W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Weird Al Yankovic - Jurassic Park (1993)

 Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.

"Jurassic Park" is a parody of Richard Harris's version of Jimmy Webb's song "MacArthur Park", written and performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic; it was released both as a single and as part of Yankovic's Alapalooza album in October 1993. "Jurassic Park" was penned by Yankovic after he remembered the enjoyment he had when he combined a classic rock track with a recent movie topic with his 1985 song "Yoda". Yankovic decided to combine the plot of the recent movie Jurassic Park—a film about a park on a fictional island where geneticists have succeeded in cloning dinosaurs—with the classic Richard Harris track "MacArthur Park".

The song was paired with an elaborately animated music video, which was created by Mark Osborne and Scott Nordlund almost entirely via claymation. The video did not receive extensive play on MTV, although it was popular on The Box, VH1, and in Canada, where it was played on Much Music. The video, due to its animation, also later went on to be praised at various animation festivals worldwide.

"Jurassic Park" was met with mixed to positive reviews; while many reviewers enjoyed Yankovic's humor, others felt that the song did not satirize the source material, but instead merely recounted the plot to the movie. Webb himself was very pleased with the final result and has been known to sing the parody lyrics in concert. Although the single did not chart in the United States, it peaked at number 5 on the Canadian magazine The Record's single chart. The video was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video at the 37th Grammy Awards, although it did not win.

Early versions of the cover artwork had a red background to better resemble the Jurassic Park logo. The design was later changed to feature a yellow background out of fear that retail shoppers would confuse Alapalooza with the Jurassic Park movie soundtrack, despite the fact that Alapalooza had a sticker reading "No, this is NOT the 'Jurassic Park' soundtrack" glued to the shrinkwrap. When Warner/Elektra/Atlantic reissued Alapalooza in mid-1996, the original red-background artwork started to resurface.

This months WOCK on vinyl presents another clever parody by Mr Weird himself Al Yankovic.  I thought it appropriate to showcase his Jurassic Park musical take off, as the original movie Jurassic Park celebrated its 30th Birthday this month.  The Weirdness that applies to all Al Yankovic 's musical parodies definitely makes him a candidate for the WOCK on vinyl hall of fame. Hope you enjoy this one and if you are looking for more, why not take a look at these as well.

Ripped to FLAC, this post also includes full CD artwork, the lyrics and the humour which it brings.

Track List

1. Jurassic Park (3:53)

2. Frank's 2000" TV (4:04)

Jurassic Park Link (56Mb)

W.O.C.K On Vinyl - Weird Al Yankovic: Like A Surgeon (1985)

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Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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.Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic, born October 23, 1959 is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, actor, comedian, satirist, and a parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. Since his first-aired comedy song in 1976, he has sold more than 12 million albums—more than any other comedy act in history—recorded more than 150 parody and original songs,and has performed more than 1,000 live shows.

Yankovic's success comes in part from his effective use of music video to further parody popular culture, the song's original artist, and the original music videos themselves, scene-for-scene in some cases.
Although Yankovic refuses to use parody ideas from other people, Madonna is partly responsible for "Like a Surgeon". Madonna asked one of her friends how long it would take until Yankovic satirized her song "Like a Virgin" as "Like a Surgeon". This friend was a mutual friend of Al's manager, Jay Levey. When word got back to Yankovic, he decided it was a good idea and wrote the song. This is the only known time that Yankovic has gotten a parody idea directly from the original artist.

"Like A Surgeon" is the first song on his "Dare To Be Stupid" album, released in 1985. It reached #19 on the Australian charts and #47 on the Us Billboard charts and like most of his singles, coincided with a Video Clip release which is also included in this post.

For those of you who love a bit of trivia, here is some tip bits straight from his very own website..How did Weird Al Yankovic get his start in the music business? As a teenager, Al began sending homemade tapes of his songs to Dr. Demento, a nationally syndicated disc jockey known for playing comedy and novelty music. Demento found a certain charm in the accordion-powered ditties that Al recorded on a cheap cassette player in his own bedroom, and gave him his first airplay. By the time Al graduated from college, he not only had a modest cult following from the good Doctor's radio show, but he also had a couple of nationally-released singles ("My Bologna" and "Another One Rides The Bus")

In 1982 he signed a deal with Scotti Bros. Records, who went on to release all of his albums through to Bad Hair Day (1996). Volcano Records eventually bought Scotti Bros. Records, issuing 'Running With Scissors' and 'Poodle Hat', and re-releasing Al's entire back catalog. .
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What instruments does Weird Al Yankovic play?
Although he can play other keyboard instruments, the accordion has always been Al's main "axe," and he continues to play it on record as well as in concert. His first lesson was on the day before his 7th birthday. After three years of accordion lessons, he quit, deciding to continue learning on his own. .
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How did Weird Al Yankovic get the name "Weird Al"?
Although he seems to remember people calling him "Weird Al" during his freshman year in the Cal Poly dorms, it didn't become official until Al started doing shifts as a DJ at his campus radio station, KCPR. He gave himself the air-name of "Weird Al" because of his penchant for playing music that was, well, kind of weird? and the nickname just kind of stuck.
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So there you have it, his name says it all so I hope you enjoy this very Weird and very funny parody from 85'. One final thing to note is the 'Madonna lookalike' nurse in the video clip and on the single cover - an absolute dead ringer!

The following tracks are on the single:
A - "Like a Surgeon" – 3:27
B - "Slime Creatures from Outer Space" – 4:23
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Like A Surgeon Link (27Mb) New Link 07/08/2024

W.O.C.K On Vinyl - Weird Al Yankovic: Eat It (1984)

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Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic, born October 23, 1959 is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, actor, comedian, satirist, and a parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts.
Since his first-aired comedy song in 1976, he has sold more than 12 million albums — more than any other comedy act in history — recorded more than 150 parody and original songs,and has performed more than 1,000 live shows. Yankovic's success comes in part from his effective use of music video to further parody popular culture, the song's original artist, and the original music videos themselves, scene-for-scene in some cases. He released his second album "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D in 1984. The first single "Eat It", a parody of the Michael Jackson song "Beat It", became popular, thanks in part to the music video, a shot-for-shot parody of Jackson's "Beat It" music video, and what Yankovic described as his "uncanny resemblance" to Jackson. Peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 14, 1984, "Eat It" remained Yankovic's highest-charting single until "White & Nerdy" placed at number 9 in October 2006.
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So I guess you've already worked out that this month's WOCK on Vinyl post certainly fits the Weird category. The rip was taken from my vinyl copy at 320kps and includes both sides of the single - "Eat It" / "That Boy Could Dance", along with picture cover scans and the video clip (avi) which was made for the release of the single. Of course, Yankovic has all the 'Jackson moves' down pat, but if you really want to see something 'funny', then have a look at his 'Fat' videoclip on YouTube which is a parody on Jackson's hit - "Bad".
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Eat It Link (35Mb)
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