Since 2008, NPR's All Songs Considered has been doing the Tiny Desk Concert series in which they invite a musician or band or very large group to come and play a song behind the desk of the show's host, Bob Bollen, with the video camera running. The result can be intimate, absurd, raucous and just plain enjoyable. A browseable archive of all 150+ shows is here. [more inside]
posted by 1f2frfbf on Aug 14, 2011 - 42 comments

Weird Al: Perform this Way. (YouTube. Previously / On Vevo)
posted by zarq on Jun 21, 2011 - 132 comments

"Weird" Al Yankovic wanted to do a parody of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," so he did what he usually does: he contacted the artist and asked permission. Lady Gaga said she'd have to hear the lyrics, so Weird Al wrote the lyrics and sent them to her. Gaga then said she's have to actually hear the song, so Weird Al went into the studio and recorded it - at which point Gaga refused to give her permission. Weird Al responded by doing something he's never done in his entire career: he's asserted his fair use rights and made an unapproved parody available to the public.
posted by mightygodking on Apr 20, 2011 - 538 comments

Pony Polka!
posted by furiousxgeorge on Apr 18, 2011 - 24 comments

Polka medleys are a trademark of Weird Al Yankovic in which he covers the era's most iconic songs on accordion. His next album will likely include Polka Face. But, if you like some of the older stuff... [more inside]
posted by l33tpolicywonk on Oct 30, 2010 - 27 comments

♪ "I know Darth Vader's really got you annoyed, but remember: if you kill him then you'll be unemployed...." ♫ (ML-Weird-YT)
posted by zarq on Jul 4, 2010 - 24 comments

The Kleptones put together a version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody stitched together from 33 different cover versions. Synthesizers, computer-generated voices, acoustic guitar, accordion, Weird Al, Star Trek.... (Direct MP3 link) [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Sep 18, 2009 - 50 comments

What do you get when you cross the greatest Atari 2600 game ever made with the greatest musical parodist of the 20th Century? Welcome to Weird Al's Great Adventure.
posted by jjg on Aug 15, 2000 - 10 comments

I love geek-rock. Weird Al is releasing his concert footage on DVD, and of course it will have all sorts of techy-loving extras like lyrics, extra movies, and 5.1 sound.
posted by mathowie on Apr 4, 2000 - 1 comment