I love how he says "mashed potatoes can be your friends," as if he's going to build upon the joke, embellish and clarify, or at least rhyme, and then just... doesn't.
"The best Devo song that Devo never did" - Mark Mothersbaugh. Weird Al calls this a 'style parody' (as opposed to a direct parody of an individual song). It remains true to this day, almost 40 years later (and I love Devo).
ALL of his style parodies are brilliant, musically. They sound just like a song the original band might have made, but are written entirely by Al and his own band.
for me THE that enthrowls me to start building more digital railroad instead of not being sure about it , idk why, but probly the upbeat beat and also 0:52 riffs, but more of a hunch tbh
"settle down with your family, join the PTA, buy some sensible shoes and a Chevrolet. Then party until you're broke and they drag you away. " I love that sequence of events.
The only time I heard his name on any news was "what happened today in history" kinda segment. "Today was the day Weird Al took his first ever accordion lesson." Yup, 100% scandal free celeb can exist.
And because of that, when they brought the character this song was used for, they had him voiced weird al and even gave him the line "I am Wreck-Gar! I DARE to be stupid!!"
The guys from Devo said when they saw this song they were blown away. They were like, "He captured the essence of everything we were doing... and did it better."
@@ianlongshore Not Vevo, Devo, the music group that started this style of music, they're the band that is famous for wearing a red cone hat. This is a parody of Devo, well not a parody parody but a tribute to Devo, look it up. I suggest Whip it as one of their good songs to look into
Step One: Listen to Weird Al song you like Step Two: Discover said song is a style Parody Step Three: Start listening to the band whose style was parodied. Step Four: Realize yet again that Weird Al is damn good at what he does.
@@tylerbrogamer2663 YASSS!!! Best TV show ever even better than Disney Descendants it's a new show coming out very soon! Andrew: Sticks his head in the microwave Caterpillar: (Been very stupid) Peppa: Only wants food!
Watching Weird Al and his band perform this song live in 2019 was one of the high points of my life. Yes, he changed into the DEVO suit just for the occasion.
I saw him during that same tour! The 2019 No Strings Attached tour I think. I was losing my mind over this song...actually I was losing my mind just being there period.
Exact words were "I was in shock. It was the most beautiful thing I ever heard. He sorta took that song, and resculpted it into something else, um...and...I hate him basically." - Mark Mothersbaurgh, main composer of DEVO.
Everyone talking about how the good the song is, but the video perfectly captures the aesthetic and themes in every devo video, weird Al and his team did their research
Considering this song is a Weird Al original, resembling I believe "That's Good", the video touched on many elements of all of Devo's videos to that point, even Spaz attack. From the title, the lyrics and video, no one else could do a Devo tribute better.
I think the concept is being missed here...the song is DEVO...you know...the example of De-evolution...the whole theory that Devo started out with (and regained near the end). The lyrics are perfect and when you look at the world today...well...just look around...we live in the future that Devo predicted...best SF band around...I miss those guys...R.I.P. boys...
@@telegramsam To be fair, Al distilled everything he saw Devo already did into a super-concentrated Devo pastiche. It's the ultimate Reader's Digest Devo extravaganza. "Weird Al" couldn't have done it if Devo hadn't pioneered it. Mad respect both to Al for capturing it in such fidelity, and to Devo for blazing the trail.
@@HalifaxHercules You can't be brilliant if you're afraid to be stupid. Playing it safe and never doing anything you're not 100% certain about is a recipe for mediocrity.
Mark Mothersbaugh, one of the founders of Devo on Dare to be Stupid: "I was in shock. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. He sort of re-sculpted that song into something else and, umm... I hate him for it, basically." One critic said Weird Al managed to out-Devo Devo.
Quite a few of his parodies give off a vibe that he was a big fan of or at least really studied the artist he parodies. He’s not a lazy ass parody artist who just writes a song that parodies some random artist. He’s a man who puts a ton of work into his songs. He does his damndest to recreate the style of the artist as best as he can but when it comes to the music videos is where he goes all out. He must watch the original video he’s parodying a ton to nail it as well as he does. It’s evident in pretty much every single video he’s released.
In Al's VH1 Behind the Music special, Mark Mothersbaugh commented that (and I'm paraphrasing here) Al captured the Devo sound better than any single Devo song ever did, and that he hates him for it. This is my personal favorite non-parody Weird Al song.
It would take a genius of the highest calibre to master essentially every genre of popular music. And then to be one of the greatest living comedians on top of that....
Look up 'Sparks' unsung creators & much of the source of new styles for 40 years........ Vanilla Ice interview might ellude to cabal control of music, like The Tavistock Institute, 432hz edit back in the 1930's. kind regards Legends
This is by far my favorite Weird Al video. The costumes, the crazy imagery, the bizarre 1950's-era stock footage, and just how 80s and VHS-quality everything looks makes it perfect.
The costumes and everything are a riff off Devo videos, it's not just the sound and lyrical theme. . The bit with the cowboys are a nod to 'Whip It'. The Romans playing chess is a nod to 'Freedom Of Choice'. The footage from the '50 is also stuff Devo did for videos.
@@pulchritudinoushog Sorry, pilgrim, you've got me confused with someone else, I think! Talk to Cristian Johnson and areonask, about THAT Homer! Credit where credit is due.😉
Fell in love with this song back in 1986 when I seen it in the Planet of Junk in the Amazing Transformers movie. I was 6 years old then and every time I hear this song it takes me back to my youth. My own time machine. Thank you Al for all the wonderful songs! Happy 2023!
