Flock of Sabbath
One of the things that makes “Weird” Al Yankovic so great is not just his ability to put his finger on the zeitgeist (Nirvana famously commented that they knew they’d “made it” when Yankovic parodied them), but a real gift for mimicry, so that the style of music being parodied is immediately-recognizable.
Here’s a YouTube prankster, Andy Rehfeldt, working a similar vein.
Yes, it’s all mostly the same joke – take a well-known song, then re-record its music in an incongruous style – but it still made me laugh like an idiot. And like Yankovic, it works in part because of the musical skill in creating the bed.
(NSFW lyrics, obviously):
Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name (Less Angry Version)
(Is it just me, or does that start out like “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now?”)
The YouTube comments on there are pretty golden – referring to the track as “Chilling In The Name”, or this one from user “zsupersaiyan”:
I am terribly sorry to announce that, despite my best attempts to maintain a friendly and cooperative environment with The Machine, its most-certainly righteous intentions have not complemented mine to a satisfactory level, and this has affected our collective productivity and spirit. I sincerely hope I and The Machine can quickly find a solution to this unfortunate misunderstanding, and keep our delightful-as-ever relationship.
I probably would have listened to Alice In Chains a lot more if this was what it sounded like:
Alice In Chains – Man In The Box (Funk Version)
Sheer genius:
Motorhead – Ace Of Spades (Orchestral Version)
Pure Awesome!
You are right about Motorhead-it just works so well.
Oh, about Weird Al, he was a college radio DJ, at the same station my son is at!Report
One more:
https://youtu.be/0g67vg–IXUReport
Have you ever seen StSanders shreds videos? Lots of imitators, none anywhere near so funny.
https://youtu.be/Kw5oJoUYTb8Report
…what the heck did I just watch?Report
I mean, I laughed; I just wasn’t entirely sure what was happening.Report
Yeah that was pretty much my reaction too.
Very silly. In a funny way, I mean.Report
In feel like in that version, Zack is telling me that now is the time I should do what they tell me, which puts a different spin on that song entirely.
That Alice in Chains track, unfortunately, remains unlistenable.Report
Back then we Raged Against Machines. Now we are just Mildly-Irritated With Our Cellphones.Report
“Now you do what they tell you… Try the veal, it’s wonderful… Now you do what they tell you… We will be here all week, so come see us again… Now you do what they tell you!… Don’t forget to tip your server…”Report
It helps me listen to these songs (to which I’ve listened a hundred times) for the first time.
Kinda.
I can hear the good stuff in there isolated from the baggage.
Kinda.Report
This post reminded me of Richard Cheese. Granted, he’s doing full cover versions of songs instead of keeping the original vocals and redoing the music, but still.
https://youtu.be/owutDdnIMUIReport
True. Something about keeping the original vocals really works for me though. It feels less like someone mocking the original, and more like a parallel-universe version of the original. Like if you were out somewhere and it came on, it might take you a few seconds to realize something was wrong.Report
Also, the use of the original video adds something to it. Seeing the shirtless, sneering boys from RATM stomp and thrash about the stage while hearing the “Politely-Complain-About-The-Machine” version of “Killing in the Name of…” (and to see the crowd jumping around enthralled to it) adds to the surreal humor.Report