Bear with me, this does have something to do with Colorado! “Weird Al” Yankovic, my idol for the past ~20 years, is currently on his Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour. Luckily there is a tour stop in Denver — I actually had to buy tickets back in October, before we left Ohio, making this concert the first concrete plans I had in Colorado.
Al has made it clear that this Vanity Tour is very different from his previous tours — no videos, no costumes, a chill vibe and more of his original work. This is fantastic news for me, a dyed-in-the-wool Al-coholic who much prefers the originals and pastiches to the straight parodies.
Local media from other tour stops has published hints about his set lists — which change every night, heaven help me! — but I’ve been avoiding them all as I’d like to be surprised on May 1, when he finally makes his way to Denver. That said, here is my wish list… and if you don’t follow all things Al, maybe it’s a good primer for his lesser-known work you’ve been missing. 😉 In no particular order:
- I Want a New Duck (This one is a parody but represents the first time I fell in love with a Weird Al song without knowing the source material — I heard Huey Lewis’ “I Want a New Drug” much later and was stunned. Also this song is still completely hilarious to me)
- Everything You Know is Wrong (I have a soft spot for anything off the album Bad Hair Day, which was my introduction to Weird Al. This particular song is burned into my brain with a fiery intensity)
- You Make Me (I have a special affinity for Weird Al’s twisted “love songs”; see also “Good Enough for Now,” “I Was Only Kidding”)
- Christmas at Ground Zero
- The Check’s in the Mail
- I Remember Larry
- Frank’s 2000″ TV (This one was my brother Bradley’s favorite for a long time)
- Attack of the Radioactive Hamsters from a Planet Near Mars
- Good Enough For Now
- I Was Only Kidding
- The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota (I recently heard Lin-Manuel Miranda reference this as a favorite song of his; I burned with envy — that man has everything in the world, including a friendship with Al, can’t he leave me a few obscure songs)
- I’ll Be Mellow When I’m Dead
- Midnight Star
- Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung (When I was like 14, this sh*t felt edgy)
- Nature Trail to Hell
- She Never Told Me She Was a Mime (Okay honestly all you need to appreciate this one is the title)
- The Spy Hard theme (In high school, my friend Bridget and I rented this movie, watched Weird Al’s opening credits several times, then turned off the movie)
- When I Was Your Age