I searched like 30 -40 comments looking for a TF, the movie reference. I'm disappointed it took that long! But yes every song that was in the movie brings me back! I was 10
You should see the UHF music video, he recreated like 12 other MTV music videos, and edited them together into his own music video, intercut with scenes from the film he made. Some of those recreated video cuts were only shown for like 2 seconds but he still went to the trouble to get all the costumes and sets and everything to look just like in the original video. th-cam.com/video/NUi926ses94/w-d-xo.html
“Okay. Today, for 10 hours we are going to construct a 2 second segment of mini-Devo upside down chin heads. Tomorrow for 12 hours we’ll create a 1.5 second segment showing an army of Mr. Potatoheads.”
I was wondering the same thing, but also can't help but think back to some 80's/early 90's video game backgrounds, like Toe Jam & Earl. You just can't beat the handcrafted art.
Matheus from famliy 1 month ago What how world ? Look around, it's not just here at home, yeah we seem to have wholeheartedly accepted the challenge here, man I hate all the challenge crap, it's stupid, yeah we accepted, but we aren't alone.
It thinks it's pretty funny how the musician cowboy at 2:40 is playing with an attitude like, "I know I'm the most badass piece of this song and I'm gonna rock it."
This is like a love letter to DEVO, rather than a parody. This is incredible! The aesthetic is to a T, the editing of the video, the cinematography, not to mention the earworm of a tune!
'My Balogna' is my first heard Weird Al song! Still dig him! Also big Transformers fan. Saw the animated version new in the theater in '86. Yeah, alright, so I sniffled a little when Optimus died! I had a piece of popcorn in my eye! "Till all are one!" T_T (damn popcorn! not again!)
I owe a lot to this song. Some of the best friends I've had have been mashed potatoes. I never really gave them a chance before, but going on 26 years now they've been there for me. Thank you for that wisdom Weird Al.
+retropirate1 Weird Al is an amazing guy but the best is that if anything goes wrong live he does Radio Radio. I mean really. Sabotage his AV during the next gig if you don't believe me.
the first shot of the drummer just using a kick and a snare is still my favourite shot in this lol. also, insane musical flexes here. the drummer keeping time without his left hand and the bassist playing left and right handed within each bar. just too good lol
Because he's smart, he probably thinks that people Dare to be stupid, I think it's the other way around - they are stupid, and because of it, are more darey (=less careful).
I'm actually impressed. Heard this song on the local university station while driving and had no idea it was weird al until searching TH-cam when I glanced at the note I recorded about it. Growing up in the 90s with no real access to music like what is available now, this is not the weird al I came to know. This certainly isnt "amish paradise" or "it's all about the pentiums." In fact, it seems kind of antitheitical to whatever album that was that we grew up with on the 90s pop stations. What a trip.
I was 6 years old when I heard this and when it was the theme song of the Junkions, I knew this would the theme song of my entire life. And I have never regretted living it.
For context I owned the Devo movie "Are we not men" on VHS. So I was a fan. I have watched this video Dozens of times and most often shake my head in amazement of how perfect this is. People talk about channeling someone else but Weird Al did not channel Mark Mothersbaugh or copy him and DEVO, he became him. There is absolutely no difference. Many of Weird Al,s creations are obviously him doing a parody, which is a great thing, but in this One, this is not Weird AL, it is MOthersbaugh with Al's face/voice superimposed on the original. It is absolutely brilliant!
@@mrmagoo8510 I apologize for not being clear. I realize that this is Weird AL my intent was to say how absolutely perfectly he encapsulated DEVO. Most of Weird Al's songs are great, funny, good parody etc. but it is obviously Weird Al . In this particular video he is so perfect with every single aspect, even the lyrics, while usually would be obviously be in jest, the lyrics here are absolutely believable as unadulterated DEVO lyrics. There is so much that you can say about Al's acumen but this particular track imo transcendes even that and this track, stem-to-stern, could be a DEVO song. It's madness how good this is..
15 yr old me: I watched 6 straight hours of MTV in order to record this video. I caught most of it on my VCR, and will now spend the next year committing it all to memory, until the VHS tape is all scratchy. 50 year old me: Time well spent, younger me, time well spent.
Definitely time well spent. In the 80's, before putting lyrics in every album cover became commonplace, I wrote out all of the lyrics to Al's songs, including this one. Of course, I had to do this by ear and with no checking TH-cam to see if I was right. Still time well spent on my part.
As Pierce Brosnan said in Goldeneye, "The very words I live by". 36 years later, this still stands as one of Weird Al's greatest creations, if not THE greatest. Even Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo (the band he was parodying here) gave him props, saying it was "the most beautiful thing I had ever heard".
True, but how much less money would he be able to make if not for the existence of those creeps pushing the global economy forward? Music is a luxury product, and parody music doubly so; only our extremely prosperous society enables someone like WAY to have a career.
I'm not sure what Marley had in mind with that term; in my response, I attempted to replicate his meaning based on my partial understanding of it. I think you could loosely say that a "creep" is the opposite of a "cool guy", whatever exactly that is, and that Al has gotten successful yet remained a "cool guy".
@@quicksilvertongue3248 bruh started speaking alien. Not a non-cool guy I think they mean more like alleged things celebs have done that sre shady / illegal
KingAdrock420 It aint much different today other than instead of watching "Leave It To Beaver" all day day long, they're watching even worse shit, The Kardashians and Honey booboo. So we have not started progressing yet, we're still retrogressing.
Mreverything11 I'm pretty sure their talking about the 1986 trnsformers movie since this song was used in the movie and the main villian was called Unicron *loads of people mistake his name for unicorn*
Weird Al was definitely a good part of my childhood and I listened to his older songs growing up. His voice is nostalgic to me at this point, and no wonder where my humor came from! I'll hear original songs start playing and immediately think of his parody instead just because I've enjoyed these more. Wish I could give the guy a personal thank you, he's provided nothing but good songs, memories, and a good laugh.
