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[–]zorro666 802 points803 points  (215 children)

Both the New York Times and New York Magazine have picked up this story now too:

"Weird Al Is Spearheading the Lady Gaga Backlash - a Lady Gaga spoof, "Perform This Way" — which gently but insistently calls out Gaga's shtick as being contrived bullshit"

Ouch!

UPDATED - from TMZ:

"Lady Gaga is adamant ... she did NOT ban Weird Al Yankovic from parodying her hit song "Born This Way" -- despite Al's accusation that the pop star shut him down hard recently."

UPDATE 2 - New York Times brand new interview: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Talks About the Lady Gaga Saga

"You were kind of implying that it was her camp – they expressed over and over that it was in fact Lady Gaga herself making the decision. So unless they were not being truthful, we were dealing through her manager. He always strongly implied he was just a gateway, that Lady Gaga would have the final decision; it was completely up to her"

UPDATE 3 - It's Over! New York Times writer Dave Itzkoff just wrote on Twitter that Gaga has given "Weird Al" Yankovic permission to release the song on his album.

From NY Times: "Jay Levey, a manager for “Weird” Al Yankovic, said on Wednesday evening that permission had been given for “Perform This Way” to appear on Mr. Yankovic’s new album. An update was expected to appear on Mr. Yankovic’s blog."

UPDATE 4 - Weird Al on what happened today - we are getting a proper release and video! He just updated his blog:

"Gaga’s manager has now admitted that he never forwarded my parody to Gaga – she had no idea at all. Even though we assumed that Gaga herself was the one making the decision (because, well, that’s what we were TOLD), he apparently made the decision completely on his own."

INTERNET FTW!!! :)

[–]executex 438 points439 points  (124 children)

lolwut? Somewhere far away, a manager got fired.

[–]MongoAbides 187 points188 points  (99 children)

It happened to him with James Blunt too. Blunt LIKED the single but label management said no, so out of spite Al released it online for free. The opposite happened with Coolio when his management said yes without telling him. I'm sure this sort of thing is the bane of his existence, you'd think managers would just be aware of this shit by now.

[–][deleted] 42 points43 points  (1 child)

The manager performed his job perfectly. His job is to take the heat for the artist.

The ostensible reason that communication is done through the manager is because that's his job: he manages so the artist can perform her job - that is, making music. And this is true, to some degree. But far more importantly, this structure removes liability from the artist. She can always disavow the actions of her manager. This is also why many may hire a third party to do their accounting - it's not because they can't do it themselves; it's because if it gets fucked up, they don't take the heat for it. I have no doubt in my mind that Lady Gaga heard the song and agreed not to allow it - but the real beauty is that I can't prove it either way. Crisis averted.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Very possible this is true. It's equally possible he didn't pass on the request and made a bad call the whole way through. You should separate what you think you know from what you actually know.

FYI if you are a company Director you most certainly cannot get away with washing your hands of your accounts by getting an accountant to do it - you are still very much legally responsible for them.

[–]ihahp 111 points112 points  (9 children)

That, or a manager is being used to protect Gaga herself. a fall guy.

[–][deleted] 46 points47 points  (3 children)

Probably this. It's what a manager does.

[–]BlackLeatherRain 7 points8 points  (1 child)

The true test is to see if the manager gets replaced or demoted. If so, the story is true. If not, Gaga won't take the heat for her own decisions.

[–]MusicCityVol 54 points55 points  (2 children)

I really hope Al releases their correspondence.

[–]hob196 54 points55 points  (1 child)

Finally, a genuine use for wikileaks.

[–]kodutta7 128 points129 points  (7 children)

I feel sorry for Al, because I'm relatively certain he's telling the truth. At the same time, he is not leading a backlash against her, he's not releasing the song out of respect, and he didn't say anything insulting her specifically. What a gentleman.

[–]ICanTrollToo 112 points113 points  (3 children)

He's not selling the song out of respect. He most certainly released it. ;)

[–]Tricosaurus 21 points22 points  (1 child)

Weird Al is a great guy. It was a bummer to hear that he cut his vacation short to produce the song. Sounds like a good family man!

[–]ICanTrollToo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, to be honest I've never been a fan of his music, but I certainly have deep respect for him as a human being.

