Bless the Rivers down in Alfrica
September 29, 2018 2:07 PM Subscribe
A 59-year-old from Downey had a simple dream -- lip-sync "Africa" with Weezer while dressed like Rivers Cuomo. Today, the band granted Alfred's wish. Enjoy. (see) (see also)
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- loup
Is Toto covering “Hash Pipe” going deeper, or not?
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:51 PM on September 29, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:51 PM on September 29, 2018 [8 favorites]
He's a presentable young man. I predict that he'll go far.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:54 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:54 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
Weird Al Yancovic is a national treasure.
posted by 4ster at 4:35 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by 4ster at 4:35 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
Also, my wife thought Al was Morrissey lol
posted by 4ster at 4:36 PM on September 29, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by 4ster at 4:36 PM on September 29, 2018 [6 favorites]
Ironic colonialism is still colonialism.
Or... geeze, Kilimanjaro is still nowhere near the Serengeti.
I’m going to lie down.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:50 PM on September 29, 2018 [11 favorites]
Or... geeze, Kilimanjaro is still nowhere near the Serengeti.
I’m going to lie down.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:50 PM on September 29, 2018 [11 favorites]
Alfrica. V. nice.
posted by Going To Maine at 5:22 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 5:22 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm visiting my parents right now, and I just caught my elderly mom whistling along to this. Good job Al!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:35 PM on September 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:35 PM on September 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
He did look a bit like Buddy Holly.
Plus, we're supposed to believe that Buddy Holly dies and almost nine months later this "Weird" Al surfaces? Think about it!
posted by sysinfo at 5:45 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
Plus, we're supposed to believe that Buddy Holly dies and almost nine months later this "Weird" Al surfaces? Think about it!
posted by sysinfo at 5:45 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
I cannot express just how much I needed this today, nor how much it is making me smile.
I mean, I really, really needed this.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 6:49 PM on September 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
I mean, I really, really needed this.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 6:49 PM on September 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Buddy Holly dies and almost nine months later this "Weird" Al surfaces? Think about it!
Hey, I was born on the same day James Dean died. Only 12 hours earlier...
BTW, is Rivers considered the GOOD Cuomo?
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:40 PM on September 29, 2018
Hey, I was born on the same day James Dean died. Only 12 hours earlier...
BTW, is Rivers considered the GOOD Cuomo?
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:40 PM on September 29, 2018
The almost perfect recreation of the video for Undone (The Sweater Song) breaks me. It's Weezer, except Matt Sharpe is being played by Rivers Cuomo, and they're singing a Toto song, only it's Weird Al. The cognitive dissonance, it burns!
Africa is the mister's jam. Always has been. It's been a long running joke in our circle joke how he so unironically loves the song. He is so cranky about all of this. So for me, it's like the gift that keeps on giving.
posted by Ruki at 7:55 PM on September 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Africa is the mister's jam. Always has been. It's been a long running joke in our circle joke how he so unironically loves the song. He is so cranky about all of this. So for me, it's like the gift that keeps on giving.
posted by Ruki at 7:55 PM on September 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is Toto covering “Hash Pipe” going deeper, or not?
The only thing that stops this from being so meta that the universe folds in upon itself is that it doesn't have Dr Demento onstage scratching "Monster Mash."
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 8:20 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
The only thing that stops this from being so meta that the universe folds in upon itself is that it doesn't have Dr Demento onstage scratching "Monster Mash."
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 8:20 PM on September 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
Weezer’s “Africa” cover is a cynical abomination made by people who despise you, despise the power of song, even despise their own abilities. Weezer wanted to prove, with a certainty as gigantic and rancid as ten square yards of moldy dry wall, that the lack of originality and utterly empty histrionics prevalent in today’s shrill epoch of Jennerdashian tantrums and TV singing contests would elevate a soul-less clone of a song to the top of the heap.posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:31 PM on September 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
(I didn't link the above strictly for the two minutes hate aspect, though it does nail that in tastily snarky fashion. But the article is less about eviscerating Weezer than about appreciating Devo.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:35 PM on September 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:35 PM on September 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
Look, we've been putting up with this love for Daryl Braithwaite's version of "The Horses" in Australia for some time now. Ironic nostalgia is a curse. At least you've got Weird Al!
posted by h00py at 11:36 PM on September 29, 2018
posted by h00py at 11:36 PM on September 29, 2018
A 59-year-old from Downey had a simple dream --
I'm 59 and feel compelled to weigh in. By the time you hit (almost) six f***ing decades on this planet, none of your dreams are simple.
posted by philip-random at 12:04 AM on September 30, 2018 [7 favorites]
I'm 59 and feel compelled to weigh in. By the time you hit (almost) six f***ing decades on this planet, none of your dreams are simple.
posted by philip-random at 12:04 AM on September 30, 2018 [7 favorites]
1st thought - Is that Stephen Colbert!?
