I was really big on U2 throughout my high school days.  I adored Boy, War, and about half of The Unforgettable Fire.  So raw, so compelling.

Shortly before graduation in 1987, The Joshua Tree was released and catapulted the band to superduperstardom.  The ultra-smashy smash hits came like gangbusters - "With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "Where the Streets Have No Name", "Our Song Titles Still Aren't Long Enough So Here's Another Platinum-Selling Single People Will Hate Typing When They Do Worthless Music Blogs No One Reads", I mean the hits just kept on coming.

I merely went "eh."  Seriously, as much as I can appreciate what went into making it, I just never enjoyed that album all that much.  However, there was one glittering jewel amongst the morass of "meh" - the wonderful "One Tree Hill."  That song was also a #1 hit... in New Zealand, the only place it was released as a single (the actual One Tree Hill is located in Auckland).

I love this track dearly.  I love its dynamics, with its crescendos and decrescendos.  I love Larry Mullen's drum part, and that's saying something, because I never thought all that much of him as a drummer.  I love that delayed, staccato guitar part.  I love those strings and that bass line.

And Bono is just fabulous on it.

YouTube fanvid for "One Tree Hill"

Wikipedia blurb

Just when I think Al couldn't possibly stylize any more of my favorite bands, he goes and does a rocking Cakerrific little number on Straight Outta Lynwood (2006).  Al is the king!  Al is the Al-mighty!  Al is our one true Saviour!  Even other song-a-dayers are feeling the power and the glory that is Al!

OK, let's see how many entries I've made from the given bands Al has style-parodied:

Number of B-52's songs I've posted:  2
Number of Devo songs I've posted:  2
Number of Talking Heads songs I've posted:  7
Number of Oingo Boingo songs I've posted:  7
Number of Police songs I've posted:  7
Number of They Might Be Giants songs I've posted:  0
Number of Frank Zappa songs I've posted:  9
Number of Cake songs I've posted:  2

Total:  36

That's slightly more than 10% of my entire catalog.  And if I was more of a fan of TMBG, that would be even higher.

How could I possibly NOT be an Al fan?

Watch the video for "Close But No Cigar" on YouTube.  John Kricfalusi (of Ren and Stimpy fame) made this.

This is part of a week-long series on the "style parodies" of "Weird Al" Yankovic.

For years and more years I wondered how amazingly cool it would be for Al to do a style parody of Frank Zappa.  I just thought that would be the ultimate.  I figured it would never happen, because as talented as Al is, I thought that doing a faithful Frank pastiche would be too much work even for him.  Zappa's stuff just may be the most difficult rock music for anyone to perform.  That's why Frank always had the finest players in the world around him - it was out of necessity.  (which is the mother of invention!  )

Fast forward to May 20, 2003.  That's when Al released his Poodle Hat album.  I remember the date because in addition to that CD, I bought a brand new car during the same trip.  The Nissan dealership was right across the street from the Tower Records.  I drove home in my new wheels, turned on the PC, slotted the disc and went all happy happy while I did other computer things.  Initial listenings of new Al-bums have always been nothing less than life highlights.

I get to the last track, called "Genius in France."  It's a song about how a really stupid guy goes to France and becomes loved and revered by everyone.  It's kicking along, it's got some good moron jokes in it, it's punctuated with some wacky sound effects, hey, cool song.  Another great origin-Al tune.  Then at around one minute into it, there's a bit with some crazy rapid-fire synth and percussion noises, a duck call and some wailing horns.  I think "hey, that sounds kinda familiar..." and then I sit there absolutely stupified as it finally dawns on me - Al is doing Frank Zappa.

I'm going 8-ball bonkers at this point.  From then on, it just becomes more and more obvious that it's a Frank tribute.  Ooh, there's "Inca Roads."  Hey, I recognize that bit from Sheik Yerbouti.  Ah yes, the pitch-shifted harmonies!  The obligatory booming, low-register talking bit!  I'm out of my freaking mind by now.

This song means a lot to me.  It is truly one of my treasured musical moments.

YouTube fanvid for "Genius in France"  That's Dweezil Zappa playing that opening guitar solo.

