Another Top 10 Weird Al Parodies
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VOICE OVER: Adrian Sousa
WRITTEN BY: Jason C. McLean
Written by Jason C. Mclean
When you've been on top of the music parody game for over three decades, you deserve a second list. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we'll be counting down another top 10 “Weird Al” Parodies.
For this list, we'll be looking at song parodies His Weirdness put out during his long career that we didn't include in our first list. We'll be excluding takes on a particular band or performer's style that don't parody a specific song as well as Al's original tunes. If your particular favorite “Weird Al” parody doesn't appear here, why not check out our first list, Top 10 Weird Al Parodies.
Special thanks to our user thelastelder for suggesting this idea, check out the voting page at
WatchMojo.comsuggest/Top+ten+%22Weird%22+Al+Yankovic+parodies+revisited
When you've been on top of the music parody game for over three decades, you deserve a second list. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we'll be counting down another top 10 “Weird Al” Parodies.
For this list, we'll be looking at song parodies His Weirdness put out during his long career that we didn't include in our first list. We'll be excluding takes on a particular band or performer's style that don't parody a specific song as well as Al's original tunes. If your particular favorite “Weird Al” parody doesn't appear here, why not check out our first list, Top 10 Weird Al Parodies.
Special thanks to our user thelastelder for suggesting this idea, check out the voting page at
WatchMojo.comsuggest/Top+ten+%22Weird%22+Al+Yankovic+parodies+revisited
When you’ve been on top of the music parody game for over three decades, you deserve a second list. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down another top 10 “Weird Al” Parodies.
For this list, we’ll be looking at song parodies His Weirdness put out during his long career that we didn’t include in our first list. We’ll be excluding takes on a particular band or performer’s style that don’t parody a specific song as well as Al’s original tunes. If your particular favorite “Weird Al” parody doesn't appear here, why not check out our first list, Top 10 Weird Al Parodies.
#10: “Pretty Fly for a Rabbi” (1999)
Parody of “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” by The Offspring
There aren’t many who can make a funny parody of a song that was already pretty tongue in cheek begin with. But “Weird Al” can, as proved when he took on The Offspring’s tale of a white suburban kid trying and failing to come across as a hardcore rapper and turned it into a tune about a really hip rabbi. Yankovic rocks out while singing and rapping about everything from bar mitzvahs to locks on a bagel in a playful laundry list of all things Jewish. Naturally, he also throws in a decent amount of Hebrew and Yiddish lines for good measure .
#9: “My Bologna” (1983)
Parody of “My Sharona” by The Knack
Al originally recorded this parody back in 1979 in a bathroom when he was still in college. After sending the tape to the Dr. Demento radio show, it found fans instantly, giving his career its first sparks of life . As with much of Al’s work, it’s food-themed, espousing his apparent love of a particular Oscar Meyer lunch meat to the tune of one of the biggest hits of the day. It also showcased Al’s accordion playing with a particularly rocking accordion solo subbing in for the expected guitar solo. This song was an introduction to an artist with decades ahead of him.
#8: “I Lost on Jeopardy” (1984)
Parody of “Jeopardy” by the Greg Kihn Band
He may have lost on Jeopardy, but “Weird Al” won at making parody songs and videos. This vintage Al tune was released a few months before the classic game show got the modern re-boot with host Alex Trebek that we are most familiar with today. The video featured the original show’s host Art Fleming presiding over Al’s over-the-top loss as well as announcer Don Pardo and even a cameo by Greg Kihn, the artist Al was spoofing. While Kihn was a good sport, this is another example of the parody outlasting the original.
#7: “Bedrock Anthem” (1993)
Parody of “Give it Away” and “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Call it a Yabba Dabba Double Parody. While this song is primarily a riff on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ funky '90s hit “Give it Away”, Weird Al manages to open it with a parody of the band’s other big song of the decade, “Under the Bridge”. It turns out that both of them also fit the theme of The Flintstones pretty well. Al’s video also proves that Chili Peppers’ imagery somehow mixes quite well with clips from the classic cartoon he intersperses throughout. It’s another great example of how Al excels when he mixes popular music with pop culture.
#6: “Trapped in the Drive-Thru” (2006)
Parody of “Trapped in the Closet” by R. Kelly
This is one epic parody, literally. But considering it is spoofing a song that is essentially a multiple-part mini-movie, it's appropriate. While R. Kelly’s R&B opera deals with themes of violence, infidelity and intertwined stories, “Weird Al” keeps it simple. It tells the tale of a happily married couple trying to figure out what to have for dinner and eventually deciding on taking a trip to a fast-food drive thru. He still delivers the lyrics with all the passion and intensity of the original. The animated video for the song features a slew of characters, though none of them look like Al for a change.