Proves Weird All really studied those he parodied and always found something good to do with it. While most believe this is a spoof of Devo in ironically it becomes a homage. I think Mark Mothersbaugh himself said it's the perfect Devo song *not* made by Devo themselves.
It's not random. Most everything he tells us to do is the opposite of things we're usually advised against e.g. don't count your chickens before they hatch. By not doing those things we're daring to be stupid.
You also had the G1 footage in episode 1(the thing of the war that had ended before the series started had footage from the episode War Dawn in Season 2)
Between Stan Bush's the touch and this song, It was all I could sing back in 86 cause I was obsessed with transformers! Until all are one! Edit also this song made me a Weird Al fan, too. Dude is awesome live.
Such a fantastic tribute!!! I'd love it if we could get a list of each Devo song referenced in this. "Deep Sleep", "Explosions", and "Shout" are the low hanging fruit. Anything else you can pick out? Weird Al is such a great guy. I had the pleasure of meeting him years ago, backstage at an 120 Minutes, MTV sponsored tour. It was a true pleasure to speak with him.
For about a year or two in Elementary School, this was my favorite song, I really liked Yankovic in general, but this was my favorite. Looking back on it, I think it serves as a good reminder that sometimes you should take a jump and do something totally out of the ordinary. Whether that be taking up a new hobby in your 50s, or something that almost completely transforms your worldview. The world has historically been pretty stupid, so why shouldn't you be?
Tell me you don't get freakin' pumped up when that opening starts playing! The song is just 3 minutes and 33 seconds of unrelenting joyous energy. Feeling down? Put this on and it'll cure what ails you!
Knowledge is knowing Dare To Be Stupid is not a Devo song... Wisdom is knowing Dare To Be Stupid is one of the top 5 best Devo songs ever made
Austin Powers top 5 Bond movie
best comment, right here.
This comment is remarkably profound...
V
@@mreel6823 he maent to do that I tink
“Put down that chainsaw and listen to me” is one of the all time great opening lines.
Indeed, it shows you are in for a treat
When I first saw the Weird Al bio 20 years ago on a nostalgia website I had no idea what the quote meant.
"You can have sushi and forget to tip."
Even though it's customary in a Japanese Sushi restaurant to NEVER TIP.
And yet, the very next line is "It's time for us to join in the fight"
Their indescribable & there everywhere
"I can't hear you!"
"OK, I can hear you now!" is forever one of my favorite gags.
Yeah ikr!
He'll do this during concerts. So yeah, you better be prepared to yell. 😂
I particularly like the way Michael Richards delivers a version of this joke in UHF.
#metoo
I love how he says "mashed potatoes can be your friends," as if he's going to build upon the joke, embellish and clarify, or at least rhyme, and then just... doesn't.
You mean it's not normal mashed potatoes to be your friend?
It's a rhyme scheme with "burn your candles at both ends" but, like the previous verse the line is cut short.
It's a reference to Devo's obsession with potatoes
Maybe he would be able to elaborate if the asshole with the lid didn't close it on his head smh
my aunt used to make mashed potatoes creatures during dinner when she was a kid, so i always thought it was about that
"The best Devo song that Devo never did" - Mark Mothersbaugh. Weird Al calls this a 'style parody' (as opposed to a direct parody of an individual song). It remains true to this day, almost 40 years later (and I love Devo).
From what I’ve heard, Devo LOVED this song.
It's more like a playful "I love and hate you for writing a better song than me"
Mark Mothersbaugh, I think, did the theme to Liquid Television. The show is a bizarre animation showcase from the early 90s, and the theme is cool.
I legit scrolled down to see if it was a devo parody XD
@@simondaniel4028 its a little hard to copy something 5 years ahead of your time
Only the 80s could produce this song, and only the 80s would put it in a battle scene.
Dang I loved that movie. This song fit so well.
@@donkeymanusa6364 oh for sure, really set the atmosphere too
Odd that only the 80s could produce a GOOD Transformers movie too.
Transformers: The Movie (1986 Animated Movie) Can't wait for the 40th Anniversary edition.
@@norbertoniebres1615
I'm on for that! The movies sentimental value has only increased
I mean, yeah, it's funny with clever lyrics and all, but like....musically, this is unironically an outstanding song.
For real its just as good as a real DEVO song. In an alternate universe Al could've definitely been in the band
@@Francoberry Al could have been in pretty much ANY band, it turns out
ALL of his style parodies are brilliant, musically. They sound just like a song the original band might have made, but are written entirely by Al and his own band.
for me THE that enthrowls me to start building more digital railroad instead of not being sure about it , idk why, but probly the upbeat beat and also 0:52 riffs, but more of a hunch tbh
Dare to be Stupid is Al’s best style parody
"settle down with your family, join the PTA, buy some sensible shoes and a Chevrolet. Then party until you're broke and they drag you away. " I love that sequence of events.
I like that the military officers had cones on their heads xD
I like that the sign language is literally saying what the lyrics are at that part of the song.
It's very much within the spirit of DEVO!
The only time I heard his name on any news was "what happened today in history" kinda segment. "Today was the day Weird Al took his first ever accordion lesson."
Yup, 100% scandal free celeb can exist.
It's OK!
the fact this made it into the first transformers movie amazes me
Transformers usually put some wacky ass songs on their soundtracks. Dark of the moon ost has a my chemical romance song on it like wtf💀
@@yungmegvtron I mean this was in the 1986 movie, not the bay one. Very different animal.
@@wolfmatic399 I mean... I guess it still applies whicher version you talk about
And because of that, when they brought the character this song was used for, they had him voiced weird al and even gave him the line "I am Wreck-Gar! I DARE to be stupid!!"
@@14possumsinatrenchcoat Wreck Gar was voiced by Eric Idle in the movie. He's from Monty Python fame. It worked perfectly.
