Yank Blog

Weird Al Yankovic: Beer Barrel Polka (6/20/11)

Prepare your eyes and maybe even hide the little ones. Mwa ha ha.

Awwww yeah!!!

Well… Weird Al has just released a brand new song today that parodies Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”.  However, due to unfortunate circumstances, this will NOT be commercially released on the new album.  First off, you can hear the entire song on Al’s YouTube account:

So what happened?  Why isn’t it going to be on the new album, you ask?  Well, apparently Lady Gaga had strung Al along and forced him to go to the trouble (and cost) of fully producing the song before giving final decision, even after having received the completed lyrics.   Al gives the long and short of the whole ordeal on his blog:  http://alyankovic.wordpress.com/the-gaga-saga/

So unfortunately, there’s still no date on when the new album will be released.  This was going to be the lead single and all money from this song’s sales was going to be donated to the Human Rights Campaign, but alas it’s not meant to be.

So Al has been doing all sorts of interviews to promote his new book When I Grow Up. It seems like things are going pretty well, and here’s another interview from the folks over at English, baby.

Come feast your eyes and ears on the trailer for the next new blockbuster book that’ll make The DaVinci Code look like Bonfire of the Vanities.  Containing more rhymes and meter than any John Grisham novel, it’s Weird Al’s upcoming children’s book When I Grow Up…

For a limited time, you can pre-order the book at several online retailers until February 1st.  After that, you’ll just have to settle with merely ORDERING the book online or locating it at your local, um… whaddya call those things… it’s like an online store, but in 3D… oh yeah, a bookstore!

“Weird Al” Yankovic – School Crushes | Doogtoons

Doogtoons.com proudly presents a new animated story of Weird Al’s childhood.  This time illustrating one of Al’s romantic adventures in the strange world that is high school.  It is a tale of deceit, betrayal, and horrifying nightmare-inducing revenge involving purple hedgehogs.

“Inside the Magic”, the longest-running Disney podcast in the world, gets an intimate one-on-one interview with Weird Al just before his Orlando show and asks him all about one of my favorite songs “Skipper Dan” plus other Disney related connections with Al.

Super hush hush secret revealed:  The Skipper Dan costume used in concert is authentic and was recovered from the  grave of a former Skipper captain who met an untimely demise when battling those hungry, hungry hippos.  Amazing!

[Thanks Gil for the link]

Al has finally posted the long-coveted, ultra-rare, “Buddy Holly” snippet from “The Alternative Polka” on his YouTube. The story goes that at the very last minute, Weezer asked Al to pull the song from the polka. This was after all the artwork and liner notes for Bad Hair Day had been finalized, so, that’s why Weezer mysteriously appears in the liner notes for that album, as it was too late to edit their name out. It seems like there’s no bad blood between the two, because Weezer, later allowed Al to include “Beverly Hills” on “Polkarama!” for Straight Outta Lynwood.

Can’t make it to any concerts this year?  Seriously?  Not one of these?  Aw man, sorry to hear that.

Well, you can still get your concert fix thanks to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series and even feel like you’re standing right next to him as he sings.  Here is Weird Al and the entire band playing “You Don’t Love Me Anymore,” “Good Old Days” and my favorite, an acoustic version of “CNR.”   Graciously, NPR also provides an audio version for download at the top of the page.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127983640&ft=1&f=1039