2nd thought - Oh wait no that's Weird Al
3rd thought - Oh his name is in the youtube title, I should smoke less pot
4th thought - why???
Final thought - I really hope I die before Weird Al, because I don't want to imagine living in a world without him. All my life he's been there so subtly and perfectly reflecting back the pop culture landscape, from Jacko to Rambo to Cobain to Coolio to Chamillionaire to Breaking Bad to Hillary vs. Donald. Treasure.
posted by mannequito at 12:05 AM on September 30, 2018 [6 favorites]
2nd thought - Oh wait no that's Weird Al
3rd thought - Oh his name is in the youtube title, I should smoke less pot
4th thought - why???
Final thought - I really hope I die before Weird Al, because I don't want to imagine living in a world without him. All my life he's been there so subtly and perfectly reflecting back the pop culture landscape, from Jacko to Rambo to Cobain to Coolio to Chamillionaire to Breaking Bad to Hillary vs. Donald. Treasure.
posted by mannequito at 12:05 AM on September 30, 2018 [6 favorites]
Reaction, twenty seconds in: What dark sorcery is this?
Reaction, during closing fadout: ...da fuk did I just watch?
(I don't even have a bucket list, but "see Weird Al in concert" has just been added to it.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:00 AM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Reaction, during closing fadout: ...da fuk did I just watch?
(I don't even have a bucket list, but "see Weird Al in concert" has just been added to it.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:00 AM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
oh fuck fuck fuckity fuck. My boyfriend has been obsessed with this version of that fucking song and he also loves weird Al if he finds out about this I am fucking doomed.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:06 AM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:06 AM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
My scorecard:
Weird Al? No.
Toto? Only the Dune soundtrack.
Weezer? No.
DEVO?!?! HELL YES.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 6:01 AM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Weird Al? No.
Toto? Only the Dune soundtrack.
Weezer? No.
DEVO?!?! HELL YES.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 6:01 AM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Toto? Only the Dune soundtrack.
though even then, they had to draft in Brian Eno for the Prophecy theme ...
posted by philip-random at 7:50 AM on September 30, 2018
though even then, they had to draft in Brian Eno for the Prophecy theme ...
posted by philip-random at 7:50 AM on September 30, 2018
I believe the Alfred in question is from Lynwood, not Downey.
/former Downeyite who wishes he could claim Al but can't. We got the Carpenters, though.
posted by tclark at 8:57 AM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
/former Downeyite who wishes he could claim Al but can't. We got the Carpenters, though.
posted by tclark at 8:57 AM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Weezer’s “Africa” cover is a cynical abomination made by people who despise you, despise the power of song, even despise their own abilities. Weezer wanted to prove, with a certainty as gigantic and rancid as ten square yards of moldy dry wall, that the lack of originality and utterly empty histrionics prevalent in today’s shrill epoch of Jennerdashian tantrums and TV singing contests would elevate a soul-less clone of a song to the top of the heap.
Or an entirely harmless goof in response to some fandom activity, with the entirely reasonable aim of selling some records? I see very little that is sinister, or even particularly cynical, in professional entertainers trying to entertain their fans.
posted by howfar at 10:58 AM on September 30, 2018 [8 favorites]
Or an entirely harmless goof in response to some fandom activity, with the entirely reasonable aim of selling some records? I see very little that is sinister, or even particularly cynical, in professional entertainers trying to entertain their fans.
posted by howfar at 10:58 AM on September 30, 2018 [8 favorites]
Rivers Cuomo: Hey, guys, I've been thinking we need to prove that current culture is rife with empty histrionics and a lack of originality. Also that we hate people, the power of song, and our own talents.
Patrick Wilson: Well, clearly, we need to do a cover then.
Brian Bell: How about Toto's Africa?
posted by axiom at 11:46 AM on September 30, 2018 [4 favorites]
Patrick Wilson: Well, clearly, we need to do a cover then.
Brian Bell: How about Toto's Africa?
posted by axiom at 11:46 AM on September 30, 2018 [4 favorites]
geeze, Kilimanjaro is still nowhere near the Serengeti.
Yeah, well. Lyrics are tough, as tough as coming up with a melodic earworm. Combining the two....
Open challenge to all Mefites - come up with a new line that scans and appeases the many who, for whatever reasons, object to the old line. Extra points for avoiding avoiding jokiness and nonsense words. I look forward to the results. (Or maybe not. This could turn into a Bulwer-Lytton competition.)
posted by BWA at 12:06 PM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah, well. Lyrics are tough, as tough as coming up with a melodic earworm. Combining the two....
Open challenge to all Mefites - come up with a new line that scans and appeases the many who, for whatever reasons, object to the old line. Extra points for avoiding avoiding jokiness and nonsense words. I look forward to the results. (Or maybe not. This could turn into a Bulwer-Lytton competition.)
posted by BWA at 12:06 PM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Open challenge to all Mefites - come up with a new line that scans and appeases the many who, for whatever reasons, object to the old line.