I played this in a junkyard. All the cars started dancing .
Transformers the movie reference ?
Matthew Smith respect
bah weep granah weep nini bong?
@@craigevans4694 bah weep granah weep nini bong!!
+1,000 respect
The guys from Devo said when they saw this song they were blown away. They were like, "He captured the essence of everything we were doing... and did it better."
I know what you meant Vevo
yep
yep
@@ianlongshore
Not Vevo, Devo, the music group that started this style of music, they're the band that is famous for wearing a red cone hat. This is a parody of Devo, well not a parody parody but a tribute to Devo, look it up. I suggest Whip it as one of their good songs to look into
@@FayGyatMedea
Ha. I enjoyed reading that.
My man has had a 30-year career with no controversies, no accusations of any kind, and no creepy behavior. Be like him.
40 year career, my friend.
It is something that the man who willingly goes by the name “Weird Al” has had a career with absolutely no accusations of any impropriety.
And doesn't really have a gen z audience
@@coopermuccio4409I'm Gen z
@@coopermuccio4409do you realize how many kids have grown up with this man’s music
Step One: Listen to Weird Al song you like
Step Two: Discover said song is a style Parody
Step Three: Start listening to the band whose style was parodied.
Step Four: Realize yet again that Weird Al is damn good at what he does.
That's exactly what I did
In several cases, I've liked the Al version and disliked the originals. This song is one of them.
what is the the original and who sang it please
@@sanboparan7633 I think he isn't parodying a specific song, but the style of the Band Devo (great band imho).
Starless this song sounds like dr heckyll and Mr jive
“You better squeeze all the charmin you can”. Shit looks like we’re one step closer to fulfilling the prophecy
😆😄🤣Right?!!!
Just a pity so many people are taking the title of the song as an instruction
LMAO
Plaza Resort the series opening?
@@tylerbrogamer2663 YASSS!!! Best TV show ever even better than Disney Descendants it's a new show coming out very soon!
Andrew: Sticks his head in the microwave
Caterpillar: (Been very stupid)
Peppa: Only wants food!
Watching Weird Al and his band perform this song live in 2019 was one of the high points of my life. Yes, he changed into the DEVO suit just for the occasion.
I would have LOVED to be there, dancing in my seat like a goon, TOTALLY loving it!
I saw him during that same tour! The 2019 No Strings Attached tour I think. I was losing my mind over this song...actually I was losing my mind just being there period.
I saw him! He had a lot of costume changes in that show.
I saw it in 2015 after I graduated. Best graduation present ever. Definitely going again when he comes back to town next August.
Ah man, I was there when he played I Baltimore. Favorite concert I ever attended.
“I was in shock, it was the most beautiful thing I ever heard……and I hate him for it basically.”
-Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo on this song
So he was divided?
@@TheInkPitOx no, he was mad he’d never be able to do it first now xD
Exact words were
"I was in shock. It was the most beautiful thing I ever heard. He sorta took that song, and resculpted it into something else, um...and...I hate him basically."
- Mark Mothersbaurgh, main composer of DEVO.
I don’t know if this is an apocryphal quote…but it’s funny.
@@stillhere1425 it’s not an apocryphal quote. There’s an actual video of him saying it on the Behind the Music documentary of Weird Al.
It wasn't a parody, but the ultimate tribute.
Somebody who gets it.
More Devo than Devo!
Amen, the de evolution of society ideas etc etc etc
+BlackMasterRoshi Actually, I believe Weird Al called this type of song a style parody.
@@animefan25 Pastiche, not parody.
Everyone talking about how the good the song is, but the video perfectly captures the aesthetic and themes in every devo video, weird Al and his team did their research
This was a great tribute to Devo who are the spirit of the 80s.
now the cowboy outfit makes sense :O
Considering this song is a Weird Al original, resembling I believe "That's Good", the video touched on many elements of all of Devo's videos to that point, even Spaz attack. From the title, the lyrics and video, no one else could do a Devo tribute better.
Weird Al ALWAYS does research, he is one of the smartest guys, ever, after all.
For sure! Weird Al's guys who make his videos are very very good at it.
This isn't a parody of a song or Devo...this IS Devo...the lyrics are perfect. Al always brings his A game...
It's pretty hard to parody Devo, who exist in a state of perpetual self-parody. This is just a good song.
He outdid Devo in their own style. A little different than a parody.
I think the concept is being missed here...the song is DEVO...you know...the example of De-evolution...the whole theory that Devo started out with (and regained near the end). The lyrics are perfect and when you look at the world today...well...just look around...we live in the future that Devo predicted...best SF band around...I miss those guys...R.I.P. boys...
Mark Mothersbaugh agreed. He said Al did Devo better than Devo did. "Of course, I hate him for it . . . "
@@AesculapiusPiranha perfectly stated.👍
I don't know why but that "Yes!" at 2:20 is probably my favorite part
Explosions by DEVO.
it's full of 70s sci-fi lol
I hear it and am reminded of Dynamite Headdy. Similar voice
Devo was already the most 80's thing ever and Al somehow one-upped them.
and Mark Mothersbaugh was apparently both impressed and pissed off because Weird Al straight up out-Devo'd Devo
@@telegramsam because wierd al managed to do in one song what devo took years to achieve
@@telegramsam To be fair, Al distilled everything he saw Devo already did into a super-concentrated Devo pastiche.
It's the ultimate Reader's Digest Devo extravaganza. "Weird Al" couldn't have done it if Devo hadn't pioneered it.
Mad respect both to Al for capturing it in such fidelity, and to Devo for blazing the trail.
well, except for the neon-blue, intentionally sleeveless "Stupid Tour" shirt I own- THAT is the 80s in a nutshell
@@telegramsam th-cam.com/video/A4Y6zimxi-Q/w-d-xo.html
A Weird Al masterpiece.
