Giddyup, Gene!

August 4, 2009 5:37 PM

Charles Nelson Reillyby "Weird Al" Yankovic and JibJab
posted by Del Far (59 comments total)

Wierd Al + JibJab + White Stripes + Match Game = Jose Chung's More Awesome Than Chuck Norris.

Del Far, you beat me to this by the time it took me to think "Do I DARE post a Single-Link-Weird-Al-Video?"
posted by wendell at 5:40 PM on August 4 [2 favorites]

"Serrated Edge" by Dead Milkmen
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:42 PM on August 4 [4 favorites]

Weird Al's twitter feed makes every other bit of twitter hype worth it. I'd still like some more context for this photo.
posted by Gary at 5:47 PM on August 4

Ah, but how would he fare against Mr Rogers
posted by sonic meat machine at 5:47 PM on August 4

"This video is not available in your country due to copyright restrictions."

Argh!
posted by effbot at 5:48 PM on August 4

On topic, he also posted pictures of his drummer and himself getting ready for this video.
posted by Gary at 5:49 PM on August 4

I was very surprised that this was great.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 5:49 PM on August 4

Funny thing Wendell is that I watched this video at the beginning of the day when i woke up this morning, and thought that someone already put it up on meta filter, but then i checked just now and wowie wow, no one had posted it yet, so i guess i did make it under the wire.

Thank you for the help of telling me, who weird al was actually parodying, didn't know.
posted by Del Far at 5:50 PM on August 4

If you have any doubt of the inspiration for all this Awesomeness, freeze frame at 0:56 to see the head of Chuck Norris in Charles Nelson Reilly's trophy room, upper left corner.
posted by wendell at 5:54 PM on August 4 [4 favorites]

Okay, could someone please explain to me the cultural significance of CNR? The Match Game was very much before my time, and I really only know him as the subject of a Dead Milkmen song.

Hell, I've never even seen The Match Game.
posted by Afroblanco at 5:54 PM on August 4

Kennesaw Mountain Landis was a bad motherfucker...
posted by blenderfish at 5:55 PM on August 4 [5 favorites]

CNR was part of a generation of comedic character actors who came off as being very, very strange. Others like that were Paul Lynde and Wally Cox.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:03 PM on August 4 [2 favorites]

Hmmm... I love CNR and it was nice to see him kicking some ass, and the video was very pretty... but does Weird Al's audience of 11 year olds really have any idea who the man is? It's a bit of a strange reference point.
posted by yellowbinder at 6:12 PM on August 4

blenderfish, oh thank god I'm not the only one that thought of that song. Here's hoping JoCo is amused by it...
posted by StrangeTikiGod at 6:19 PM on August 4

>Hmmm... I love CNR and it was nice to see him kicking some ass, and the video was very pretty... but does Weird Al's audience of 11 year olds really have any idea who the man is? It's a bit of a strange reference point.


11 year olds? The frak?

When he first started out, most of us were older than that (and knew who CNR was.) Flash forward a quarter century or so, and a significant portion of us still remember.

And if not, well, they just learned. He's the guy with Chuck Norris' head on his wall.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:24 PM on August 4 [5 favorites]

Usually, I feel like that cutout-headshot-pasted-onto-animated-bodies style of animation is just a crutch for someone who can't draw faces. But this video seems to transcend that.

And even when Weird Al's songs are mediocre in comparison to his others (as this one strikes me), they're still good for a smile.

