I have been listening to Weird Al Yankovic since I was 6 years old. I remember listening to him on the Dr.Demento show in the early 80's with "Another one rides the bus." I used to listen to that show with my Dad all the time. Weird Al has a prominent presence on the soundtrack of my life. I think his appeal is in the fact that he doesn't just parody something for the heck of it. His songs are often filled with biting social commentary, covered in layers and layers of sillyness. Sometimes their not. But Weird Al's songs are always funny, and never disappointing. You might say, Weird Al sings the "Happiest songs on Earth." He's satirized everything including many things I love. He's done two songs about Star Wars; "Yoda" and "The Saga Begins." He did a wandering, random and completely pointless song that is named after my home town of "Albuquerque" but has really nothing to do with the city itself. Now Weird Al has released a new song that pokes fun at something that is near & dear to me; The Jungle Cruise @ Disneyland! The name of the tune is "Skipper Dan" and the video is AWESOME! The animation in the video actually has a sort of "It's a Small World" look, and is very reminiscent of Mary Blair's art work for that attraction. I know the song may seem like a slight at the Jungle Cruise "Skippers" but I don't think it really is. With all the neat little "Disney details" in the video, this really feels like a love note. Sort of. Think about it; Weird Al grew up in Southern California and he grew up going to Disneyland and now he shows the "Happiest Place on Earth" a little love. Weird Al, An American Original, singing about a classic piece of Americana. Can you dig it?
Admiral Duke
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