The future's up to you, so whatcha gonna do?

October 25, 2020 4:53 PM

The Cybertronic Spree a Transformers-themed cover band (previously), released a performance video for "Dare to Be Stupid" two days ago, on Weird Al Yankovic's 61rst birthday. (Warning: One written curse word does appear on screen in the video)

"SHOT IN 2019. WE DO STUPID THINGS IN THIS VIDEO SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO. VIEWER INTELLIGENCE IS ADVISED."
Compare to Yankovic's original video, plus the videos homaged in the new video:
"Eat It" / "Fat"
"All About the Pentiums"
"Living with a Hernia"
"Jurassic Park"
"I Lost on Jeopardy"
"You Don't Love Me Anymore"
"First World Problems"
The "Rambo" scene from UHF
"Like a Surgeon"
"Amish Paradise"
"Canadian Idiot" - no original video - live performance with Portugal the Man at Bonnaroo 2012.

The director at the end seems familiar....

posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead (21 comments total)

Wait wait what... there's a Weird Al cover band out there?

Like I guess I wasn't expecting that, but it makes sense.
posted by hippybear at 4:56 PM on October 25, 2020 [2 favorites]

Pedant: Sixtyfirst. 61rst, not so much. Sorry.
posted by Splunge at 5:02 PM on October 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

That was a delight! One of my favorite Weird Al songs (and the album is great, too).

And thanks for linking to the previous story. I remembered them doing "The Touch," but I'd never seen their "Immigrant Song" cover before.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 5:12 PM on October 25, 2020

I'm friends with the band and was invited to be in this video, but unfortunately we were on vacation. It looks like they had a blast - glad to see it's been released.

When they play this live, there has been a rotating cast of associated performers who hop out in a wig, falling-off moustache, Hawaiian shirt, and glasses to get weird.
posted by thecjm at 5:55 PM on October 25, 2020 [6 favorites]

I've found myself of late listening to Weird Al's various artist/genre pastiche songs, and I gotta say, they are a LOT more fun (and impressive) when you've been listening to the original artist a bit beforehand. At times I find myself thinking, you know, Velvet Elvis would be a genuinely catchy Police song, or that I would love nothing more than to hear REM cover Frank's 2000" TV.
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:00 PM on October 25, 2020 [3 favorites]

Needs more bitter Mark Mothersbaugh.
posted by NoxAeternum at 6:22 PM on October 25, 2020 [9 favorites]

I was not expecting Quintessons!
posted by aubilenon at 7:25 PM on October 25, 2020

I'll be over here sitting in the top of the greenest tree, sending out an aroma of undefined love, to drip on down like a mist from above, for this cover version; but before I go, I wanted to remind people of this.
(The song root MM feels got resculpted into genius is a little easier to hear in this format.)
posted by bartleby at 7:43 PM on October 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

That was a lot of fun! Thanks, Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead!
posted by brainwane at 8:41 PM on October 25, 2020

Less a Weird Al cover band and more a Transformers cult band. They have done a full cover album of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album of as well as an original song Cybertronic Warrior with attendant, deeply '80's influenced video. I had never heard of these folks before today but I am now disappointed that I missed the limited edition cassette version of their original single.

My inner child is alight with joy about this post. So much gratitude to you Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 11:40 PM on October 25, 2020 [6 favorites]

A shameless-merch-franchise-themed cover of a famous parody artist's impression of a band devoted to satirizing capitalist excess is more layers of meta than I can handle without at least two more coffees.
posted by flabdablet at 2:02 AM on October 26, 2020 [9 favorites]

Please also enjoy this concert bootleg video of Al and Al's Band performing a stripped-down, jam band rock arrangement of "Dare To Be Stupid" on the Ill-Advised Vanity Tour in '18.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:50 AM on October 26, 2020 [2 favorites]

I had tickets to go see these guys in Pittsburgh in May that got postponed to next year thanks to the pandemic; I hadn't heard of them until shortly before I bought those but they seemed like too much fun to miss. Hoping that by the time the date rolls around this time we'll actually be able to go and have what should be a good time.
posted by miratime at 5:23 AM on October 26, 2020

Weird Al is just the gift that keeps on giving.

::chef kiss::
posted by Faintdreams at 7:07 AM on October 26, 2020 [1 favorite]

Seemed like that was a compliment from Mothersbaugh.

Al found a way to get more DEVO then DEVO could.
posted by mookoz at 7:57 AM on October 26, 2020 [1 favorite]

I got to see these badasses live at the Mercury Lounge this time last year! They put on SUCH a good show. Word Burglar opened, and he was great too!
posted by UltraMorgnus at 8:54 AM on October 26, 2020

Here's the Cybetronic Spree covering The Immigrant Song:
posted by UltraMorgnus at 9:00 AM on October 26, 2020 [3 favorites]

This is tremendous and I love absolutely everything about it. Thanks for sharing!
posted by parm at 11:20 AM on October 26, 2020

UltraMorgnus: “Here's the Cybetronic Spree covering The Immigrant Song”

I wish there were videos of a similar quality of Grand Moff Tarkin, an Atlanta band from decades back that performed in Star Wars costumes.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:53 AM on October 26, 2020 [3 favorites]

In case anyone needed an electric ukulele and 30's radio announcer voice cover of Freedom of Choice, just in time for election day.
posted by bartleby at 12:10 PM on October 26, 2020

Strong and persistent 10Hz flicker content warning on that FoC video, for folks subject to seizures.
posted by flabdablet at 8:43 AM on October 27, 2020