Now, Weird Al is talented and successful, but could he do good on AmIRight?

On many of his non-rap song parodies, including his new one, You're Pitiful, the pacing is bad at parts, which would be unforgiven here on AmIRight.

___

Some lyrics?

Original Lyrics:

There must be an angel - 6 Syllables  
With a smile on her face - 6 Syllables (He Says Smile As 1 Syllable)
When she thought up that I should be with you

The difference for Weird Al is that all of his works are recorded, and IMO pacing is much less of an issue if you have a recorded parody to sing along to vs reading text on a screen. A syllable +/- here or there, while looking bad on screen, often works out fine in a completed product (recording).

Interestingly enough, someone submitted "You're Pitiful" (in Weird Al's name) to AmIRight a few weeks ago. Before ChuckyG deleted it it had something like 45 votes, and probably 10 dings on pacing, the latter of which amused me since his recording obviously works. He can do quite well on AmIRight, 'cause very very few parodies pick up that kind of attention these days.

SP - I don't think you're an idiot.  Pacing is a challenge because it forces a writer to convey a message within parameters which, I believe, leads to better writing.  However - and I haven't heard the example you gave - I think that there are situations when playing with the pacing is part of the work.  For example, a few years ago one of the better writers - I forget who - did an Addams Family parody and used "Re-ge-im" for "regime".  Another excellent writer here deducted a point for that, feeling that it didn't work.  (Fair and constructive criticism.)  I thought it was a great line.

How many concert versions of tunes mirror the album?  I tend to give a little creative license with respect to pacing unless it's really obvious that it's off.  I also define "How Funny" differently for every work - to me, a parody doesn't have to be funny.  A good write, cleverness, creativity, irony, satire, and originality are just a few of my replacements for "how funny". 
Later,
bob     

FIRST OFF, I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT I KNOW MY PACING SUCKS. WELL, IT USED TO. FOR ALL OF MY TJ SPINDLER PARODIES AND MY FIRST 3 SILVER POWER PARODIES (WELL, FIRST TWO, MY BROTHER SUBMITTED ONE UNDER MY NAME TO MAKE ME SEEM LIKE AN ASS HOLE... THE ONE THAT WASN'T MINE IS "WINNIE THE POOH'. I DON'T KNOW THE SONG IT'S A PARODY OF, ALL I KNOW IS I DIDN'T MAKE IT. CHRISTIAN LATER ADMITTED THAT HE SUBMITTED THAT, AND SUBMITTED A 'NICE GUY COMMENT' ON THE PARODY. DIRTBAG.). THE FIRST 2 SP PARODIES WERE 'DELETE ME' AND THE LOSE YOURSELF PARODY, WHICH I FORGOT IT'S NAME.

The other parodies I wrote, as you can see, have better pacing then the two I mentioned, and definately the one my brother wrote for no reason (See Above).

Go on, read them, you'll see the difference.

___

But that's aside from the point of my starting this thread. I've tried to do what he does many times. He makes one word with one syllable take up the space of two syllables.

I understand that we cannot do that on AmIRight.

Even if we wrote notes beside the line of the intentionally incorrect pacing, like "-->(Note: The word 'And' is supposed to take up 2 syllables)<--", people would still mark us badly, even if by one point.

Weird Al's a nice guy. Had a kid (I think I read somewhere), a dog, a parrot (If I recall correctly), a wife, a show, a million listeners, maybe more, and a brain (Obviously, since he graduated Valedictorian).

I'd personally like him to view AmIRight.com.

Malcolm Higgins has done way more parodies then him. If only he could record them.

Spaff and Robert Lund are catching up fast, since I see a new parody almost every month, opposed to the 3 year pattern Weird Al goes through for making about 16 parodies (If You're Lucky).

I know Weird Al is under pressure (My favorite song, a song Spaff n Rob or Weird Al should make a parody of and record) because his fans are so expecting of him. Spaff n Rob could be done quicker because though they do spend a lot of time recording, I'm sure, they don't do all that Weird Al does.

___

No disrespect to anyone I'm mentioning in these posts. In fact, I respect you if I put you in these posts. I respect Weird Al, even. More successful then I'll ever be.

I can't wait until Spaff n Rob get as popular as Weird Al is now.

I'll be like, "Yeah, I talked to them before, and I got ther first cd. What do you got, their 26th cd? Puh-shaw!"