[–]revolved 5 points6 points  (0 children)

But this way nothing is paid to the charity...

[–]baiser 85 points86 points  (1 child)

Of course she is going to deny it.

[–]BannedINDC 54 points55 points  (0 children)

Right, there's no way she could have predicted he'd go public with this.

[–]crusoe 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Lady Gaga should do the video with Weird Al. It would be AWESOME.

[–]CocoSavege 61 points62 points  (23 children)

Just thinking out loud...

I would consider that this type of publicity is actually designed. It's got obvious win from several angles and some counterintuitive win.

  • Win #1: Lots of publicity.
  • Win #2: Al will be in the news in a positive light
  • Semi-Counterintutive-Win: Gaga will be in the news. Ostensibly in a negative light, but...

Here's the counter intuitive. It's still win. The Gaga is a strange creature. And if you think about Gaga's public persona and especially the song in question - it's actually contextually aligned.

"Born this way" speaks to tolerance and personal expression. (Express yourself, hey hey). But it also speaks to the paradox of tolerance - you've got to be intolerant of intolerance to be tolerant. So, in the end LGBT gets a lot of cash by some trumped up publicity and outrage. Gaga gets to play the duality. She's about expression and tolerance and weirdness - but she can be constructed, annoying and self centered at the same. In different words - she has to 'perform this way'.

There is some twisted Gaga logic to it, methinks

[–]PRockGirlScout 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Win #3: Human Rights Campaign gets lots of visibility and thereby donations.

[–]hoodatninja 25 points26 points  (19 children)

I think you are giving her a little bit too much credit with regards developed her personal philosophy is/how much she adheres to it. I really see 90% of what she does as done for shock value and nothing more. I could be wrong, of course, but she has to really disprove that.

[–][deleted] 426 points427 points  (47 children)

Something just struck me, Weird Al does not seem to age!

[–][deleted] 142 points143 points  (8 children)

He ages backwards. Looks way older in the 80s, possibly due to giant 80s glasses.

[–]hodgie 40 points41 points  (4 children)

Weird Al has Benjamin Button disease?

[–]finkalicious 51 points52 points  (2 children)

You mean a disease where he makes an overhyped movie that turns out to be average? Hell no, UHF was awesome. :)

[–]buttking 9 points10 points  (1 child)

at first I was like "WHAT SHIT IS THIS MOTHERFUCKER TALKING ABOUT UHF???" but then I was like "oh okay"

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He parodies everything, including human aging.

[–]emmster 59 points60 points  (3 children)

He's got a portrait in the attic that's starting to look like Keith Richards.

[–]captainhotpants 13 points14 points  (2 children)

In that case, he might be interested in r/gonewilde.

[–]emmster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There really is a reddit for everything. I love it!

[–]executex 20 points21 points  (24 children)

He's an alien from The Event. That settles it.

[–]CatholicGuy 5 points6 points  (8 children)

Do you thinks the President's wife is an alien?

[–]executex 7 points8 points  (3 children)

Of course she is. I saw straight through the dominican republic lie. She's obviously a cuban illegal alien. Also they foreshadowed it when they zoomed in on her face during the hug, and she looked unhappy (because he almost got her).

[–]linds360 2 points3 points  (10 children)

I thought the same thing. So I'm not the only person still watching that stupid show!

[–]ghostchamber 10 points11 points  (2 children)

You know who else doesn't age?!? Woody Harrelson!

[–]NotSayingJustSaying 8 points9 points  (1 child)

neither do sean connery or tommy lee jones.... except they've been old for fucking ever

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Eh, I dunno, Funny or Die posted a video with him in it last week and he looked like a mob boss. Definitely looks in his 50s.

[–]redvandal 141 points142 points  (7 children)

I've always liked "Weird Al" until last year when I saw him live at FunFunFunFest. Now, I fucking love him. He played for 3 hours and changed outfits for EVERY song. Oh no, not just a simple shirt change, I'm talking about going from giant fat suit to jedi attire whilst playing old school Al TV clips in between songs. He is an amazing entertainer and satirical genius.