Re: "audience of 11 year olds"
The last time I saw Weird Al in concert was a few years ago, and there were not a lot of 11-year-olds in the audience. Most were in the 20-35 range.
posted by ErWenn at 6:34 PM on August 4

You can thank GSN for the continued awareness of CNR. However, I'm inclined to think he's immune to parody.
posted by evilcolonel at 6:35 PM on August 4 [2 favorites]

Has Weird Al entered something of a golden age or what? His last few releases have all managed to knock it out of the park. I think I like his "inspired by songs" more than his parodies - and I love his parodies.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:40 PM on August 4 [2 favorites]

Also, extra points for kicking the moose in the face... and for the scene with the salmon...
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:41 PM on August 4

Re: "audience of 11 year olds"

last time i saw weird al, it was full of 35-45 year old dads with their 11 year old sons. i'm guessing that they can play interpreter for things like 'fat' and 'another one rides the bus' for their kids.
posted by mrballistic at 6:43 PM on August 4

Okay, could someone please explain to me the cultural significance of CNR?

He deservedly got an Obit Post here in 2007. One thing you may be old enough to remember is his role as superstar author Jose Chung in an episode of "X Files" that turned the show's POV on its head, and later the spin-off series "Millenium" in an episode about a cult very similar to Scientology. Two Very Special Episodes (in a totally non-ironic way)

Does Weird Al's audience of 11 year olds really have any idea who the man is?

When I saw The Weird One in concert a couple years ago (as he returned to his Alma Mater, Cal Poly SLO), the median age in the audience was over 30 (and not just because I skewed the average upward), and cheered on every 1960s-1970s TV reference. No, this Match Game/Chuck Norris/White Stripes mashup was solidly inspired.
posted by wendell at 6:44 PM on August 4 [3 favorites]

That was absolutely fucking phenomenal.
posted by vito90 at 6:47 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

So the kids have forgotten Charles Nelson Reilly, eh? It must finally be time to launch my 24 hour a day Lidsville cable channel!
posted by ecurtz at 6:53 PM on August 4 [7 favorites]

I had a bout of insomnia last night, and watched this video like twenty times. There are few moments more sublime than when CNR slowly walks away from the exploding chalkboard containing the formula for cold fusion.
posted by Greg Nog at 6:55 PM on August 4

Considering the previous Weird Al/JibJab was so "meh" (in which Al depicted American Idol's Taylor Hicks as a stalker), this earns extra extra points with me.
posted by wendell at 6:57 PM on August 4

I'm all glad for the kids these days with their gay rights and flexible sexual identities and Heather and her two mommies and nice upstanding gay male role models. But dammit, I miss the old generation of campy fags like Charles Nelson Reilly. Because he inhabited this wonderful space between being the joke, making the joke, and being respected for being so damn funny all at once. Shit yeah, he kicked ass.
posted by Nelson at 7:10 PM on August 4 [5 favorites]

That was plum full of win.
posted by DaddyNewt at 7:18 PM on August 4

Hell, I've never even seen The Match Game.

Afroblanco, If you're a Netflix member I highly recommend putting The Best of Match Game in your queue. I have been obsessed with this show since I was a kid, when to me it epitomized what it meant to be an adult--lounging around with clever and beautiful people (pretty much only one or the other) getting schockered and making smutty jokes. Charles Nelson Reilly was especially fascinating to me, as a midwestern eight-year-old with no concept of homosexuality, with his ascot, his giant glasses, and his theatrical manner. I just thought he was hilarious and larger than life.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:22 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

effbot: Maybe watching it on JibJab's site will work?
posted by zsazsa at 7:22 PM on August 4

Maybe, if I'm very very lucky, I'll be able to tell some youngster that CNR pwns Chuck Norris the next time someone brings it up in chat.

I watched way way too much Match Game in my youth, methinks.
posted by batgrlHG at 7:25 PM on August 4

Wow, this is the first JabJab video I've enjoyed in years. And is it just me, or did this video seem like the smoothest animation from JibJab ever, too?
posted by ShawnStruck at 7:41 PM on August 4

Wow, this is the first JabJab video I've enjoyed in years. And is it just me, or did this video seem like the smoothest animation from JibJab ever, too?

It's because the music and lyrics were both written and performed by someone not affiliated with JibJab.
posted by deanc at 8:06 PM on August 4 [3 favorites]

I don't know if you have to get the references to get weird al's better songs, I know a 2 year old who loves "another one rides the bus" because he rides the bus a lot
posted by kathrineg at 8:08 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

This speaks to me on a few levels.

