Weird Al Songs, Ranked

Forty-five years of asking permission first, which is more than most of the originals did.

Entries
10
Category
Music
Updated
  1. A subway turnstile in a gritty station with a giant black leather jacket draped over it and a dozen buckles glinting.

    10. Fat

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 1988

    Michael Jackson's Bad, with a fat suit 111 inches around and latex bladders inflated under Al's face. Jackson lent him the actual subway set from his own video before it was torn down. The video won a Grammy for Best Concept Music Video. The turnstile scene earned it.

  2. A school chalkboard covered in red-marked corrections, a broken piece of chalk and a dictionary open on the desk.

    09. Word Crimes

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 2014

    Blurred Lines, rewritten as a grammar lecture, which is the only version of that song that has aged well. Its kinetic-type video took about 500 hours. The album it came from, Mandatory Fun, became his first No. 1. Al hid a split infinitive in it to see who was paying attention.

  3. An operating table covered in a white satin wedding veil, surgical tools on a tray and a lion's paw print on the tiled floor.

    08. Like a Surgeon

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 1985

    The only parody Al got straight from the source: Madonna wondered aloud when he'd do Like a Surgeon, and word reached his manager. So he did. The hospital video spoofs three of her clips and features a real lion. Nobody has explained the lion. Nobody needs to.

  4. A red stepped energy-dome hat on a junkyard heap of scrap metal, eggs piled in a single basket beside it.

    07. Dare to Be Stupid

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 1985

    An original in the style of Devo, built entirely on bad advice. Mark Mothersbaugh deadpanned that it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. It ended up soundtracking a junkyard robot fight in The Transformers: The Movie, which got it more exposure than the album did.

  5. A glowing double-bladed laser sword leaning against a jukebox in a 1950s diner, a slice of apple pie on the counter.

    06. The Saga Begins

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 1999

    The Phantom Menace, retold to the tune of American Pie, written largely off internet spoilers before the film opened. Al saw it at a charity screening and barely had to change a word. Don McLean admitted his kids played it so much he nearly sang Al's lyrics on stage.

  6. A dinner plate piled with untouched vegetables in a moody alley lit like a music video, a red leather jacket hung on a chair.

    05. Eat It

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 1984

    Beat It, but about finishing your dinner. Michael Jackson returned the call and approved it, and Rick Derringer recreated the Van Halen solo. It hit No. 12 in the US, No. 1 in Australia, and won a Grammy for Best Comedy Recording. The original did not hit No. 1 in Australia.

  7. A one-way plane ticket on a donut shop counter next to an untouched bowl of sauerkraut, a dusty desert road outside the window.

    04. Albuquerque

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 1999

    Eleven minutes and 23 seconds of a man who hates sauerkraut winning a one-way ticket to New Mexico, then fighting weasels at a donut shop. His longest recording, and he assumed it would annoy crowds. It now closes his concerts. The crowds never needed convincing.

  8. A high school gym at dusk with an electric guitar, a janitor's mop bucket and a cheerleader's pom-poms on the bleachers.

    03. Smells Like Nirvana

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 1992

    Al reached Kurt Cobain while Nirvana was at SNL; Cobain asked if it would be about food. It wasn't. It was about not being able to understand Kurt Cobain. The video reused the original's soundstage, janitor and cheerleaders. Cobain took it as proof the band had made it.

  9. A wooden butter churn on a barn floor beside a straw hat, a lantern and a half-built barn frame in the background.

    02. Amish Paradise

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 1996

    Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise, relocated to a barn raising. Coolio publicly objected, then admitted on Hot Ones in 2016 that complaining was stupid, and took the royalties throughout. Florence Henderson co-stars. It is the best thing ever written about churning butter.

  10. A tidy desk with a chunky laptop, a twenty-sided die, a pocket protector full of pens and a stack of comic books in plastic sleeves.

    01. White & Nerdy

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 2006

    A parody of Chamillionaire's Ridin' about Klingon, D&D and editing Wikipedia. It hit No. 9 on the Hot 100, his first top 10 and first platinum single, 24 years into his career. Donny Osmond cameos as the whitest guy Al could think of. Chamillionaire loved it.

Honorable mentions

  • A crowded city bus interior with an accordion case on a seat being used as a drum, a dangling hand strap swinging.

    Another One Rides the Bus

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 1981

    Recorded live on the Dr. Demento Show in September 1980, with Jon Schwartz banging on an accordion case because there was no drum kit. Brian May found it extremely funny. The label folded almost immediately. Every band starts somewhere, and his started on a case.

Dishonorable mentions

  • A lone acoustic guitar on a subway platform next to a padlocked record crate and a sad single rose.

    You're Pitiful

    "Weird Al" Yankovic · 2006

    James Blunt approved this parody of You're Beautiful. Atlantic Records blocked it anyway, saying it was too early in his career and he might look like a one-hit wonder. Al gave it away free online. The dishonor goes to the label, which has been answered by history.

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