Greetings and salutations Hivers. Today let's go into another Evening Groove / Three Tune Tuesday post.

As always, thanks to @ablaze for making this series. Lots of people participate in it! Follow the tags to find a ton of good music recommendation.

This week I thought we'd sit back and have a laugh. Now there have been many comedy song artists over the years. These days the two most famous ones are probably Weird Al and They Might Be Giants. I want to focus on Weird Al for this post.

For those unfamiliar, Weird Al usually does a combination of parodies of popular songs and original humor songs. Unlike many people who sing parody songs, Weird Al always asks the original artist for permission, which results in some ideas never being turned into songs. For example, at one point he wanted to make a parody of Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney, but Sir Paul turned him down so he shelved the idea.

(※Paul reportedly told Al that he loved his work, was a huge fan, and that he could parody any of his songs; Al picked Live and Let Die and suggested Chicken Pot Pie just because he thought it was funny. Paul, being famously a vegetarian, wasn't happy with that idea and nixed it. Ironically, Weird Al is also a vegetarian. Al slightly contends this story and says it was Linda who refused the idea, not Paul, who initially also thought it was funny.)

Weird Al has now been around so long that he's considered one of the greats. Although his first four albums did well, it wasn't until his fifth album, Even Worse, and his parody of Michael Jackson's Bad (which Jackson loved so much, he helped him make the video) that really put him on the map. His albums since then have done incredibly well. He has sold more than 12 million albums. His work has earned him five Grammy Awards, four gold records, and six platinum records in the U.S.

Anyway, let's look at a few of his best songs. Or at least a few of the ones that tickle me the most as of this writing.

Like a Surgeon

This is a parody of Like a Virgin by Madonna. Madonna herself suggested both the parody, the title, and some of the lyrics. It is a hilarious ode by a hapless surgeon who is dismayed that his patients keep dying on him.

This is such a great song. To this day when I hear four evenly spaces notes, this song starts playing in my head.

Trivia: In the music video at one point the PA system pages "Dr Howard, Dr Fine, Dr Howard", a reference to The Three Stooges. There are lots of gags like this hidden in all Weird Al videos, but this one may have the most.

Amish Paradise

This is a parody of Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio. There was a famous kerfuffle on this song. Al asked Coolio if he could parody the song as he always does. Coolio said no, but his record label said yes, thinking it would increase sales. Thinking he had approval, Al did the song. When it was released, Coolio had a huge fit. Al felt horrible and sent a letter of apology. Several years later, Coolio publicly apologized, saying he loves the parody and both his initial refusal and his reaction were stupid.

The song itself is funny, and the gags in the video are nonstop. Included is a Buster Keaton gag of a house falling on him, which he has said was the scariest stunt he ever did.

See if you can catch the Gilligan's Island reference.

Hardware Store

This song is entirely original. The subject is even more ridiculous than some of his other songs: that of a hardware store fanatic who is geeking out over a new hardware store opening. The lyrics are both funny and they show how talented Al really is, both at song writing and at singing—and at lung capacity (just wait till half way through when he lists everything in the store in one breath).

Bonus: One More Minute

I'm going to include this as a bonus. It is another original one, but written in the style of an Elvis doo-wop song. It begins, sounding like an old crooner singing a love song. He keeps the style, but the lyrics get more and more insane as he expresses his anger towards his ex.

So what's your favorite?

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon.