Parody has long been an important device in music composition and production. Its form and purpose have changed drastically over the years from the parody masses of the late sixteenth century to the more humorous musical embellishments of Spike Jones and the silly lyrics of “Weird Al” Yankovic. In the last thirty years Yankovic has found unprecedented commercial success in parodying iconic pop and rock songs as well as their associated music videos. These multimedia masterpieces have held the public’s attention through fourteen studio albums, the latest of which reached the top spot on the U.S. charts. Yankovic’s success can in large part be attributed to his music’s accompanying fifty-four music videos, many of which mimic the music video of the original song.
One of his earlier parodies in particular, “Smells Like Nirvana”, effectively incorporates the music video as an additional element of parody. It closely copies the original Nirvana video to simultaneously provide additional continuity as well as make fun of some aspects of the alternative rock movement. The song, which parodies Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, is also exceptionally effective. Rather than using the original tune as a vehicle to sing about an unrelated topic (as in his Michael Jackson parody, “Eat It”, or the Madonna rip-off, “Like A Surgeon”), Yankovic uses “Smells Like Nirvana” to playfully poke fun at the lack of clarity in Kurt Cobain’s diction. The overall effect results in some of Yankovic’s most compelling work.
The original Nirvana song, as described by Chuck Crisafulli in his book, is “a typically murky Cobain exploration of meaning and meaninglessness.” The song seems to be about some kind of cultural revolution but many of the lyrics are inherently contradictory and Kurt himself has indicated the song actually makes fun of the idea of having a revolution. The music video certainly supports the revolution hypothesis as it depicts an originally dispassionate crowd at a high school pep rally rise up into a frenzy and destroy the stage. Cobain’s incoherent vocal delivery coupled with the fact that the lyrics were not released in the original liner notes meant the the song grew to be very popular without anyone really being sure of the words. It’s not surprising then that it has been widely documented that Cobain often scribbled down the lyrics for a song in the studio just before the band would record. This, of course, provides the basis for “Weird Al’s” parody.
Yankovic’s video is almost a shot for shot recreation of Nirvana’s and he takes the lead role of playing Kurt. “Weird Al” even went so far as shoot the video on the same set and with many of the same actors! The song doesn’t mess around, making fun of Cobain’s vocal delivery from the start (lyrics). The first verse begins, “What is this song all about/Can’t figure any lyrics out” and it doesn’t let up with “Now I’m mumblin’, and I’m screamin’/And I don’t know what I’m singin’”. The video also embraces the silliness from the outset with the janitor (the same guy from the original Nirvana video) pulling a donut out of his mop bucket. This could be a reference to some of Yankovic’s earlier successful food related parodies (in fact when originally asked for permission to make the parody, Cobain asked if it would be about food). The video reaches a climax at about 2:12 when Yankovic imitates the guitar solo by gargling water in his mouth. This is followed by the audience of high schoolers continuing the solo in unison kazoo before the final phrase is played by the janitor on the tuba. “Weird Al” doesn’t let up in third verse with the lyrics, “And I forgot the next verse/Oh, well, I guess it pays to rehearse” and he takes one final shot at the screaming alternative rock style by finishing the song in a coughing fit.
Yankovic’s silly lyrics and skillfully accurate musical recreations of popular songs have guided him into the public eye. The combination of parody in both lyrics and music video is what has allowed him to stay for decades. This much can be seen in the Youtube comments: “Tony R” comments on all the things they find “hilarious” in the video including the “Guy with ‘This space for rent’ written on the back of his head” and the “Man on fire during gargling solo”. While I’m sure Tony likes the song too, what keeps them coming back for more is the video. Another commenter, “Super Nintendo Chalmers”, fondly remembers “ALtv”, a show on MTV in which “Weird Al” himself hosted a “3 hour block”of his parody videos. Yet another commenter sums it all up in their fierce defense of Yankovic’s talent in raving, “Heck just LOOK at this video.” It is clear “Weird Al’s” immense success is owed at least in part to his ability to produce and distribute equally wacky parody videos with his songs.
The ubiquity of music videos in today’s music industry and their accessibility through Youtube sometimes concerns me. These days it often seems that artists put more time into their music videos than into the songs that accompany them! One would think this is contributing to the decline in quality of popular music. “Weird Al”, however, gives me hope that music videos can be used effectively to compliment the music. His ability to incorporate parody into both the lyrics and video, especially as seen in “Smells Like Nirvana”, is inspiring.