Isn't this song a style-parody of Devo?
Absolutely, and the Devo guys LOVED it!
Al out-Devo'd Devo.
+dirty_fingers yeah it's true imo..so so good.. I love Devo and Al..hehe!
metal jesus, what are you doing here
This song is an allegory for Al's entire career. He dared to be stupid, and he won.
It is an anti consumerism song I think.
@@michaeltell9905 How do you come to that conclusion?
@@rockandroller7118 Well, it's a pastiche of Devo, whose work tended to be very anti-consumerist, so it just kind of makes sense.
Outside music, Weird Al Yankovic is a very intelligent man.
@@HalifaxHercules You can't be brilliant if you're afraid to be stupid. Playing it safe and never doing anything you're not 100% certain about is a recipe for mediocrity.
Mark Mothersbaugh, one of the founders of Devo on Dare to be Stupid: "I was in shock. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. He sort of re-sculpted that song into something else and, umm... I hate him for it, basically."
One critic said Weird Al managed to out-Devo Devo.
Weird Al really nailed the Devo aesthetic. He must've been a fan. I mean, he even nailed Mothersbaugh's vocal style. It's mind blowing.
He even nailed the Zappa aesthetic later on (though with Dweezil Zappa's contributions), in 'Genius in France'.
Quite a few of his parodies give off a vibe that he was a big fan of or at least really studied the artist he parodies. He’s not a lazy ass parody artist who just writes a song that parodies some random artist. He’s a man who puts a ton of work into his songs. He does his damndest to recreate the style of the artist as best as he can but when it comes to the music videos is where he goes all out. He must watch the original video he’s parodying a ton to nail it as well as he does. It’s evident in pretty much every single video he’s released.
He nails every artists style how does he do it
In Al's VH1 Behind the Music special, Mark Mothersbaugh commented that (and I'm paraphrasing here) Al captured the Devo sound better than any single Devo song ever did, and that he hates him for it.
This is my personal favorite non-parody Weird Al song.
I’m the 100th like on this comment
This song lives Rent Free in my Mind for two reasons
1. It’s good and silly
2. Any Transformers Fans knows the Second Reason
Bah weep granah weep nini bong!
Till all are one 🤜🏼❄️🤛🏼
Also with the way Americans are lately and politics
The third reason is because I'm purposely getting on my mom's nerves.
Having recently come off from watching Hbomberguy talk about the second reason, I'm now thinking about it perhaps a bit more than I should
The funniest part about this is that Weird Al is basically a genius. Graduated high school at 16, has a high ranking college degree and everything.
Then again, great minds think alike
It would take a genius of the highest calibre to master essentially every genre of popular music. And then to be one of the greatest living comedians on top of that....
he uses his powers for good
Always successful then
He dared to be stupid. Acting with ignorance led to education and through education came knowledge.
This song perfectly captures what goes on in Weird Al's head, also, I'm pretty sure others including mine.
banana... or accordion?
@@nickbensema3045 yes!
No, he captured the very essence of Devo. In fact, he out-Devoed Devo!
Look up 'Sparks' unsung creators & much of the source of new styles for 40 years........ Vanilla Ice interview might ellude to cabal control of music, like The Tavistock Institute, 432hz edit back in the 1930's.
kind regards Legends
I think he was capturing what's in DEVO's heads.
This is by far my favorite Weird Al video. The costumes, the crazy imagery, the bizarre 1950's-era stock footage, and just how 80s and VHS-quality everything looks makes it perfect.
Well the last one is not really strange since this was made in 1985.
(devo)
the devo parody is perfect
Yes, Grace Kelly is one of the last people I would expect to see in a Weird Al video :)
The costumes and everything are a riff off Devo videos, it's not just the sound and lyrical theme. .
The bit with the cowboys are a nod to 'Whip It'. The Romans playing chess is a nod to 'Freedom Of Choice'.
The footage from the '50 is also stuff Devo did for videos.
"I can't hear you. Okay, I can hear you now." I have always loved that.
If Im ever infront of a croud Im going to say that now
The weird part is that they don’t say it any louder
That also happen in UHF, With Stanley saying that.
Word, bro
He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life -Homer
The Greek Philosopher!?
@@petergant8767 Sure.
@@petergant8767 if you would call a cheese-colored, obese cartoon character a Greek Philosopher, then yeah
@@pulchritudinoushog Sorry, pilgrim, you've got me confused with someone else, I think! Talk to Cristian Johnson and areonask, about THAT Homer! Credit where credit is due.😉
@@petergant8767 NO IDOT HOMER SIMPSON
Fell in love with this song back in 1986 when I seen it in the Planet of Junk in the Amazing Transformers movie. I was 6 years old then and every time I hear this song it takes me back to my youth.
My own time machine.
Thank you Al for all the wonderful songs!
Happy 2023!
I searched like 30 -40 comments looking for a TF, the movie reference. I'm disappointed it took that long! But yes every song that was in the movie brings me back! I was 10
Bah weep grah nog weep ninibong!
Universal Greeting
God, the amount of time taken to edit this together for being in the 80's must've been unfathomable.
+
You should see the UHF music video, he recreated like 12 other MTV music videos, and edited them together into his own music video, intercut with scenes from the film he made. Some of those recreated video cuts were only shown for like 2 seconds but he still went to the trouble to get all the costumes and sets and everything to look just like in the original video. th-cam.com/video/NUi926ses94/w-d-xo.html
“Okay. Today, for 10 hours we are going to construct a 2 second segment of mini-Devo upside down chin heads. Tomorrow for 12 hours we’ll create a 1.5 second segment showing an army of Mr. Potatoheads.”
