Yank Blog

“I’ve just signed a production deal with Cartoon Network.”  –Weird Al Yankovic

WHOA!!!  Al just broke news of a new project he’s working on over at his blog:

http://alyankovic.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/this-thing-im-doing/

How cool is that? Although I was really hoping for an action-packed documentary about Winston Churchill starring Jackie Chan.  Oh well, perhaps someday.

Oh, and Al also very casually drops a subtle hint about [MESSAGE REDACTED BY ALIENS].   Wow!!!  I can hardly wait!

Here’s another TV alert.  If you get the Biography Channel, then make sure to watch William Shatner’s Raw Nerve on Tuesday January 5 at 10pm ET for a half-hour interview with Weird Al.

Host William Shatner sits down with Grammy Award-winning artist Weird Al Yankovic. Shatner talks to Weird Al about his early days as a DJ on college radio and his turnabout from architecture student to parodying famous hits. Yankovic discusses the tragic death of his parents, his concerns about the environment and the oddities of being in the music industry.

[ Biography ]

Hey kiddies, watch “Web Soup” on G4 tonight at 7pm Eastern for “The Golden Download Awards” episode.

Host Chris Hardwick highlights the best of the best and worst viral videos that the internet has to offer, and provides humorous impromptu commentary, themed segments to showcase certain video styles, surprise guests and recurring characters.

Weird Al is going to be one of the surprise guests (shhhhhh!).  If you don’t get to catch it tonight, it will re-air multiple times.  Just check your tv listings

Signed “Weird Al” Yankovic Guitar Hero 5 and His New Hits CD!

Prize: One winner, see details!
Exceptions: See official rules for eligibility
Number of winners allowed: 1
Ends: Sunday January 3rd 2010

Comedy and music legend “Weird Al” Yankovic hosted a Game with Fame session this week on Xbox LIVE. Even if you missed your chance to participate, you can still enter to win a sweet Xbox LIVE prize pack including: an Xbox 360 console, autographed copy of Guitar Hero® 5 (used in the session) and a copy of his new album!

You need to register at the site first to enter the contest.

If you have an Xbox 360 and a Gold Membership, you could take part in their “Game with Fame” event and play Guitar Hero 5 with Weird Al this Tuesday, December 15th from 7-9pm ET.

Personally I’ve never done one of these Game with Fame events, so I’m not sure how it works.  Can anybody fill me in on what happens?  I believe Weird Al magically appears as a hologram in everybody’s living room, goes through all your cabinets and drawers, eats everything in your fridge (that’s vegetarian of course), and shaves obscure SAT vocabulary words into the fur of your pets.  That’s what I read on Wikipedia anyway.

Congrats to Weird Al for getting a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album for “Internet Leaks“.  Not bad, eh?  And that’s just half an album.  Imagine the mega-trophies he’ll get when the rest of it hits the public!!!

In case you’re curious, here’s who Al is going up against and their albums:

• Back From The Dead – Spinal Tap
• A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All! – Stephen Colbert
• My Weakness Is Strong – Patton Oswalt
• Suckin’ It For The Holidays – Kathy Griffin
• Tall, Dark & Chicano – George Lopez

Congrats to all the nominees!

From WeirdAl.com:

Hear Al be a guest DJ on L.A.’s 100.3 FM (The Sound) today (Sunday, 11/15)
between 6 and 7 PM Pacific Time.

Even if you’re not in the L.A. area, you can listen to it live through their website.

[thanks to Kevin Cable for the heads up]

The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 are back on the big screen this holiday season with special guest “Weird Al” Yankovic!

Grab your friends for this one-of-a-kind hilarious holiday event! RiffTrax LIVE: Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza! will broadcast to movie theatres nationwide on Wednesday, December 16th at 8:00pmET / 7:00pmCT / 6:00pmMT and 8:00pmPT (tape delay). Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot), now of RiffTrax.com, will zing their wisecracking commentary at a wonderfully warped collection of Christmas shorts for some much needed comic relief.

The evening will feature a collection of brand new and old favorite shorts including the bizarre animated “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” classic commercials and a musical short extolling the virtues of pork.

RiffTrax LIVE: Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza!

[thanks Ludovica for the heads up]

Just a friendly reminder, watch tonight’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (Wed Oct 28) for Al’s performance of CNR.

Also, it looks like the video archive of Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show with Weird Al is back online again.
Check it out at:  http://kevinpollakchatshow.blip.tv/file/2779420/

Update: Kevin Pollak link has been changed again.

Now you can order The Essential Weird Al Yankovic through Amazon for all your friends and family.

As Al mentioned before, this album is probably not for the hardcore fans, but of course they make great Halloween treats for the neighborhood kids. Or how about 8 awesome nights of Hannukah presents? Aw yeah, that would be great.

By the way, don’t forget to catch Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday night to catch Al’s performance.