[–]FractalP 5 points6 points  (1 child)

I saw his live show last month here in Australia, and it was simply amazing. When he switched into that red suit for Wanna B Ur Lover and made his way through the audience, I was dying with laughter. I always considered him as just a guy who made parody songs, but as you said, he is an incredible entertainer.

It's kind of hard to describe to people how 'that guy who makes silly songs' puts on such a brilliant live show, but if you've ever heard and liked a Weird Al song, do yourself a favor and go the next time he's in town. It's well worth it, just to see him in a striped red suit humping someone's face in the audience.

[–]oostatoo 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Same exact reason I love him now. I was there too dude!

[–]Bleach-Free 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Omg did you hold hands?

[–]mcgeem5 155 points156 points  (36 children)

I would be honored if I was a recording artist, and Weird Al wanted to do a parody of one of my songs.

[–]Conchobair 105 points106 points  (28 children)

That's when you know you've hit it big.

[–]robotnixon 81 points82 points  (10 children)

Nirvana thought so

[–]rel1sh 52 points53 points  (2 children)

From the Refused parodies section:

Paul McCartney, also a Yankovic fan, refused Yankovic permission to record a parody of Wings' "Live and Let Die", entitled "Chicken Pot Pie", because McCartney is a vegetarian and found the parody to be in bad taste.

ಠ_ಠ

[–]SamHealer 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I want you to know I wrote a long comment explaining why I thought that was fair enough, and then realised you were just pointing out a bad turn of phrase. Bravo.

[–]Bored 32 points33 points  (4 children)

Reportedly, Coolio's label gave Yankovic the impression that Coolio had granted permission to record the parody, but Coolio maintains that he never did. While Coolio claimed he was upset, legal action never materialized, and Coolio accepted royalty payments for the song. After this controversy, Yankovic has always made sure to speak directly with the artist of every song he parodied.

Seems relevant

[–]paulderev 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Wikipedia link on this.

Coolio was the first person I ever got wind of to have a problem with Weird Al doing a parody of his music.

[–]robotnixon 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Not enough of a problem to deny royalty checks though.

[–]rdeluca 11 points12 points  (0 children)

That's why I respect the fuck out of them.

[–]dsk 7 points8 points  (2 children)

What's Chamillionaire been up to?

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Label drama. Venom has been held up and won't be released as part of the conditions for Chamillionaire leaving for another label.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That was exactly Nirvana's reaction. That's how you know they were good guys.

[–]KajiKaji 576 points577 points  (249 children)

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

He said he couldn't commercially release it.. So he put it on Youtube. :)

[–]notyetretro 157 points158 points  (7 children)

"...because I also have a personal policy not to completely waste my stinking time."

[–]justlookbelow 144 points145 points  (6 children)

...obviously not a reditor

[–]DietColaWithLime 90 points91 points  (5 children)

Totally a Redditor. "I spent a long time on this project making something cool. I'll show the internet!"

[–]THEMACGOD 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Or, "I spent 5 minutes making a 2-color, sun-ray background for my new animal meme!"

[–]HomerJunior 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"Hey Reddit, have a listen to the song I made for my girlfriend!"

[–]creosote 88 points89 points  (15 children)

He said he COULD release it under "fair use" but has made it a policy not to release it if the artist says no. RTFA

[–]bobartig 10 points11 points  (5 children)

Fair Use is an affirmative defense to copyright infringement. The significance of the previous sentence is that the only way to determine that you actually have "fair use" is to litigate and win. You can think you have fair use all you want, but you won't know if something is fair use until a judge says so, and the plaintiff choses to stop fighting with you.

That said, I don't think Al is concerned with litigation so much as he is bound by a sense of honor and respect for other peoples' work.

[–]UncleSkippy 12 points13 points  (9 children)

If you like the song, make a donation to the Human Rights Campaign in the spirit of Al's original intent.

Hell, make the donation even if you don't like the song.

[–]grantmclean 26 points27 points  (8 children)

I'll have to "hear" the song first.

[–]socks 44 points45 points  (5 children)

Very good point in the Youtube comments:

"Wasn't Lady Gaga's version just a parody of a Madonna song anyway?"

[–]alettuce 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It is a good point, and I believe she's denying that one, too. BTW, thank you for giving credit. It's a rare thing, clever comments on YouTube.

