Lady Gaga blocks Weird Al parody...after considerable expense is spent recording it. (UPDATE)

[tjcross]

snip

first of i did not say made i said had the mades after that point were a referencing his dissension, second it is reasonable for him to go ahead and release the song since he wouldn't of had it if gaga hadn't wanted to hear it so she spun that bit herself if she had just said no to the lyrics then weird al would have moved on to other artists music and parodied them but as it was he was left with a song he spent at least hundreds probably more to make sitting there and another fact it's not a code he follows but a policy which is what normally happens not what always happens and that's it for now if you wish to continue this argument reply if not let me go do other things cause as fun as it is i have other things to do than argue (as weird as that may sound coming from me) oh and apologies for the rudeness i was having a shit day(happens often in my world).

 

[HigherTomorrow]

If someone doesn't want their art that they created being used in a way they don't like, he should respect that.

Well oh well, it's a parody. I'm sure Weird Al Yankovic isn't the first person to ever use someone else's music for their own artistic expression.

And plus, if you check the update on the site, GaGa approved. Turns out she was never told about the concept, shown the lyrics, or given the recording. So all's well that ends well.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Well oh well, it's a parody. I'm sure Weird Al Yankovic isn't the first person to ever use someone else's music for their own artistic expression.

Just because he wasn't the first wouldn't make it right. If she had had a problem with it then it would have been the decent thing for him to do to respect that. Not sure what your italics are implying there though.

 

[mjc0961]

Well, her manager is a bit of a scumbag. And I hope she has the good sense to fire that guy if she can and get a new one. He's obviously making her look bad (and not in the "oh look at that silly thing she's wearing!" kind of way that she seems to enjoy).

Anyway, kudos to Weird Al on this one. He could have released it on the album anyway regardless of being told "no" (fair use says its legal), but he didn't out of respect for the original artists (or so he thought) decision. That's pretty awesome. And now he gets to put it on the album anyway. Cool.

 

[Hiroshi Mishima]

I'm rather disappointed by the attitudes of two specific individuals in here who just don't seem to be up to speed with things. Particularly where one of them seemed to be saying that what Al does doesn't require talent and that anyone can do it.

Well, if anyone can do it, explain why we don't have many more "Weird Al" clones out there. Last time I checked, he's the only one widely known for doing what he does. A few other people do their own brand of musical comedies, but nothing like him. And as has been said repeatedly, the man has been doing this for over 25 years now... and is famous world wide. He used to frequently go on tours, is known for making guest appearances in a variety of mediums (including movies, television, and even special cameos in recorded programs for theme parks).

He often spends a good deal of time and effort making sure everything sounds just right, or trying to recapture the feel of a specific song, even in his original pieces. But for you to have this .. attitude like he's in the wrong for wanting to share the work he did with his fans?

Wow, it certainly makes the two of you sound like hypocrites. And it certainly shows that you know next to nothing about Al if that's all you guys can think about. He's not an artist who comes up with original work? Wow, how ignorant that makes you sound.


Yes, this isn't about that. It's about what Lady Gaga (or her manager) did and how Al responded to it. But in reading all of this, I kept seeing the same two people in here shouting the same things over and over.. and quite frankly, it pissed me the hell off.

I'm sorry if this comes off as unnecessarily harsh, but it just hit me particularly hard how thoughtless those comments were, especially with Al being the nice guy that he is.

 

[Harbinger_]

Well that seems to be solved now according to the OP.

 

[CommanderKirov]

Even though I do not like Gaga's music. Thumbs up to her for being a class act in here.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Why doesn't he just release it anyway? Lady Gaga couldn't do crap about it if he did.

You know, except sue al for all his money for copywrite infringement or something like that.

But yeah, other then that, she couldnt do crap.

OT: I didnt honestly know he was still doing this. Though I imagine it would be a lot like the Madonna one and her virgin song. though I hope he does Poker Face, since the WBC did that one and he can poke fun at them too.

you cnat tell me Weird Al trolling both Gaga and the WBC wouldnt be awesome.

 

[G-Force]

He takes other peoples' songs, productions and arrangements.

He puts his own lyrics over them.

Anyone can do this.

It is shit simple and takes under a day to produce/record. This is coming from someone who has been recording/mixing/producing for over a decade.

All the hard work (coming up with catchy hooks and melodies, arranging instruments, making patterns, organising and producing what instruments, harmonies etc go where, what parts fit in wherever in the mix)) is done for him by someone else...

I am a music nerd - and proud of it. I will stand up for any musician who creates something good, that someone else feels they can just rip off to their heart's content.

True anyone can do this, but not everyone is getting famous for making parodies. The fact that Al has amassed a huge fanbase and many artist feel honored to be poked fun at by Al says something about the quality of his music. When the big named artist of the music industry look at having a Weird Al parody and see it as a badge of honor then is he really a talentless hack? Michael Jackson was so in love with Al's parodies that when he went to record the music videos for "Eat It" and "Fat", Jackson actually let Al shoot on the original sets for "Beat It" and "Bad."

Also Al does have a lot of talent for melodies and lyrics. While most of his more famous works are direct song parodies other times he'll make songs in the same style as another artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nej4xJe4Tdg

The link takes you to a song Al wrote titled "Bob" which is a parody of Bob Dylan's style of music without going into a specific song. What makes this song amazing is that all the lyrics are written in palindromes. Most people have a hard time making palindromes in general but Al was able to write several of them AND have them make sense musically.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

True anyone can do this, but not everyone is getting famous for making parodies. The fact that Al has amassed a huge fanbase and many artist feel honored to be poked fun at by Al says something about the quality of his music. When the big named artist of the music industry look at having a Weird Al parody and see it as a badge of honor then is he really a talentless hack? Michael Jackson was so in love with Al's parodies that when he went to record the music videos for "Eat It" and "Fat", Jackson actually let Al shoot on the original sets for "Beat It" and "Bad."

Also Al does have a lot of talent for melodies and lyrics. While most of his more famous works are direct song parodies other times he'll make songs in the same style as another artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nej4xJe4Tdg

The link takes you to a song Al wrote titled "Bob" which is a parody of Bob Dylan's style of music without going into a specific song. What makes this song amazing is that all the lyrics are written in palindromes. Most people have a hard time making palindromes in general but Al was able to write several of them AND have them make sense musically.

The funny thing is, I agree with everything you said. And if he did really write that, then the dude has talent.

If Al were to parody one of my songs I would be honoured, as you know you've really made it when he does. As you said, it's like a badge of honour.

BUT... not everyone sees it that way.

If, for some weird, random reason I objected to it... (very unlikely in my case, and in most peoples') I would like to think he would be gracious about it and take the 'no' without being a dick about it.