I was wondering the same thing, but also can't help but think back to some 80's/early 90's video game backgrounds, like Toe Jam & Earl. You just can't beat the handcrafted art.
So sickening it barely got any airplay at all.
0:48 "Stick your head in the microwave and get yourself a tan." I just love that line.
The riff just after is fire
Weird Al: Dare to be stupid.
World: Challenge Accepted
2016 Election: Challenge completed and blown out of the water.
What how world ?
Fun fact Donald trump used this song to inspire his campaign XD
Matheus from famliy
1 month ago
What how world ?
Look around, it's not just here at home, yeah we seem to have wholeheartedly accepted the challenge here, man I hate all the challenge crap, it's stupid, yeah we accepted, but we aren't alone.
World? More like trump!
0:35 The hand movements are so spot on Devo Mockery, I hope they enjoyed it as much as us DEVOTEES !
The only Weird Al song that I want to hear covered by another band. Devo need to record their version of this masterpiece.
Good news:
th-cam.com/video/4tc6UbEYI4M/w-d-xo.html
That would be insanely good!
@@CherryCokeNixon Nice gimmick.
Check out the cover by The Cybertronic Spree. They nailed it and watch for a surprise cameo at the end.
I would *love* to hear Devo cover this.
It thinks it's pretty funny how the musician cowboy at 2:40 is playing with an attitude like, "I know I'm the most badass piece of this song and I'm gonna rock it."
This is like a love letter to DEVO, rather than a parody. This is incredible! The aesthetic is to a T, the editing of the video, the cinematography, not to mention the earworm of a tune!
I feel like it deserves the word “pastiche”.
An _hommage,_ maybe?
@@cmyk8964 He's good at that, "Genius in France" is a pastiche of Frank Zappa who he clearly admired
Mark Mothersbaugh actually loved the song. The y out Devo'd Devo.
Weird Al is absolutely an underrated genius. From his awesome cheesy parodies to a Devo song that Devo never did. Even this video is awesome.
"They're indestructible!"
"And they're everywhere!"
"They check in. But they don't check out."
You speak TV? We speak TV!
Junkions.
_What was that Universal Greeting again? Never mind, I remember._
*Ba Weep Granna Weep Ninny Bong*
It's not hard to knock 'em down. It's gettin' 'em stay down that's the trick.
I am Wreck-Gar, I DARE to be stupid!
ReyaitheShadowWolf Yes. Yes. YEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!
ba weep granne weep ninne bong
Bah-wheep graangah wheep nini bong
+ReyaitheShadowWolf Just watched the movie tonight.
It's the universal greeting!
As a hard core Transformers fan who grew up with the 1986 movie, this is the very first Weird Al song I've ever heard. Man, I love Weird Al.
'My Balogna' is my first heard Weird Al song! Still dig him! Also big Transformers fan. Saw the animated version new in the theater in '86. Yeah, alright, so I sniffled a little when Optimus died! I had a piece of popcorn in my eye! "Till all are one!" T_T (damn popcorn! not again!)
Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong
Alicia Ross same
I remember watching the Transformers movie in the theater. When Weird Al came on, I just about lost my little 7th grade mind!
same this was how I found Weird Al
I’m shocked TikTok hasn’t found this song yet. I guess it’s too good for them
1:37 I don’t care who you are, that’s like the most badass 80’s running montage ever!
I’ve said this for years. Weird Al needs to be the performer for the Super Bowl halftime.
But does the Super Bowl deserve Weird Al?
Holy shit this needs to happen like yesterday
*PUT DOWN THAT CHAIN SAW AND LISTEN TO ME!*
You have my attention sir.
Well played.
Leatherface: HURRRG
The guy from the Hostel poster got the message.
Still can’t believe it’s been over 35 years since we lost Weird Al. Gone way too soon. RIP
Lost?! He's always with us!
Please tell me you watched the after credits scene lol.
He’s not gone. Zombie Al is in South America hunting down Madonna as we speak.
Poor man, if only he didn’t get involved with the cartel…
When will Madonna answer for her crimes
I owe a lot to this song. Some of the best friends I've had have been mashed potatoes. I never really gave them a chance before, but going on 26 years now they've been there for me. Thank you for that wisdom Weird Al.
My favorite line in the song (>‿◠)✌
Mashed potatoes need more friends. After all, they were once potato heads!
I was just at a Weird Al Concert, holy shit, when he started playing this song the crowd went wild, including me.
I was at the deal mar racetrack and I saw him.I got a backstage pass to meet weird al and get a picture.
Del mar
+retropirate1 Weird Al is an amazing guy but the best is that if anything goes wrong live he does Radio Radio. I mean really. Sabotage his AV during the next gig if you don't believe me.
I want to go to a weird al concert!
Vanellope'sCorner Dude, you should.
It was amazing!
> hits left drum
> turns right
> hits left drum
> turns left
Genius.
Dare to be stupid.
DanTheEnigma We can be stupid all night!
Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz is legit one of the greatest drummers in rock history.
@@danmccarthy4700 he played an entire song on an accordion case so I completely agree
@@matsujonen I'm sorry, wHAT? I need to see this
the first shot of the drummer just using a kick and a snare is still my favourite shot in this lol. also, insane musical flexes here. the drummer keeping time without his left hand and the bassist playing left and right handed within each bar. just too good lol
*"Put down the chainsaw and listen to me"*
.....best. advice. ever.
But Doom Slayer did not listen...
Don't look behind door number 2, Monty! It's time to play, "End of the Line, My Valentine!" Ger-ronnie-do-ra-runnie-MOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
hereticpariah 6/66 i can agree with that. No advice has ever been better for me
@@ClarkeMarek YES! XD
what if mashed potatoes were already my friends?
I swear Weird Al is the most creative musician of all time. xD
+Lucius He literally takes other people's melodies and ideas and makes them silly, how "creative".
