‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Talks ‘Mandatory Fun,’ Parodying The Pixies + More
Superstar parody artist 'Weird Al' Yankovic is releasing his new album, 'Mandatory Fun,' on July 15. Additionally, he's rolling out one video every day for a total of eight videos to spread virally across the Internet over the week.
We sat down with Weird Al to talk about the 'Mandatory Fun' album, his new song that parodies the Pixies' distinct style and the thinking behind his viral video strategy.
"I'll let each one of my videos go viral for a day," says Weird Al when asked why he doesn't spend more than one day focusing on promoting each video. "I'll make release week a special event." He adds, "There's no precedent. I'm trying to see what's going to work and this seemed like a fun thing to try."
One of the new songs, called 'First World Problems,' was inspired by a show Weird Al played with the Pixies a few years ago. The song is what he calls a 'style parody' or 'pastiche.' Instead of parodying one of the Pixies' songs, he says, "I tried to write a song like them, but maybe just a little more ... twisted."
He also talks about some of the other parody songs on the album, and how he went about getting permission from the likes of Robin Thicke and Lorde.
Watch our video interview above, and check out the first of eight videos from 'Weird Al' Yankovic's 'Mandatory Fun,' a take on Pharrell's 'Happy' called 'Tacky,' below.
Watch 'Weird Al' Yankovic's 'Tacky' Video
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