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| Weird Al Has Been On The Gaga Roller Coaster |
I've been a big fan of Weird Al since the very beginning of his career and I have a great deal of respect for his talent as an entertainer. There are many popular songs from the past 30 years where I only know the Weird Al version of the lyrics - and I am sure that I'm not alone in that respect.
As a kid I used to listen to his My Bologna and Another One Rides The Bus on the Dr. Demento Show in the early 80s.
In 1984, I was fascinated with the attention to detail that he put into the production of his Eat It video. His parody was almost a frame per frame replication of the Michael Jackson Beat It video.
I recall interviews from back then where Weird Al mentioned that he asked for and received permission from Michael Jackson. He didn't have to get permission, but I recall him stating that "his mommy made him".
Fast forward to 2011. More than 12 million albums sold, more than 150 unique song parodies and Weird Al is still seeking permission from Artists before including parodies of their songs on his albums.
Really, at this point in time, regardless of who you are as an Artist, it really should be considered an honor that Weird Al wants to parody your song. In fact I remember one singer commenting that they really feel like they had made it in the business until Weird Al parodied one of their songs.
I've been a fan of Lady Gaga since Bad Romance. I enjoy her music quite a bit and I appreciate the energy and creativity that she puts into all her performances. I would stop just short of calling myself a little monster.
When I heard that Weird Al had released a parody of Lady Gaga's Born This Way on YouTube, I was excited to hear it. The song was great and it was especially nice that the posting had the lyrics displayed so that you could fully enjoy all of Weird Al's creative talent.
Watching the video was a bit of a downer, as evidenced by the following four frames...
I had to find out what was going on.
Weird Al's Blog gave more details under the category GAGA SAGA.
From the Blog...
I was really hoping that this blog entry would be all about me announcing the release date of my new album.
Have no fear, this story has a happy ending...
After Weird Al posted his video to YouTube, Lady Gaga came to know of the fact that she had decided to not grant permission. Apparently it was all Lady Gaga's manager's fault. He is the one who rejected the idea without even telling Gaga (or he's the fall guy once Lady Gaga decided this was bad press).
Either way Weird Al gets his permission and here is the updated post that he made this afternoon...
Well, this was a strange day.
After putting my Lady Gaga parody on YouTube this morning – and announcing that it wouldn’t be on my next album because Gaga didn’t approve it – there was a huge outpouring of disappointment from the Internet.
Apparently the fact that she didn’t approve it was news to Lady Gaga herself!
Gaga’s manager has now admitted that he never forwarded my parody to Gaga – she had no idea at all.
Even though we assumed that Gaga herself was the one making the decision (because, well, that’s what we were TOLD), he apparently made the decision completely on his own.
He’s sorry.
And Gaga loves the song.
I’m thrilled on many levels to hear this, because 1) I truly respect and admire Gaga as an artist and it pained me to think of her as having less than a great sense of humor, and 2) it means I GET TO PUT OUT MY ALBUM!
As promised, all my proceeds from the song (and the MUSIC VIDEO… I can’t wait…) will go to the Human Rights Campaign.
Thank you, Gaga. And thanks to everybody who had my back.
Whew!
Your pal,
Al
Al
I think Weird Al is being very gracious. Personally I think Lady Gaga's manager is a bit of a dummy...
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| Lady Gaga's Manager Even Gives Dummies A Bad Name |
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