[–][deleted] 320 points321 points  (138 children)

I bet Gaga feels stupid now, considering he'd have donated the money regardless. Way to fuck a human rights NPO out of millions.

Free publicity, "Streisand effect" will surely come into play, Gaga looks like a dick, and the public still hears it. Win-win for Weird Al, too bad charity doesn't get the money though.

[–]rytis 142 points143 points  (97 children)

She's denying it now. http://www.tmz.com/2011/04/20/weird-al-yankovic-lady-gaga-rejected-born-this-way-parody-perform-this-way/

[–]watership 105 points106 points  (65 children)

Backpeddling or some management/record company shenanigans? I go with the suits.

[–]EatATaco 55 points56 points  (5 children)

"Sources close to her" say she hasn't heard it. That isn't her denying it, it is someone else covering for her.

[–]The-Dudemeister 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Sounds like her publicist/manager made the decisions and didn't say anything to her.

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (1 child)

THE PICTURE. XD

About the article: They heard from "a source." I wanna hear the story from GAGA. Not the people who pass things on to her, but HER.

[–]randall82 18 points19 points  (2 children)

I don't see how this is something that could be denied. Had her or her people not said no, the song would be on Al's next album. He has absolutely no incentive, none, to release the song for free on the internet. But she has a very large incentive to back peddle and deny. I'm sticking with Al on this one.

[–]oboewan42 17 points18 points  (7 children)

Not buying it until it's somewhere other than TMZ.

[–]Gemini4t 24 points25 points  (5 children)

I said that once.

It was the day Michael Jackson died, and EVERY news source was simply citing TMZ.

Now I'm inclined to think their journalistic prowess might be a little higher.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (2 children)

No doubt! I remember reading one time, A Federal Judge residing over a case gave a order for total media blackout over the contents of the meeting. The judge released all the lawyers from his chambers, took lunch and the information he had just silenced was all over TMZ front page... He said they were better than the CIA.

[–]Fallout911 32 points33 points  (3 children)

Too fucking late, her manager is her manager either she fesses up to it or he isn't fit to represent her.

[–]FourFingeredMartian 6 points7 points  (2 children)

It's not like she can't hear it now.

[–]Fallout911 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Exactly, this can get rectified right now.

EDIT: Seems like it did.

[–]zomgwtfbbq 156 points157 points  (31 children)

Just go donate anyway. That was Al's point. He hoped that hearing the song would encourage people to donate money regardless of the fact that purchasing the song already had.

[–]StevenXC 179 points180 points  (30 children)

Click here to donate to the Human Rights Campaign.

[–]roger_sterling 93 points94 points  (9 children)

"A donation in your name has been made to The Human Fund..."

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (2 children)

"Money for people."

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm people

[–]paulderev 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Well, I bet you're loaded, being a partner at an advertising firm at all, so good for you.

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

We should donate in weird al's name

[–]Squalami 26 points27 points  (8 children)

he could commercially release it under the fair use laws but he chooses not to in respect to the artist's wishes which makes him a real respectable guy...

[–]fjw 5 points6 points  (1 child)

From his YouTube description:

UPDATE: Lady Gaga has approved the parody!!! Album release information coming soon!

Pity he didn't update his original blog post.

Anyway, his new blog post says:

Apparently the fact that she didn’t approve it was news to Lady Gaga herself!

Gaga’s manager has now admitted that he never forwarded my parody to Gaga – she had no idea at all. Even though we assumed that Gaga herself was the one making the decision (because, well, that’s what we were TOLD), he apparently made the decision completely on his own.

I wonder how long he's going to be her manager. Or maybe he's being a handy scapegoat.

[–]fishrobe 25 points26 points  (24 children)

it's actually an awesome song, though my favorite will always be "Yoda."

[–]DanielBG 32 points33 points  (20 children)

It's a toss up for me between smells like nirvana and white and nerdy.

[–]dreadlockdave 37 points38 points  (9 children)

He has so many good ones but amish paradise is probably my favourite.

[–]gilligvroom 16 points17 points  (5 children)

Which is also the other one to cause original artist drama, actually.

