DURHAM – Every time they announce the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees, “Weird Al” Yankovic gets ignored. Why do they refuse to be serious about the crown prince of polka pop spoofs? It is a crime of omission since Weird Al has been a force of nature since Dr. Demento first played “My Bologna” in 1979. He’s outlasted a majority of the acts he’s parodied. Anyone waiting for Coolio’s next album to drop? He’s outlived Michael Jackson. How can he get disrespected as a comedy act since they’re inducting the Beastie Boys? Hypocrites!
I caught Weird Al’s latest tour at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Here’s a guy who has been going for over 30 years and he’s not a nostalgia act. How can I tell? When he announced a new song, the audience wasn’t checking their iPhones, running to get another beer or take a bathroom break. The crowd was pumped to hear “Perform This Way” letting Lady Gaga join the Al treatment that solidified Madonna’s fame with “Like a Surgeon.”
While normally I’m not a big fan of videos run to cover up costume changes, this time it worked. The videos mixed outtakes from AL TV, Al’s cameos on various TV shows over the years and the time Johnny Carson used him as a punchline. Younger fans might not recognize some of the singers he mocked like Avril Lavigne and Jessica Simpson. Al’s costume selection paid off. He broke out the Segway Scooter for “White and Nerdy.” He was full Jedi for his Star Wars encore. If you ever want to piss off a bunch of nerds wearing Stormtrooper and Darth Vader costumes, point at them and shout, “Look honey! They’re old school Cylons.” I could see frowns through their plastic masks.
If you missed the tour, don’t fret. Turns out it’s already out on Blu-ray. You can use holiday store giftcards to pick up “Weird Al” Yankovic Live! – The Alpocalypse Tour.
After the show, I had a chance to talk with bassist Steve Jay next to the tour bus. It was a Byron Allen moment. Al’s band has been together since 1985 so Jay isn’t some LA hired gun. Our chat dealt with how amazing it is for the band to be able to adapt so many musical styles. They have to keep up with the latest songs and figure out how to transform them into a polka beat for the medley. The big takeaway from the talk was the fact that nobody has come close to doing what Al’s done for so long. Why? Jay said the secret is that Al cares about the music. This is more than you can say about your morning zoo radio team that just wants to fake lyrics for whatever hit they can spoof. Jay performs the Doors’ bass keyboard action on “Craigslist” instead of faking it on a string bass.
I might have had a chance to talk to Weird Al except my brother needed to get back home since he had to work early on Monday morning. Funny story about that. He showed up and was immediately called into his boss’s office. Because of the economic crisis in Europe screwing with the company’s credit lines, they had to do across the board slashes. He was the last hired in his department and thus he got an excuse to file for unemployment. If that idiot boss had slashed him at the end of Friday, meeting Weird Al would have been a great pick me up. But instead my brother gets to live with the stigma of depriving me of meeting Weird Al so he could show up and get pink slipped. There should be a Weird Al song for such a frustrating mess like “Skipper Dan.”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame doesn’t deserve Weird Al. He’s more of an institution than that building in Cleveland. You know you’ve made it as a performer when Weird Al calls you up to ask permission to parody your song. And you don’t have to kiss Jann Werner’s ass for that honor. Al pays you a royalty.
SHANNON CALLS ME OUT?
I’ll admit that I’ve yet to see my old NCSA classmate’s film. It was a bit of a hassle to free up three hours to rush down to the Rialto to see Jeff Nichol’s Taking Shelter. But that’s no excuse for star Michael Shannon to trash talk me and others since the award winning movie has yet to crack $2 million at the box office after three months.
“I mean, it takes a bit of guts to go see our film. It’s not an easy ride, y’know? I think there are other films that are also very good that are maybe a little easier to swallow, y’know?” Shannon declared.
I don’t have cinematic guts? I sat through The Notebook. You know what it really takes for many Americans like myself to see a movie? A babysitter. It’s just easier for me to put this on my Netflix queue and let it show up in my mailbox. The logistics of movie night is more complicated than the plot to The Sitter. So here’s the deal, if Michael Shannon comes over to my house and babysits the kid; the wife and I will scoot over to the Megaplex to watch Take Shelter.