First off being, I feel Weird Al was a pivotal teacher in my pop culture education. Being a not-too-cool kid, I would often hear his parodies before the real songs. I know all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody because of his Bohemian Polka. When I was 9 I wrote and voice acted a radio promo for his concert happening in Seattle for a kids radio station (it later was bought by radio Disney). If I ever met the man, I think I'd confess all these things to him and be sobbing in the process.

Second being I love Charles Nelson Reilly. Life of Reilly was amazing. His interactions with Brett Sommers have left me gasping for airt hey are so funny. For the longest time whenever I had to express what I was looking for in a partner, I always would say I was looking for the Charles Nelson Reilly to my Brett Sommers. If the dude got it, it was a sign he was a keeper.
posted by piratebowling at 8:09 PM on August 4 [5 favorites]

I almost always like "Weird Al" Yankovic. I like most of JibJab's stuff. For some reason, I'm really apathetic about this video. Wasn't too impressed with "Skipper Dan", either, although "Craigslist" was good.

Still, in the hopes of not just doing a snark driveby, here's the RSS feed for Al's YouTube channel.
posted by WCityMike at 8:13 PM on August 4

Yes, just watch some Match Game, you'll start to get the idea pretty quickly. If you've ever seen Paul Lynde on Hollywood Squares, they shared a sort of "wow, in retrospect I can't believe how obviously he was referring to his own homosexuality on a 1970s daytime game show" quality.

But CNR was his own special brand of awesome. I also adore Brett Somers. And Fanny Flagg. And, of course, Betty White. Match Game was all kinds of weird, I love it.
posted by lampoil at 8:15 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

The classic SNL sketch - Alec Baldwin as CNR on Inside the Actors Studio
posted by concrete at 8:30 PM on August 4 [6 favorites]

And now the Dead Milkmen song makes even less sense.
posted by Afroblanco at 9:47 PM on August 4

I can't believe I spent sixteen bucks for this.
posted by lore at 10:03 PM on August 4 [4 favorites]

I was just disappointed that it was a Meg White lookalike playing the drums and not Brett Sommers. She was the Robin to Charles Nelson Riley's Batman and is now lost to time (and the poor lady had to be married to Jack Klugman as well).

How do any of you non-Match Game people survive without either GSN or "Match Game" on DVD? Gene Rayburn is either a genius or drunk. The Hollywood Squares doesn't deserve to lick Match Game's boots.

Yes. White Stripes. Charles Nelson Riley. Match Game. I am Weird Al's target audience smack in the face. Haven't missed an album since "Polka Party." It was my 8-year-old's first concert, but mostly 'cause her mom dragged her there.
posted by Gucky at 2:04 AM on August 5 [1 favorite]

"This video is not available in your country due to copyright restrictions."

Jibjab version seems to work from the UK. However I think I lack the cultural references to appreciate this.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 2:12 AM on August 5

Gene Rayburn is either a genius or drunk.

Both.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 4:40 AM on August 5 [2 favorites]

I do not care for Weird Al, but that animation was really, really cool!
posted by orme at 5:07 AM on August 5

Gucky: That "Meg White lookalike" was probably Weird Al's actual drummer and oldest drummer (going all the way back to "Another One Rides the Bus", where he was banging on Al's accordion case), John "Bermuda" Schwartz. It would be kinda sad if they left him out of the video for a song featuring just the two of them (it's probably been a while since they did one of those).
posted by ErWenn at 6:20 AM on August 5

Dinner with Charles Nelson Reilly.

Funny guy... seems to have been much cared for and appreciated by those who knew him.
posted by markkraft at 6:20 AM on August 5

Gene Rayburn is either a genius or drunk.

Both.

Indeed. Rayburn lived on the East Coast and would fly out to Hollywood every week to tape a week's worth of Match Game episodes in one day. The tapings were catered with plenty of alcoholic beverages provided in between.

