Goals for this Website
Wonk out on “Weird Al” Yankovic and other weird music.
I hope to provide both informative and interesting insights into the musical acumen of Weird Al as well as any adjacent musics that also happen to be weird.
Analyze Weird Al’s music from a musicological/scholarly perspective.
There’s something about Mr. Yankovic’s work that is so appealing and legitimate. I want to dig into what makes Weird Al so enduring in the pop culture zeitgeist as exemplified by his ludicrously successful 40 year career in a niche musical market.
Create a blog that explores and analyzes legitimately weird music from all corners of pop culture.
It’s one thing to just be weird, it’s another to be legitimate. There’s weirdness everywhere in music and most of it is trash, and not even the fun kind of trash. But then there’re the artists who, in the spirit of Weird Al, put considerable time, effort, and craftsmanship into their weirdness. They proudly dedicate themselves to weird musical phenomena, embrace weird performance practices, and share their impressive weirdness through high quality musicianship and composition. These artists are legitimately weird.
Compile a portfolio of focused arguments to advocate for “Weird Al” Yankovic to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Every project should have a concrete goal and this is mine. I live in Cleveland, home of the Rock Hall, and I hope to use the content I create through this website to create a portfolio of “Weird Al’s” legitimacy and worthiness to stand among the legends of Rock & Roll, however “Rock & Roll” is defined. At the very least, “Weird Al’s” cultural impact as an artist and performer over the last 40 years propels him well past the criteria for induction.