Does Michael Shannon have the guts to see my toddler race around the house and scream for two hours? Will he kneel before the real Zod? The ball is in your court, Shannon.
There ought to be a TV series on E! – Stars Babysit While Parents Watch Their Movie. They can call it “Sitter For My Movie.”
MORE CATTY THAN BUNNY
Dennis Hof, the owner of the Bunny Ranch dropped me a note to remind every one to watch the latest installment of Cathouse on HBO. “Frisky Business” focuses on how the ladies working at the brothel figure out the prices for their services. The half hour special brings back an old favorite who gets full claws from one of the new gals. It’s drama-ful. During my stay at the Bunny Ranch, the main room was as peaceful as a Buddhist monastery except with a more enticing dress code. Dennis and I were the only bald guys. The “Frisky Business” special will be part of HBO OnDemand until after New Year’s Day. How about starting a Christmas tradition that you open the presents, down a massive cup of egg nog, and spend a little time with the bunnies?
CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
Since it’s a little too late in the game to tell you great gifts to get others for Christmas, let’s just focus on cool things you should buy yourself with various gift cards.
Rolling Stones’ The Brussels Affair is the first legit release of the legendary concerts from ’73. A few of these tracks were released back in the mid-70s for airing on the King Biscuit Flower Hour. Bob Clearmountain sat down with the tapes of the two shows to tweak them with a better than if you were there mix. Now you can hear even more of the voodoo from Mick Taylor’s lead guitar solos. Billy Preston’s keyboards come alive. Billy does quite a bit of call and response with Mick Jagger on “Heartbreaker.” This was the reason the Stones could pull off the title of the Greatest Rock Band. It’s high octane from “Brown Sugar” to “Street Fighting Man.” This is the type of record you just want to put on the stereo before starting a bar fight with Phyllis Smith. You can get this as MP3s and FLAC files through the Rolling Stones online archive and Google Music. Why isn’t this being released on vinyl?
The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1979-1982 (Vol. 15-16) brings Charlie Brown and Snoopy into the age of disco. This was when America partied while Reagan took over the White House in a downpour of jellybeans. In one of the most disturbing images in comic strip history, Peppermint Patty struts around in cornrows like Bo Derek. Charlie Brown thinks he’s died. Snoopy gets to be more about Snoopy. This continues to be my favorite annual Christmas gift to find under the tree.
The Bionic Woman now has all three seasons out on DVD. The crossover episodes on The Six Million Dollar Man are included in the first two seasons. You’ll be able to see her and Steve Austin take on Bigfoot! She goes up against the Fembots. Lindsay Wagner brought a lot more depth to the role than Lee Marvin when he was given the cyborg treatment. She’s never comfortable being half woman and half machine. She’s so fragile even with all that super strength. If your poke around, you can get Season One and Two for less than $15 each. Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson) still rules.
Laurel & Hardy Essential Collection finally puts together the prime early films of the comic duo. Now you can see the proper transfers of Sons of the Desert and The Music Box along with dozens of others. They finally get their DVD respect like The Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers.
Dexter: The Complete Fifth Season is a deconstructed version of when Batman met Robin. Dexter helps Julie Stiles track down the men who raped her and nearly killed her. Turns out the leader of this group is Jonny Lee Miller, a demented Tony Robbins-like character. Dexter has to train her to take revenge on them. This is a gritty version of how Bruce Wayne turned Dick Grayson into his ward and partner in crime fighting. It might not have been as great as the Trinity Killer episodes, but it’s still compelling TV.
Californication: The Fourth Season proves David Duchovny doesn’t need red shoes to bring spice to Showtime. He’s working on adapting his box to a script and gets to bang the young starlet, Addison Timlin. When I devolve, I want to be Hank Moody.
The L Word Complete Series DVD Collection takes us back to a time when Mia Kirshner ruled my world. Why did they let her character become such a self-absorbed pain? The series also let us enjoy the wonders of Pam Grier.
The Magic Trip is perfect for those who want to get the real visuals of Tom Wolfe’s Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test. Finally get to see footage of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters hitting the road to see America with Neal Cassady (On the Road) at the wheel.
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop gets inside the talkshow host’s inner-circle to see how he hit the road to perform after getting shanked by Jay Leno. The story has a happy ending when he lands at TBS and takes out George Lopez.