For those of you who remember watching the game every afternoon after school, this explains why the show seemed to get crazier as the week went on. The cast was pretty much smashed by Thursday.
posted by Spatch at 6:50 AM on August 5 [6 favorites]

I'm with ErWenn. I was much happier they put Bermuda Schwartz in as the drummer for this song, since he never gets enough screen time in the videos.
posted by jscott at 6:53 AM on August 5 [1 favorite]

For those of you who remember watching the game every afternoon after school, this explains why the show seemed to get crazier as the week went on. The cast was pretty much smashed by Thursday.

Another illusion of Hollywood magic crushed!

Can't think of CNR without thinking of Don Don. DON DON!
posted by cavalier at 7:30 AM on August 5

wendell: Wierd Al + JibJab + White Stripes + Match Game = Jose Chung's More Awesome Than Chuck Norris.

Best episode of X-Files EVAR.
posted by koeselitz at 9:54 AM on August 5 [2 favorites]

Jibjab version seems to work from the UK. However I think I lack the cultural references to appreciate this.

Charles Nelson Reilly was sort of inbetween Kenneth Williams and Eric Morecambe. Does that help?
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:28 AM on August 5

*waits in trepidation for barrens chat in Wow to be full of CNR jokes*
posted by Mick at 11:28 AM on August 5 [1 favorite]

I'm with cavalier. My main exposure to CNR was Cannonball Run 2.
posted by ericales at 4:43 PM on August 5

And I believe I heard the Wilhelm Scream at about 2:10 when someone is having their face bashed in with a shovel for not treating CNR like a star.
posted by ericales at 4:52 PM on August 5

Damn it. Now I have to go watch Match Game on YouTube. You bastards.
posted by dejah420 at 7:27 PM on August 5

Am I the only one that was dissapointed that he was not talking about John C. Reilly?

Also, Bill Brasky would kick this guy's butt.
posted by daHIFI at 10:27 AM on August 10

"*waits in trepidation for barrens chat in Wow to be full of CNR jokes*"

*begins formulating said jokes, and ponders suitable horde alt*
posted by batgrlHG at 1:28 PM on August 10 [1 favorite]

I can't believe you spent 16 bucks for that either, but Matt should rebate you at least 5...

How many "insert face here" moments were in that video? 9? 10? Should've dropped at least a couple cortexes in there...

Of course, now I'm earworming:

Matthew Haughey was a mighty man
The kind of man you'd never call Sylar
He stands 6 foot 2, wears glasses
And has a third testicle I don't know where
He ate his own weight in data
And excreted code every day
He could ban you from MetaFilter
But you still would love him anyway
Yeah, you know you'd love him anyway

Matthew Haughey won the Tour de France
On a recumbent bike in reverse
He told Jessamyn West to do his laundry
And didn't need to call a nurse.
He could Google your high school records
From the time you dissected a frog
Every day he'd make Ev from Twitter
Post to his Blogspot blog
A thousand-word post to his blog!
Fail the Whale, Ev!

Web warrior, master of the Net
He could melt your brain without breaking a sweat
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
He had his very own line at the In-N-Out
He made sweet, sweet love to a spawning trout
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, that was somethin', no doubt, I tell ya

Matthew Haughey invented Cold Fusion
But he let all the jruns go
I've seen the man unlock his iPhone
And operate it with his toe
He'd bash your face in with the banhammer
If you ever tried to scan a cat
'Cause you can get all Ouchie or mess around with Jim Croce
But Lord knows you just don't frak with MeFiMatt
No no no
Talkin' bout MeFiMatt
Ohh
posted by wendell at 8:51 PM on August 10 [6 favorites]

Weird Al's latest song is Ringtone.
posted by Gary at 12:41 AM on August 22

How did I miss this? Fan-fucking-tastic.
posted by owtytrof at 9:33 PM on September 3