This is part of a week-long series on the "style parodies" of "Weird Al" Yankovic.

This song from Bad Hair Day (1996) is a nod to They Might Be Giants.  I'm pretty indifferent towards that group, so this really isn't an example of Al paying homage to a favorite band.

I dig this tune nonetheless.  Of course, any song that makes mention of hibachi dealers, prosthetic lips, rabid wolverines, floating disembodied heads and Jamie Farr is likely to get a good response from me.

YouTube fan-made video for "Everything You Know Is Wrong"

This is part of a week-long series on the "style parodies" of "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Al gave the pastiche treatment to not one but TWO of my all-time favorite bands on his 1988 album Even Worse.  "You Make Me" positively reeks of Oingo Boingo, while "Velvet Elvis" pays props to the Police.

Hey, when I said that he had stylized a sheetload of my favorite groups, I wasn't kidding.  When I get done, I'm gonna add up the number of blog posts I've made from such bands.  It'll be staggering.

UPDATE:  Oh, I almost forgot - I wanna give a shout out to my alma mater the Fresno State Bulldogs for shocking the world and winning the college baseball national championship.  Yeah!  Who let the dogs out??  NOBODY!! I HATE THAT GODDAMN SONG!!!

YouTube fan-made video for "You Make Me"

Hear "Velvet Elvis"

This is part of a week-long series on the "style parodies" of "Weird Al" Yankovic.

I'll say two things about Al's 1986 release Polka Party.  One, it's widely considered to be Al's weakest and least successful record.  Two, it is NOT my least favorite Al-bum.  I think it's underrated.  This is already the second song I've posted from it.

One reason I like it more than most is because it contains one of Al's very best stylistic send-ups - the Talking Heads-esque "Dog Eat Dog."  He does David Byrne as well as anyone this side of David Byrne.  In fact, he wears the huge Stop Making Sense suit when he performs this song in concert.

Yeah, I know lines like "where's my liquid paper" are somewhat dated.  Eh, whatever.  "This is not my beautiful stapler" is nothing less than timeless.

YouTube fanvid for "Dog Eat Dog"

This is part of a week-long series on the "style parodies" of "Weird Al" Yankovic.

This is not a Devo song.

No, really, I'm serious, this is not a Devo song.  It's... hey, stop laughing.  I mean it!  This song is not by Devo!  It's the title track to Al's 1985 opus Dare to Be Stupid, and it...

Will you stop snickering and pointing already?  THIS IS NOT A DEVO SONG!

Watch the video for "Dare to Be Stupid" on YouTube

This is part of a week-long series on the "style parodies" of "Weird Al" Yankovic.

With this ode to S.J. Popeil of Pocket Fisherman and Veg-O-Matic fame, it's pretty obvious he's spoofing the B-52's with this track from In 3-D (1984).  This song sounds like it came right off of Wild Planet.

Of course, if you send-up the B-52's you need a couple of adept female singers.  One of the girls singing on this song happens to be S.J.'s daughter Lisa.

By the way, I once saw my own nephew actually catch a fish with a Pocket Fisherman.  Seriously.

YouTube fan-made video for "Mr. Popeil"  You might wanna turn your speakers down, this video has an intro that's WAY TOO LOUD.

This is part of a week-long series on the "style parodies" of "Weird Al" Yankovic.

I'm doing a week of Weird Al.  You all know him as the world's premier creator of music parodies.  You probably got a good laugh out of songs like "Eat It", "Fat" and "Smells Like Nirvana."  You probably did not, however, see his movie (it's pretty funny), and you may have used a peer-to-peer program to download some crappy novelty song that was miscredited to him.  Man, that's irritating.  And we Al fans really hate it when you call him "Yankovich."  Please stop that.

In any case, I'm going to do something a bit out of the ordinary.  Rather that focus on his song parodies, I will highlight his artist or "style" parodies.  In addition to doing send-ups of popular songs, he also likes to record original songs very much in the style of a particular musician or band, and the list of people he has honored in this manner reads like a virtual who's-who of my favorite artists.  So, the MSaD is showing off a week of "Weird Al" Yankovic in pastiche mode.

Wikipedia article on "Weird Al" Yankovic