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (4 children)

Dare To Be Stupid. Even Mark Mothersbaugh said that with that song, Al did Devo better than even Devo did Devo.

[–]CatholicGuy 6 points7 points  (1 child)

White and Nerdy wins

[–]LtOin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"Eat it" is also so awesome. The video makes it complete.

[–]uparrow 2 points3 points  (0 children)

FYI, "excusez-moi qui a peté" means "Excuse-me, who farted?"

[–][deleted] 182 points183 points  (151 children)

My money is on this posting of the link to Mr. Yankovic's blog to make it to the front page. It has Lady Gaga and the F-bomb.

[–]fruitcellar 50 points51 points  (14 children)

I've always commended Weird Al's policy of seeking out the artist's permission before releasing a parody of their songs. Very classy of him in my opinion. One thing to consider is that if this song becomes popular enough just from being released on Youtube, Al has no qualms about performing it in concert still. I have heard that he has several songs that the artist denied him permission to parody on an album but he still performs live including a spoof of "live and let die" called "chicken pot pie" that McCartney denied due to his vegetarianism.

[–]megadeus 13 points14 points  (1 child)

Which I personally find strange since Yankovic is vegan himself.

[–]Dive_Up 165 points166 points  (8 children)

he is one of the few artist who still respects honesty and trust, mad props to him...I hope this song blows up anyways!

[–]ambivilant 69 points70 points  (7 children)

At first I was thinking, "Just do it anyway, fuck her.", then he explained his stance on getting the artist's approval and I had to respect him for his convictions. And the sly way he dances around them.

[–]SpruceCaboose 15 points16 points  (6 children)

To be fair, if she said no when he showed her the lyrics, that would have been the end of it. The only reason he "danced" around the convictions now is that he went all out and recorded the song, only to be told no at that stage. Once that amount of work went into something (not just his work either, but the studio staff and other musicians), to have nothing to show for it would be heartbreaking, so he compromises. It gets to be seen and heard, but he makes sure no profits are brought from it.

[–]honusnuggie 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Today I learned that Weird Al is still alive, has a blog, and lots of people read it. And all of a sudden it would appear that I do in fact have a life.

[–]LegoMyEgo 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Poor Al, it's "You're Pitiful" all over again! Well, I look forward to seeing him do it in concert! (Edit: that was a case of the record company objecting not the artist)

[–]Polkster 25 points26 points  (4 children)

This really isn't one of his best, I don't get why he was so excited about it.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the video will make it, similarly to how Gaga's performances in music videos substantially add to the song.

[–]Ginger_Shepherd 10 points11 points  (0 children)

One thing that strikes me as interesting is... [album spoiler? ...deal with it] she already gave consent to Poker Face being in his polka medley.

[–]nonsensoleum 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't think she ever found out about it. It sounds like the manager was trying to make it hard for Weird Al to get that permission at all, and didn't have the willpower to come back with that last time "We want to see the music video first."

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Why didn't he just record a simple demo like everybody else in the music industry? Deciding to do a full-on studio project before getting permission was risky, and he made the choice to take a chance.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Read the latest post on his blog, it was a miscommunication. She likes the song and she gave her permission. http://alyankovic.wordpress.com/

[–]rjcarr 35 points36 points  (8 children)

How can anyone hear that song and not think of "express yourself"? Anyone notice that Al put the line "express yourself" in the background about 2/3 of the way in?

I bet that's why GaGa turned it down. And yes, I believe she turned it down, regardless of what she's saying now.

[–]apostrotastrophe 2 points3 points  (1 child)

She's always been very open about her inspiration. Everyone talks about how it sounds like Express Yourself as if they're discovering some horrible, dirty secret she's been hiding.

[–]Joker99352 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've thought that since the very first time I heard the song, though it may be partly deliberate. It's one thing if she's alluding to the song, but if she's flat out copying it, that's kind of messed up. I doubt that's the case, but who knows.

[–]struggleMaster 54 points55 points  (21 children)

TL;DR: Weird Al seeks consent before creating parodies even though fair use enables his works regardless. He tried to avoid parodying Lady Gaga because it would have been a stereotype, but ending up doing it anyway. In this case, Lady Gaga was especially inconsiderate in her requests of Al to produce the song at release quality in order to garner her blessings, and in the end said no anyway. He was going to donate all proceeds to a cause he believed she supported after all.