+Grg Trz he makes original songs too
He is easily the most derivative musician of all time.
Creative? Maybe not.
He just don't make them silly, he make them better.
I know right?
Weird Al dared to be smart, he has a degree in architecture and went to college at 16.
@@SPOOKCINEMA3AM I didn't know Peter Griffin was in Roblox
@@thegoodmudkip3652 I think you took the Dare too far
@@SPOOKCINEMA3AM ah yes peter griffin is DEFINITELY roblox.......
Because he's smart, he probably thinks that people Dare to be stupid, I think it's the other way around - they are stupid, and because of it, are more darey (=less careful).
Ofc he went that early to college because HS in US is laughable.
I'm actually impressed. Heard this song on the local university station while driving and had no idea it was weird al until searching TH-cam when I glanced at the note I recorded about it. Growing up in the 90s with no real access to music like what is available now, this is not the weird al I came to know. This certainly isnt "amish paradise" or "it's all about the pentiums." In fact, it seems kind of antitheitical to whatever album that was that we grew up with on the 90s pop stations. What a trip.
I was 6 years old when I heard this and when it was the theme song of the Junkions, I knew this would the theme song of my entire life.
And I have never regretted living it.
I feel like Doofenshmirtz's entire career was based on these lyrics.
"Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill"
And I can hear Milo Murphy in some parts of the song. If you imagine that happening, he's just being cute as always.
Kairu Hakubi post this on Reddit r/rare insults
Penny Sanchez
Weird Al is the voice of Milo, so that’s not surprising!
@@rassilontdavros3004 True though!
I love how Al can do a deeper voice and his real voice and then switch between them seamlessly... among other things.
For context I owned the Devo movie "Are we not men" on VHS. So I was a fan. I have watched this video Dozens of times and most often shake my head in amazement of how perfect this is. People talk about channeling someone else but Weird Al did not channel Mark Mothersbaugh or copy him and DEVO, he became him. There is absolutely no difference. Many of Weird Al,s creations are obviously him doing a parody, which is a great thing, but in this One, this is not Weird AL, it is MOthersbaugh with Al's face/voice superimposed on the original. It is absolutely brilliant!
This is the original.
It's an original song that AL wrote in the style of Devo.
@@mrmagoo8510 I apologize for not being clear. I realize that this is Weird AL my intent was to say how absolutely perfectly he encapsulated DEVO. Most of Weird Al's songs are great, funny, good parody etc. but it is obviously Weird Al . In this particular video he is so perfect with every single aspect, even the lyrics, while usually would be obviously be in jest, the lyrics here are absolutely believable as unadulterated DEVO lyrics. There is so much that you can say about Al's acumen but this particular track imo transcendes even that and this track, stem-to-stern, could be a DEVO song. It's madness how good this is..
It's amazing to see how many years someone can be a relevant musician without getting spoiled or arrogant by just making the music he likes
It's like he's a good person or some shit like that lol
@@EmeraldLavigne And it's like he's smart and very much so talented, lol
😎👍
15 yr old me: I watched 6 straight hours of MTV in order to record this video. I caught most of it on my VCR, and will now spend the next year committing it all to memory, until the VHS tape is all scratchy.
50 year old me: Time well spent, younger me, time well spent.
WOW THAT WAS INTERESTING
Definitely time well spent. In the 80's, before putting lyrics in every album cover became commonplace, I wrote out all of the lyrics to Al's songs, including this one. Of course, I had to do this by ear and with no checking TH-cam to see if I was right. Still time well spent on my part.
Me doing the same thing right now
2:55 breaks clavicle, shakes it off like a boss
Space chimps 2
Weird Al just casually predicting the iPad 25 years early: 1:22
As Pierce Brosnan said in Goldeneye, "The very words I live by".
36 years later, this still stands as one of Weird Al's greatest creations, if not THE greatest. Even Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo (the band he was parodying here) gave him props, saying it was "the most beautiful thing I had ever heard".
01:52 that guitar flick is so smooth 😂 Epic piece of art.
“Put down the chainsaw and listen to me!” - something that Bruce Campbell has definitely heard.
Ba weep granna weep ninny bongg! You the man, Al.
You can listen to weird Al when you're supposed to work for your math test... DARE TO BE STUPID!
+Hiba Belkadi funny i have kahan academyin another tab to study but idk what to study so i played another wierd al
Wow same
I swear, every weird al music video is like a fever dream, but cooler.
I dunno, I've had one fever dream in my life. And, it was pretty cool! The FIRST, and, so far, ONLY. time I had the flu, oh, oh, man, the colors!
Yes
Does anyone else love that toaster guitar?? 1:23
I want one of those
Dankest Cat yup i want to make one
Its supposed to be like Bob Mothersbaughs La Baye 2x4 guitar.
Not yet, but I do have a Dredd guitar
How much do they cost?
This video is a giant love letter to DEVO, there are so many little nods to their videos and from every era. Just amazing stuff!
Weird al is proof that a guy can get rich and famous without turning into a creep
True, but how much less money would he be able to make if not for the existence of those creeps pushing the global economy forward? Music is a luxury product, and parody music doubly so; only our extremely prosperous society enables someone like WAY to have a career.
@@quicksilvertongue3248 weird comment
What do you mean by "creep" ?
I'm not sure what Marley had in mind with that term; in my response, I attempted to replicate his meaning based on my partial understanding of it. I think you could loosely say that a "creep" is the opposite of a "cool guy", whatever exactly that is, and that Al has gotten successful yet remained a "cool guy".
@@quicksilvertongue3248 bruh started speaking alien. Not a non-cool guy I think they mean more like alleged things celebs have done that sre shady / illegal
To all you younger folks out there: Yes, the 80's were pretty much exactly like this.
