I am getting ready to head out to a "Weird" Al Yankovic concert tonight, after I end my shift at the shop. It got me wondering, JB do you enjoy "Weird" Al? Do you enjoy novelty music, in general?
I grew up loving Spike Jones and Alan Sherman, and I have been amused by some of Weird Al's songs. I was a bit disappointed, tho, when I found out he runs them by the original artists for approval. Kinda takes the teeth out, doesn't it?
Yes and no - I guess it is kind of lame that he runs them by for approval, but then again, he does need to get the rights to use the songs, so I see the genesis of it, but, dig this:
In a number of cases, he'll do a parody of a song that has been re-done - (almost every parody on his masterpiece "Even Worse" was based on an older song that had been redone...) - so, a few years ago, he did a parody of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", which is, in fact, a new version of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" - so, Weird "Al" ran his version by Steive Wonder, who approved it, and enjoyed it...
But when Coolio heard it he exploded - on TV for everyone to see, too - and made it clear that he was going to do bodily harm to Weird "Al".
Which I always thought was a really smart thing for Coolio to say. (What an asshole...)
I heard that really bothered Al, who is a genuinely nice guy, but I also heard Al's manager say that Coolio got royalties for Al's record, and he probably cashed those checks.
Oh! You are correct... now that I think about it... hm - I've had that little wrong fact stuck in head for years, and I knew, in another part of my brain that it was otherwise...
But... being a parody is one thing, but he plays the songs note for note, is that why he needs the rights? Some sort of publishing thing? I understand the limits of parody, and what one can get away with, but from a music publishing standpoint...?
Trying to figure out how my brain could think two different things for so many years,
Trying to figure out how my brain could think two different things for so many years,
Mike O'Brien
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Maybe because it's not always cut and dried. Here's a case from 1993-4. The holders of the song rights were asked permission by 2 live Crew to use the song "Pretty Woman" for a parody. They were denied and later sued when they did it any way. The court found in favor of 2 Live Crew, but only because they met the criteia for fair use as a parody, in this case. A parody is not automatically safe, unless it can meet the fair use criteria for parody. If it takes too much of the original, it could be found to be in copyright infringement, and this can vary on a case by case basis. Weird Al is probably wise to ask permission, because why take a chance on getting sued?
"Weird Al is probably wise to ask permission, because why take a chance on getting sued?"
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Yeah I remember when two songs I liked (We are the Worms and Stariway to Gilligan's Island) were taken off the air because the artists were sued. Or at least that's what I was told.