___

NOTES TO SPAFF AND ROBERT LUND ::: MAKE A MYSPACE WITH YOUR MUSIC ON IT, IF YOU DON'T ALREADY HAVE ONE. IT WILL EXPOSE YOUR MUSIC TO SO MANY OTHERS, AND YOU'LL HAVE AMIRIGHT TO BACK YOU UP!

Spaff.com and Robert Lund, in my opinion, are better. The music is hilarious, and the pacing is great. It also has that creative spark that you can just feel when you listen to that. 2 people from Utah started on a website writing parodies, and then they made CD's. And, they've been on Dr. Demento numerous times.

I've been described as "like Weird Al Yankovic, minus the looks and talent."

Actually, I just made that up, but I expect to see it someday. Thanks for compliment, TJ. I'm not sure if I'm more flattered by your words or the fact that you made them pink and purple.

Jack Wilson previously recommended a MySpace page, and your comment finally put me over the edge. So:
http://www.myspace.com/spaffcom

I have no idea what happens now, and I'm not sure I appreciate a website announcing to the world the fact that I have 0 friends. But there you go.

xoxox
Spaff

Weird Al is consistenly good and occasionally brilliant in his parody writing. (Me a fan of 'Bob'? How EVER could that be?)
What earns him his place, in my books, is his performances of these songs, rather than the writing. His ability to adopt the vocal stylings of The Offspring to Madonna to Michael Jackson to Eminem to Nelly to Avril Lavigne displays his range and opens his work up to people who like all different types of music.

Wow, Spaff, I was looking for you on MySpace before u just started one, and the first address I checked was http://www.myspace.com/spaffcom

:D

I'll add you.

Whatever ways he may change the pacing, it certainly doesn't detract from the overall performance or enjoyment of the parody. I think we sometimes take the concept of pacing too much to heart around here.

My biggest concern is quality, and Al has written 1 or 2 clunkers in his career, IMHO---such as "Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch" and "Ode to a Superhero". Sometimes the performance makes it all worthwhile...cf. the original "My Bologna".

Silver, let's just say you are an agnostic, not an atheist.  ;)

back when I was posting more regularily, this was really annoying me, because my ratings were going down due to pacing, but the song made perfect sense in my own head. Still is frustrating

Incidentally, I've learned today that the new album is titled Straight Outta Lynwood, and will be dropping in stores 9/26/06!

Incidentally, I've learned today that the new album is titled Straight Outta Lynwood, and will be dropping in stores 9/26/06!


Where did you hear that?

It's on weirdal.com. His new album will have parodies of Chamillionaire, Usher, R. Kelly, and Green Day.

I'm so out of it.  :D Who the hell is Chamillionaire?  ??? (probably reggaeton or rap, eh?)

It's on weirdal.com. His new album will have parodies of Chamillionaire, Usher, R. Kelly, and Green Day.


Thanks Jace...sweet!

The difference for Weird Al is that all of his works are recorded, and IMO pacing is much less of an issue if you have a recorded parody to sing along to vs reading text on a screen. A syllable +/- here or there, while looking bad on screen, often works out fine in a completed product (recording).

Interestingly enough, someone submitted "You're Pitiful" (in Weird Al's name) to AmIRight a few weeks ago. Before ChuckyG deleted it it had something like 45 votes, and probably 10 dings on pacing, the latter of which amused me since his recording obviously works. He can do quite well on AmIRight, 'cause very very few parodies pick up that kind of attention these days.







Exactly my thoughts.

Oh, and I know I'll get killed for this, literally... But Spaff is not always so great. Some of his parodies are just not... funny... Don't get me wrong, he has some good ones, but it seems like every Spaff song is slapped with a 555, no matter what it's like.

That's a good point--Spaff does have some great ones, there's no doubt about that. But not all of them 555 material.

There are many parody artists out there that I listen to--Weird Al, Spaff & Robert Lund, Bob Ricci, Steve Goodie, etc. There are many times when I think that some of their parodies are more clever than Al. Al isn't the only good parody artist who happens to record them. In fact, for a long time it seemed like Al could only write parodies about food and TV, and it really got tiresome. I'm glad he finally stopped that and is starting to branch to other subjects.

Oh, and I know I'll get killed for this, literally... But Spaff is not always so great. Some of his parodies are just not... funny... Don't get me wrong, he has some good ones, but it seems like every Spaff song is slapped with a 555, no matter what it's like.


Everyone has his offdays. I don't particularly care for his Utah/Mormon-centric parodies.