KingAdrock420 They didn't have much to do back then.... Except fear the commies.
KingAdrock420 It aint much different today other than instead of watching "Leave It To Beaver" all day day long, they're watching even worse shit, The Kardashians and Honey booboo. So we have not started progressing yet, we're still retrogressing.
EarthianLifeForm Wouldn't it more like watching an 80's or 90's stupid sitcom. Perhaps friends?
What about some born in 1990s
KingAdrock420 well, devo was pretty much like this....
"Destroy Unicron! Kill the Grand Poobah! Eliminate even the toughest stains!"
Operators are standing by!
You check in, but you don't check out!
And the answer is... Unicron!
"Pesky visitors getting mud in the eye, by and by. Film at 11!"
Yes
Stop mentioning ponies on videos that have nothing to do with them.
Mreverything11 I'm pretty sure their talking about the 1986 trnsformers movie since this song was used in the movie and the main villian was called Unicron *loads of people mistake his name for unicorn*
Weird Al was definitely a good part of my childhood and I listened to his older songs growing up. His voice is nostalgic to me at this point, and no wonder where my humor came from! I'll hear original songs start playing and immediately think of his parody instead just because I've enjoyed these more. Wish I could give the guy a personal thank you, he's provided nothing but good songs, memories, and a good laugh.
This man is pure joy. He's like if mr. rogers was a singer.
I don't know why, but the part where he says "It's like spitting on a fish" gets me everytime.
😄😆🤣🤣Me too!!
I CAN'T HEAR YOU!
okay, I can hear you now.
Favorite part.
if you pay attention, the lady doing sign language in the corner is actually signing that part of the song!
This song finally convinced me to watch Transformers The Movie. The final seal of quality after Orson Welles and the Manga logo.
whatd you think of it?
The amount of references to devo packed into this song is incredible
As someone who recently got really into Devo, I can see dozens of elements from their music videos in this. It's beautiful.
Proves Weird All really studied those he parodied and always found something good to do with it. While most believe this is a spoof of Devo in ironically it becomes a homage. I think Mark Mothersbaugh himself said it's the perfect Devo song *not* made by Devo themselves.
I wonder if they got Spazz Attack from from the “Satisfaction” video to do the crazy gymnastic dancing here.
0:22 if only people in horror movies had such luck
DEVO: nobody will make a good parody on our songs
AL Yankovic: put on the chainsaw and hold my beer
Weird Al, doing music even the bands he's parodying like!
I think my favorite little detail is that the guy sleeping in the intro is still wearing his glasses.
30 years later and still gold...
Hamman lol yeah
*sheds single tear and salutes* that’s the most 80’s thing I’ve seen in my goddamn life
Actual Devo would be a bit darker - but hey, Al is a comedian, and that toaster guitar is the most Devo thing I ever saw.
“It’s not hard to knock ‘em down. It’s gettin em to stay down that’s the trick.”
"You Check-In, but you don't Check-Out!" *-eye gleam-*
So random, so strange, and so stupid, it's perfect.
It's not random. Most everything he tells us to do is the opposite of things we're usually advised against e.g. don't count your chickens before they hatch. By not doing those things we're daring to be stupid.
DEEP SLEEP DEVO 1982 !
Little Stuff In Life it’s its
Little Stuff In Life he dared to be
200th like!
They're Indestructible! AND THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!
It's not putting them down that's the problem, it's keeping them down.
You talk some TV?
FellS3raph Ba-weep-graw-na-wep-nini-bong!
"You Check in, but you won't check out!"
*sparkle*
FellS3raph I talk some TV... and now the news, don't touch that dial!
The song that links Generation 1 with Transformers animated
You also had the G1 footage in episode 1(the thing of the war that had ended before the series started had footage from the episode War Dawn in Season 2)
Between Stan Bush's the touch and this song, It was all I could sing back in 86 cause I was obsessed with transformers! Until all are one! Edit also this song made me a Weird Al fan, too. Dude is awesome live.
That was the best of Devo and Weird Al and the 80's, all in one. (Lights cigarette, closes eyes in ecstasy) THANK YOU.
Thank you to Reddit for showing me this glorious song.
Can confirm.
rrrrrrrrrrrr
Watch Transformers the Movie 1986
www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/4lyg3h/til_weird_al_yankovic_wrote_an_original_song/
OMG how dare someone find out about something I like after I do!?
Transformers: The Movie. The best 80s movie. Who's listening to this after seeing the movie?
Me I didn't know this was wierd Al
Finally found a comment on the 80s transformers movie niiiiiice
@@johnny_the_halfender Yeah dude. He dood that.
My people
Me
Greatest DEVO song never written
Such a fantastic tribute!!! I'd love it if we could get a list of each Devo song referenced in this. "Deep Sleep", "Explosions", and "Shout" are the low hanging fruit. Anything else you can pick out?
Weird Al is such a great guy. I had the pleasure of meeting him years ago, backstage at an 120 Minutes, MTV sponsored tour. It was a true pleasure to speak with him.
For about a year or two in Elementary School, this was my favorite song, I really liked Yankovic in general, but this was my favorite. Looking back on it, I think it serves as a good reminder that sometimes you should take a jump and do something totally out of the ordinary. Whether that be taking up a new hobby in your 50s, or something that almost completely transforms your worldview. The world has historically been pretty stupid, so why shouldn't you be?
Wow, that was deep.
Me too, except substitute High School for Elementary School. This was my favorite "Weird Al" song until Polka Party.
What's with the "liked" part?
Tell me you don't get freakin' pumped up when that opening starts playing! The song is just 3 minutes and 33 seconds of unrelenting joyous energy. Feeling down? Put this on and it'll cure what ails you!
I now use it for exercising.
This is actually a great song with a great message. Great philosophy for life.