The wild dogs cry out in the nightposted by Faint of Butt at 12:13 PM on September 30, 2018 [11 favorites]
As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Ngorongoro helps conserve the wildlife of the Serengeti
I was going to try, but Faint of Butt has already won the thread.
posted by 4ster at 1:11 PM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by 4ster at 1:11 PM on September 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
As sure as Kilamanjaro rises in north Tanzania.
Not sure if the north syllable is really necessary. The scanning in the original is pretty iffy....
Not that I would put my poor and obvious attempt against FoB’s.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:56 PM on September 30, 2018
Not sure if the north syllable is really necessary. The scanning in the original is pretty iffy....
Not that I would put my poor and obvious attempt against FoB’s.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:56 PM on September 30, 2018
The scanning in the original is pretty iffy....
That’s very kind. I was going to say it’s terrible, and was hoping one of you would fix it in the rewrite. So thank you.
posted by greermahoney at 2:01 PM on September 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
That’s very kind. I was going to say it’s terrible, and was hoping one of you would fix it in the rewrite. So thank you.
posted by greermahoney at 2:01 PM on September 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
I thought Alfred looked like himself in the White and Nerdy video.
posted by MtDewd at 5:09 PM on September 30, 2018
posted by MtDewd at 5:09 PM on September 30, 2018
Rivers Cuomo: Hey, guys, I've been thinking we need to prove that current culture is rife with empty histrionics and a lack of originality. Also that we hate people, the power of song, and our own talents.
Patrick Wilson: Isn't that that Island in the Sun, Hash Pipe, and Dope Nose were supposed to represent?
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:13 AM on October 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
Patrick Wilson: Isn't that that Island in the Sun, Hash Pipe, and Dope Nose were supposed to represent?
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:13 AM on October 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
As a Dr. Demento listener back in the day I am in awe of both Weird Al's talent and his longevity. The good Dr. had more than his share of one "hit" wonders but no one like Weird Al. He's a national treasure.
posted by tommasz at 1:46 PM on October 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 1:46 PM on October 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
I've only watched the live "see also" version. I WILL only watch that version. It is all that's required.
Al walking off stage, having killed, is dorky. He high fives the bass player dorkily. He is legend. On this day, dorks feast and recall Another One Rides the Bus. Burps are hilarious. The Internet is good again.
Fin
posted by petebest at 3:05 PM on October 2, 2018
Al walking off stage, having killed, is dorky. He high fives the bass player dorkily. He is legend. On this day, dorks feast and recall Another One Rides the Bus. Burps are hilarious. The Internet is good again.
Fin
posted by petebest at 3:05 PM on October 2, 2018
As a Dr. Demento listener back in the day I am in awe of both Weird Al's talent and his longevity. The good Dr. had more than his share of one "hit" wonders but no one like Weird Al. He's a national treasure.
Weird Al is great, but I also think the culture kind of only has room for one famous Weird Al type at a time. His longevity, in a way, is a function of taking up all of the space.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:58 AM on October 3, 2018
Weird Al is great, but I also think the culture kind of only has room for one famous Weird Al type at a time. His longevity, in a way, is a function of taking up all of the space.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:58 AM on October 3, 2018
I feel bad about this, a little, but...
The one-shot brilliance of Spike Jonze's original video is poorly represented here because there aren't dogs running happily among the band.
It's taken me nearly a quarter of a decade to appreciate just how crazy that set must have been, and what kind of genius Jonze had to be to say, "how can we make a 3-minute-long shot even more difficult if we've already flipped the camera upside-down once?"
posted by carsonb at 8:38 PM on October 17, 2018
The one-shot brilliance of Spike Jonze's original video is poorly represented here because there aren't dogs running happily among the band.
It's taken me nearly a quarter of a decade to appreciate just how crazy that set must have been, and what kind of genius Jonze had to be to say, "how can we make a 3-minute-long shot even more difficult if we've already flipped the camera upside-down once?"
posted by carsonb at 8:38 PM on October 17, 2018
Don't feel bad. The lack of dogs were the almost in my almost perfect. I was waiting for it, only I was half expecting chickens or something weird instead, and I was disappointed when there was nothing.
posted by Ruki at 12:41 PM on October 18, 2018
posted by Ruki at 12:41 PM on October 18, 2018
the culture kind of only has room for one famous Weird Al type at a time.
I have had that thought, too, and yet Jonathan Coulton exists, and may end up being very important culturally to the young'ns once they reach our age.
posted by davejay at 10:27 PM on October 28, 2018
I have had that thought, too, and yet Jonathan Coulton exists, and may end up being very important culturally to the young'ns once they reach our age.
posted by davejay at 10:27 PM on October 28, 2018
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