I'm so out of it.  :D Who the hell is Chamillionaire?  ??? (probably reggaeton or rap, eh?)


http://youtube.com/watch?search=ridin+dirty&v=qkPZmFR4Nwg - This dude and this si the track I expect he will be parodying

Yeah, the parody of "Ridin" is called "White and Nerdy."

Everyone has his offdays. I don't particularly care for his Utah/Mormon-centric parodies.


The thing about Spaff is, his "offdays" are way better than most people's best days.  He's set the bar so high for himself, everything has to be an absolute masterpiece to be considered any good.  Regarding his Utah/ Mormon parodies, they're definitely intended more for an audience around that region, but that doesn't mean they can't be appreciated by non-Utahns.  It also helps if you're more than fifteen years old and capable of comprehending the humor.  I'm very quick to defend Spaff because he earns every single vote he gets.  He spends more time, talent, and energy on his parodies than just about anyone else, so it makes sense that his songs are way better than the dreck spewed out by jealous teenage boys who don't have the first clue how to write a decent parody, and would do well to keep their mouths shut and learn something from him.

Also, Spaff has never said a nasty thing about a single person here, so I feel like it's my duty to do so.  I apologize if this seems directed at you, Agri; it's not.

it seems like every Spaff song is slapped with a 555, no matter what it's like.


Last time I sorted the author list by overall score, I was in, like, 100th place. So I must not be the only one getting slapped.


I'll get killed for this, literally...


My literal death squad will be there tomorrow. They couldn't give me anything more specific than a three-hour block, so please be available from 3 to 6.

Also, if questioning my ability is what it takes to bring the fabulous Claude Prez back to the site, well, then, SPAFF SUCKS! SPAFF SUCKS!

xoxox
Spaff

Let's clear this up once and for all, shall we?

In the picture below:

http://www.funseekers.net/images/Italy/sistine%20chapel.jpg


On the left, Weird Al. ============>http://www.oceansbridge.com/paintings/artists/m/michaelangelo/thumb-oil/creation_of_adam(detail-2)_1510_cappella_sistina_vatican.jpg


On the right, The Mighty Spaff.=======>http://www.oceansbridge.com/paintings/artists/m/michaelangelo/thumb-oil/creation_of_adam(detail)_1510_cappella_sistina_vatican.jpg


Any questions? ;D

Any questions?
Yeah, who is pulling whose finger?

Any questions? ;D



Yes. What's the capital of North Dakota?

The thing about Spaff is, his "offdays" are way better than most people's best days.  He's set the bar so high for himself, everything has to be an absolute masterpiece to be considered any good. ...Also, Spaff has never said a nasty thing about a single person here, so I feel like it's my duty to do so.  I apologize if this seems directed at you, Agri; it's not.


Let it be clear to all readers that I have no personal beef with Spaff. I'm sure I write stuff that he doesn't like either.  :)

Of course everything that an artist writes isn't going to be a winner.  In fact, I'm sure that there are writes by Spaff where the parody does better than he thought it would do.  And as Mr. Prez correctly pointed out (among other things), it depends upon the audience that you're trying to hit - it may not play in Peoria and that's ok.  To me, it's more important that the end result of my work accomplishes what I set out to accomplish.  Certainly any critique that would improve my work is taken under consideration and a mental note is made for the future.  There are other times when negative comments prove to me that I've done what I set out to do.

Finally, on the pacing, without a recording, the reader may be reading the piece differently than the writer. 

Who is this Spaff guy anyway?

My literal death squad will be there tomorrow. They couldn't give me anything more specific than a three-hour block, so please be available from 3 to 6.


Perfect! That's when I get home... Three...

Yeah, who is pulling whose finger?


Ah-HA! So Claude Prez is a closet Zen master!  Or a Zen closet master?  Or a cloned Zoroastrian?

Yes. What's the capital of North Dakota?

http://www.wuollet.com/images/prod/pastries/prod_pastries_raspbismarck2.gif

I thought Little Rock was the capital of Arkansas.

its a raspberry bismarck.

Raspberry Bismarck, North Dakota?

Yeah, the parody of "Ridin" is called "White and Nerdy."


Crap...there goes that idea  :)

I wonder what his take on Green Day will be like compared to everyone's here...could we possibly be overtaking him in the ideas dept.? :o

Which green day song did he cover? I covered all the American Idiot ones so ha. (and then people copied me, lol jkin, im sure they came up with the idea themselves after me, riiiiiight)

My prediction is Boulevard of Broken Dreams, but I could very well be wrong...