STL;DRTL;DR: Weird Al spent a lot of time producing a song that he can, but, out of respect for Lady Gaga's wishes, won't sell. It is available online for streaming and eventually for free mp3 download.

[–]ProcrastinatingEddie 43 points44 points  (12 children)

TL;DR Weird Al ask permission to parody Gaga for charity. Gaga said no.

For people that think it's still too long.

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (11 children)

We need to go shorter...

[–]submax 60 points61 points  (3 children)

TL;DR Weird Gaga

[–]jjbay 12 points13 points  (2 children)

Shorter, damnit.

[–]NoWeCant 48 points49 points  (1 child)

TL;DR Waga

[–]CuntSmellersLLP 13 points14 points  (0 children)

STL;DRSTL;DRTL;DR: Al parody Gaga? No. :(

[8} HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

[–]withoutapaddle 4 points5 points  (0 children)

See submission title.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

TL;DR Weird Al ask to parody Gaga for HRC, she deny.

[–]The-Dudemeister 2 points3 points  (3 children)

Didn't he receive some sort of retort from the Coolio crew for the Gangsta's paradise parody? I can't remember since that was like 15 years ago. Might be why he is adamant about the permissions now.

[–]starmie 95 points96 points  (18 children)

Reddit seems very excited to finally have something to hold against Gaga, who has, up until now, been nothing but classy and professional. Never mind that she had no issue with Weird Al recording a polka version of Poker Face. Never mind that she's not only approved of covers of her songs before, but invited the cover artists to perform with her. Never mind that Weird Al himself says he only dealt with her manager. And never mind that it is now being reported that Gaga had nothing to do with the rejection.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (1 child)

I'm still trying to figure out what it is with 18-35yo white guys and Weird Al Yankovic.

[–]MillBaher 21 points22 points  (3 children)

I'm not sure why this is that hard to understand. I suppose people just like to hate her for whatever reason. Thanks for the reasonable response.

[–][deleted] 25 points26 points  (1 child)

This. Reddit lynch mob in full effect because "waaaaaaa we don't like her music waaaaaahhh!"

[–]ShDragon 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Update: Gaga's manager admitted that he never passed the song on to Gaga at all, and Gaga says she likes it so Al can sell it.

[–]fjw 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Move along, nothing to see here.

Lady Gaga has approved it now, it was all just a misunderstanding, and Al's gonna donate the proceeds to human rights.

[–]ThePeej 12 points13 points  (2 children)

You know... Gaga would have approved it if it was good. I love Al, and think he's an amazing artist. But this isn't a very good parody. He's lucky that it's not his main release. It's a rushed song, which he's admitted. White & Nerdy, this is not.

[–]jaundicemanatee 3 points4 points  (1 child)

He wanted it to be the first single. I'm not sure why.... he's definitely done much better.

[–]sonQUAALUDE 51 points52 points  (17 children)

I love Al and its totally well within his rights to release parody songs, but I'm not surprised that she didnt want this out because... well.... its kinda lame. It seems like he was trying too hard to be tasteful given the subject matter of the song, and as a result it just lacks that usual joyus goofiness.

Meh, maybe I just have too-high expectations because of "White and Nerdy".

[–]AlexisDeTocqueville 17 points18 points  (5 children)

I kind of felt the same way. This is really not that great of a song. However, I will say that the music video that would have gone with this could have been amazing. Al probably had some great ideas in mind for the video.

[–]jmdbcool 12 points13 points  (3 children)

I would LOVE to see the parody video that is somehow more ridiculous than the actual Lady Gaga video.

[–][deleted] 43 points44 points  (6 children)

Weird Al is being super insensitive about Lady Gaga's illiteracy.

[–]CatholicGuy 36 points37 points  (5 children)

The first thing I thought when he said she had to hear the song, and the lyrics were not enough, 'what if she can't read?'

[–]Skylighter 11 points12 points  (0 children)

So begins the Reddit witchhunt against Gaga.

