Canadian myself, but that song is epic!
My absolute favorite Weird Al song is “This is the Life.” Great video, very clever. But then again, most all his stuff is incredibly clever. The “Fat” video is hilarious! Weird Al in a Michael Jackson fat suit grabbing his crotch gets me howling with laughter.
Why isn’t living witha hernia on here