Blue Velvet Blu-ray is a must get for the citizens of Lumberton. They included nearly an hour of excised scenes. Now you get all the story about what happened when Jeffery quit school to help take care of his dad’s store. There’s a severe foreshadowing scene when he watches something similar in a frat house basement. This is the ultimate way to watch David Lynch’s masterpiece.
Roger Corman’s Cult Classics is the most addictive DVD series since MGM’s Midnite Movies. The folks at Shout! Factory can turn any home entertainment system into a magnificent grindhouse theater. They’ve put out over 25 titles so far ranging from Death Race 2000 to Traci Lords in Not of This Earth. What’s the best one to get? Rock ‘n’ Roll High School since you can watch the Ramones in 1080p. Fun fun! Shout! Factory also put out Barney Miller: The Complete Series and The Ernie Kovacs Collection. Both of those are worthy of boxset space on your DVD shelf.
DVD SHELF
Blackthorn mixes two American Icons when Sam Shepard plays Butch Cassidy. Turns out the outlaw survived the Bolivian military attack and has been low profiling it for decades in a small country village. He’s decided to head back to America since he’s too old to care about hiding out. But on the journey, he gets back in the game of nabbing the loot since he does need a little traveling money. Shepard is perfect in the role as the aged desperado. The great playwright and actor shines as much here as he did in The Right Stuff. Blackthorn is a Western worthy of giving dad this holiday season.
Point Blank is an extreme rarity: a French thriller not starring Liam Neeson or produced by Luc Besson. It’s a French movie in French and not French people speaking English with a French accent. Director Fred Cavaye kicks ass in an extreme rush of a movie. Gilles Lellouche is a nurse in a hospital that saves a patient. Turns out the killers aren’t giving up. They want Gilles to deliver the guy to them. They’re holding Gilles’ pregnant wife hostage. She’s supposed to be on bed rest so he must act fast. The cops are absolutely no help to this crisis. The movie doesn’t slow down as this guy is drawn into an impossible situation that physically and emotionally puts him on the edge. This is so much better than anything Michael Bay has over juiced.
A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventure is a great way to introduce small children to the joy of Tim Curry without scarring them for life. This is a cute CGI animated film about Sammy, a young sea turtle’s world wide adventure to seek out love and friendship. Minutes after he’s hatched, he fights to escape the beak of a seagull. He ends up escaping with Shelly, another baby turtle. But the two get lost. Sammy swims in the direction of a turtle paradise. But is it real? Or just a watery trap set by sharks? Will he ever see Shelly again? There’s a thrilling swim through the Panama Canal. There’s a fine cast of celebrity voices including Melanie Griffith, Anthony Anderson, Stacy Keach, Jenny McCarthy and the brilliant Tim Curry. This is Kathy Griffin’s greatest acting role since Pulp Fiction. The film was made in 3-D although the DVD is in 2-D so you’ll get a lot of stuff coming at you. This is fine for older kids that can handle close calls between turtles and sharks.
Switched At Birth: Volume One deals with every parent’s nightmare of the hospital screwing up. It’s also every teen’s dream that their parents aren’t really their parents. The ABC Family series explores what happens when Vanessa Marano discovers through a blood test experiment at school shows she’s not related to Lea Thompson (Howard the Duck) and D.W. Moffett. After more investigating, it’s discovered she was switched with another newborn. Her parents were supposed to get Katie Leclerc. She’s a deaf teen living with her mom and grandmother in a rough side of town. She lost her hearing from meningitis so it wasn’t heredity. The show is rather serious in dealing with the crisis between these two families. What do you do when you’ve been so used to calling one child your daughter after all these years? How does one feel knowing the other got major advantages by getting the hospital’s mistake work out in her favor? The boxset has the first 10 episodes. There’s also skins for your iPod.
TIME FLIES
Did you know there’s less than a year until Mayan Doomsday? The good news is this might save the world from seeing Smurfs 2. Stock up on your survival seeds.
If I can only have one wish for 2012, it’s that I can spend a weekend in Las Vegas doing ecstasy with Nina from Sprout’s Good Night Show. I’ll wear a fuzzy star outfit if it helps.
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