[Sans-Culotte]

I will never be able to enjoy Weird Al’s parodies again, because I am 100% unfamiliar with the material he is satirizing. Unless he satirizes Sinatra, or Mozart, or Bach or Beethoven, I will no longer be able to get the joke.

[dfwgator]

You’d have to be living under a rock to not at least be familiar with “Happy.”

[Company Man]

I thoroughly enjoyed his 'Word Crimes' video via you tube even though I have never heard the song it is parodying. The clip is outstanding in its own right.

Just for fun, I read the 800 plus you tube comments and there were dozens of comments stating that his version (about misuse of grammar)was completely superior to the original tune (mo pimps and hos) in every way!

[FatherofFive]

I will never be able to enjoy Weird Al’s parodies again, because I am 100% unfamiliar with the material he is satirizing.

I know the feeling. I just don't like the new music. I have 5 kids so I hear it, just don't like it.

Art died with the Impressionists. Classical Music died with Mozart.

[a fool in paradise]

Joke songs used to be so good that someone could cover them and make a “serious” hit.

It happened with Rock Around The Clock, Love Me (Treat Me Like A Fool), and Wild Thing. None of those were originals even though they became big hits.

Even the knocks and dings at “hep” music were more listenable than today’s choppp-ppp-pppp-eeededededdDDDDDDD techno-voice processed-dupstep-rapcrap.

Monkeys playing rock and roll in the between episode chatter of Lancelot Link? Still solid songs.

Banana Splits? Songs written by the likes of Barry White.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

I have the same problem. That said, even though I’d never heard the original version, I loved “White and Nerdy.”

[Personal Responsibility]

Watch the video for Word Crimes. It doesn’t matter if you know the original song (I didn’t). It’s BRILLIANT.

[Tanniker Smith]

Check out the video for "Word Crimes". You actually don't have to be familiar with the source song or the source video (nothing to do with *that*). If you're upset by grammar peeves, it's amusing.

The one thing I'll give him is that he can right a song divorced from the source material if that's where the lyrics take him. Going back a ways, "Eat It" is too close to "Beat It", but "I Lost On Jeopardy" is funny on its own with little resemblance to the source material. (Bonus question for the readers: what was the name of the song satirized?)

[discostu]

I don’t know, his stuff is still pretty funny even if you don’t know what he’s spoofing. Sure you’re missing 1 joke of the song, but there’s always 8 or 9 jokes. He is just plain a funny guy.

[dangus]

I bet you’ll find you don’t need to know the original material to find him funny. He’s not merely satirizing songs; he’s largely using their melodies and arrangements as a medium for his own funny lyrics; he also creates several of his own melodies.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I will never be able to enjoy Weird Al’s parodies again, because I am 100% unfamiliar with the material he is satirizing.

Here's one on usage of the English language that is hilarious. You should be familiar with that subject matter.

Word Crimes