h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A521100

This is a good, well written and informative entry. However, may I ask how you made the 'most popular songs' table?

This is a good entry. I'd just like to see a bit more in the biography area. I'm pretty sure I read someplace that he was/is a genius or something, but chucked it all away to write silly songs for a living.

Actually the table is based on a survey of most "talked about" Weird Al songs. It is ranked from "most popular" to not as popular, but still on the list". I think the list changes every-so-often, so perhaps it is not the most reliable. Now that I think about it, maybe something from the Billboard charts would be better.

The table was actually made with HTML.

Ah, perhaps I should also mention somewhere that we has a degree of some sort in architecture.
There is so much to say about this fellow, it is easy to forget to include stuff!

So, you didn't create the content of the table yourself? I only ask because h2g2 needs to be definate on copyright issues.

I just saw a special on Weird Al on VH1. He most definitely has not always had the permission of the artists when doing a parody. Coolio proved that at the music awards, when he said how unhappy he was with Al for "desecrating" his song, and said that Al had better stay away from him. The producers gave Al permission... not Coolio.

Other artists have taken a different view. Weird Al got the idea for one of his most popular songs when Madonna publicly lamented that he hadn't done "Like a Surgeon" yet. She was waiting for that as her claim to legitimate fame.

Yes, Coolio was an unfortunate exception to an otherwise infallible rule. Al now tries even harder to confirm permission of the origional artist, than before.

This is an amusing entry. I think now we need a follow-up entry on the Dr. Demento Show (as that's always the first thing to come to mind when I think of Weird Al).


Mikey

Perhaps I should clear up something about the Most Popular Songs table. I was the one who looked up which songs were in which albums, and what year those albums were released. I am also the one who researched who the origional artists were for the parodies. (This is not too difficult, just look up the song title in a search engine.)

The list I got the songs from, and the order they are in was based on a survey on a web site. I just found out that the survey had not been updated in about a year. The orginal survey does not seem exist on the page, anymore. Oh well.

The point, though, is that most of the content in the table is my own.
I think I might change it around, anyway.

A friend of mine suggested that I should include some samples of "Weird Al" lyrics in the article, so readers will be able to experience how clever he is.

Whould there be any copyright issues if I included maybe two lines from two different "Weird Al" songs? They would be in the context of a "music review", so I believe it would be legal.

No, adding the lyrics, while legal if you got the permission of the copyright holder, would be in breach of the terms and conditions (as I read them, so don't quote me). Your miss-post is on http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F48874?thread=105788 ;-)

I believe you are wrong, xyroth. I know of several instances where Researchers have included song lyrics, poetry stanzas, and book quotations within an entry with the express understanding and permission of h2g2 employees. In fact, the employees use such material themselves when they design group entries.

You just need to credit the song, use a relatively small portion of it, and add some review/commentary about the song. The Moderators are supposed to know the difference between ripping someone off and commenting on their work for educational purposes.

On another note, I have a couple of factoids to share about Weird Al. Most surprisingly, He got married to a woman named Suzanne in February! He used to joke about his perpetual bachelorhood, but can no longer do so. There are wedding pictures at the official web site.

Also, did you know that he has a special love of the number 27? He has a habit of inserting the number into his songs, videos, live shows, and album covers. Diehard fans often have fun watching for the 27s.

Dave Rossi has a complete list of these 27 references. You can click on the Links section on Weird Al's page. His listing is marked 'Elvis' page - "We've got it all on UHF" including the "27" list & songography!

How about uploading a picture of Al to punctuate your commentary on his unique appearance?

Commenting on small bits (i.e., 4 lines or less is a standard I have heard often) of lyrics is OK.

Uploading pictures is not possible at the moment.

Keep up the good work!

Mikey

Commenting on small bits (i.e., 4 lines or less is a standard I have heard often) of lyrics is OK.

Uploading pictures is not possible at the moment.

Keep up the good work!

Mikey

sorry for the double post, my computer is hiccupping.

Mikey

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Wewird Al alos parody the videos of the songs he parodies. I do recall him in an XXXL Red Leather suit a la Michael Jackson for 'Eat It' as well as the couple of other videos of his that I have been fortunate to catch as a British researcher where he isn't received too well.

Yeah, his video parodies are also worthy of note. He continues that sort of thing in his onstage performances, as well. The 'Eat It' parody was great... a fat Weird Al dressed like MJ (it was black, not red), dancing, moonwalking, and grabbing his crotch. The 'Smells Like Nirvana' parody was another great video... and this coming from someone who cannot stand to watch music videos anymore.

This entire article stands as a review of Weird Al's music... some lyrics could be included without worry of censorship.

You could drop in a mention of his cameo appearances in the "Naked Gun" series of movies, too...