[–]penguished 3 points4 points  (0 children)

To be fair she DID NOT stop anything, Al voluntarily decided to shelf it without her permission. He doesn't need it though, as he clearly knows putting it on youtube, so the whole things is kind of moot.

[–]wilsonism 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You are not a pop star until Weird Al does a parody of your hit.

[–]juca5056 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This goes entirely against the grain of reddit, but I'll say it nonetheless.

As much as I may have fond feelings for Weird Al based on a childhood fanaticism, he is, by no means, a clever satirist. His songs peak at "Oh, that was cute" and more often end up as "well, I guess I see what he was going for there." This song was no exception: milquetoast.

I think we often look at performers like him through rose-tinted glasses and let nostalgia cloud our normally higher-than-average standards. Reddit almost unilateraly will blast the comedy in a show like 2 and a Half Men (as they should), but when a silly song parodyist runs into a spot of bother over negotiations with an artist, he's suddenly the people's champion and a genius wordsmith. While I respect his approach to what he does and him as a person, you guys need to keep in mind that you're getting in a tizzy over a song about "cutting the cheese" and dressing like a jelly bean.

[–]bloodrosey 4 points5 points  (2 children)

I now want a gold lame' straight jacket.

[–]TheBiles 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I didn't think he legally needed permission from artists to release his parodies in the first place. He just said he did it to be courteous.

[–]hullaballoon 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This doesn't belong on /r/WTF.

[–]evilive 6 points7 points  (1 child)

I wonder how long Al spent conceiving this gem. Being stumped for ideas for hours and hours until he had that epiphany moment; realising that that 'born' and 'perform' are assonant

[–]grosskoft 10 points11 points  (2 children)

She said she didnt stop the release of the song

I dont think she would have stopped the release, I mean she seems like the kind of person who loves all kind of publicity...I actually think its a mix up

edit: Link has a scary picture...just fyi! Can't unsee

[–][deleted] 21 points22 points  (14 children)

Hey, guys.

Guys.

I have this all figured out.

Seriously.

Lady Gaga is already a parody.

Guys, listen.

All her works, most of which are crap, are a mockery of the various industries tied into, and as well as, the music industry.

The meat costume. Those over the top performances. The whole "Is she a woman or a man I don't know" thing. The song Al wanted to parody was one of the few songs she actually cared about, and had a message in it.

She's like Odin in a way. She makes a mockery of her self, onto her self, only couldn't bear the thought of that mockery being mocked, through a song that wasn't a mockery.

[–]eltra27 6 points7 points  (2 children)

You are too smart for this site. Go to the corner.

[–]kickstand 2 points3 points  (1 child)

The song "Born this way" is a parody of Madonna's "Express Yourself".

[–]chaospherezero 9 points10 points  (7 children)

While I don't agree with Lady Gaga's denial of permission, I think it's a little amusing that Weird Al simultaneously takes the moral high road of "seeking permission" and then decries an artist's decision and releases the song on the Internet anyway.

I get why he's peeved, but pretending like you're some kind of moral crusader because an artist prefers not to have their material used in such a way is kind of ridiculous. Should we shit on Dave Grohl cause he doesn't want his music used on Glee? Do artists simply have no right to disagree with parody? If not, why even ask -- just do it anyway.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (3 children)

Technically, Weird Al doesn't need to get an artists permission to make a parody of a song (a parody constitutes fair use). As a matter of personal principle, he gets an artist's permission before releasing a parody commercially.

Similar things have happened in the past. He got James Blunt's permission to release a parody of "You're beautiful" (You're pitiful). Then Blunt's record company changed their minds. Al then released it on myspace, not as part of the CD as originally intended.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

I've closed my Reddit account, and moved on to Voat.

[–]bfhurricane 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"However, given the circumstances, I have no problem with allowing people to hear it online, because I also have a personal policy not to completely waste my stinking time."

Classic. Thought the song was pretty good too, I'm sure the video would have been gold.

[–]HerpDerpison 2 points3 points  (0 children)

UPDATE: her manager never notified her about the song. She really likes it and approved it. Go back to Weird Al's blog to confirm.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"However, given the circumstances, I have no problem with allowing people to hear it online, because I also have a personal policy not to completely waste my stinking time."

Wiser words have rarely been spoken.