#5: “Party in the CIA” (2011)
Parody of “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus
While lyrics about covert assassinations of foreign heads of state, waterboarding and plotting coups may not intrinsically lend themselves to a fun party song, that’s exactly where “Weird Al” went with his parody of the Miley Cyrus hit “Party in the USA”. The video for this song is animated and lets us follow Al from his first day at Langley through his missions and missteps, taking a cavalier and jovial attitude about some rather intense situations agents face, or at least those they face in dramatic movies. The sarcasm is palpable and vintage “Weird Al”.
#4: “Foil” (2013)
Parody of “Royals” by Lorde
This parody starts in familiar “Weird Al” territory: food, or rather how His Weirdness likes to avoid bacteria by storing his uneaten food in aluminum foil . But then it takes an unexpected turn launching into illuminati-style conspiracy theories for the song’s second verse. Of course Al brings it back as only he can in the final chorus, by singing about how foil can be used not only to preserve food, but to make hats that block alien and government mind probes . The video for this song features an appearance by Patton Oswalt, who, of course, reveals himself to be a lizard person at the end.
#3: “Word Crimes” (2014)
Parody of “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell Williams and T.I.
“Weird Al” Yankovic has a big dictionary and he wants everyone to know it, or at least to know that he really cares about proper grammar. Not only is this song a funny lecture on how people mis-use grammar on the internet, it also provides several grammatical lessons, all to the tune of Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines. While some took offense to the innuendo in the original and criticized the video for being sexist, the only people who may object to this parody are those guilty of the incorrect grammar Al calls out.
#2: “Gump” (1996)
Parody of “Lump” by The Presidents of the United States of America
In this parody that screams 1990s, Al really nails his imitation of both sources he draws inspiration from. Not only does he get the sound and look of alt-rock band The Presidents of the United States of America down pat, the video for the song hilariously re-creates scenes from the hit Tom Hanks movie Forrest Gump. They even insert actor Andy Comeau’s version of Forrest into vintage footage of former US Presidents the same way the film did with Hanks’ character. Al takes attention to detail to a whole other level with this one.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions:
“Jurassic Park” (1993)
Parody of “MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris
“eBay” (2003)
Parody of “I Want it That Way” by Backstreet Boys
“Living with a Hernia” (1986)
Parody of “Livin’ in America” by James Brown
#1: “Yoda” (1985)
Parody of “Lola” by The Kinks
Weird Al knows his fans, and his fans know and love Star Wars. We included “The Saga Begins” in our first list of parodies, but that was only Al’s second trip to a galaxy far far away. This first happened early in his career when he cleverly made the tale of Luke’s training on Dagobah at the hands of everyone’s favorite green Jedi fit the tune of “Lola” by The Kinks. It was a real crowd pleaser that prompted joyous audience singalongs when it first came out and it still is today.
For this list, we’ll be looking at song parodies His Weirdness put out during his long career that we didn’t include in our first list. We’ll be excluding takes on a particular band or performer’s style that don’t parody a specific song as well as Al’s original tunes. If your particular favorite “Weird Al” parody doesn't appear here, why not check out our first list, Top 10 Weird Al Parodies.
#10: “Pretty Fly for a Rabbi” (1999)
Parody of “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” by The Offspring
There aren’t many who can make a funny parody of a song that was already pretty tongue in cheek begin with. But “Weird Al” can, as proved when he took on The Offspring’s tale of a white suburban kid trying and failing to come across as a hardcore rapper and turned it into a tune about a really hip rabbi. Yankovic rocks out while singing and rapping about everything from bar mitzvahs to locks on a bagel in a playful laundry list of all things Jewish. Naturally, he also throws in a decent amount of Hebrew and Yiddish lines for good measure .
#9: “My Bologna” (1983)
Parody of “My Sharona” by The Knack
Al originally recorded this parody back in 1979 in a bathroom when he was still in college. After sending the tape to the Dr. Demento radio show, it found fans instantly, giving his career its first sparks of life . As with much of Al’s work, it’s food-themed, espousing his apparent love of a particular Oscar Meyer lunch meat to the tune of one of the biggest hits of the day. It also showcased Al’s accordion playing with a particularly rocking accordion solo subbing in for the expected guitar solo. This song was an introduction to an artist with decades ahead of him.
#8: “I Lost on Jeopardy” (1984)
Parody of “Jeopardy” by the Greg Kihn Band
He may have lost on Jeopardy, but “Weird Al” won at making parody songs and videos. This vintage Al tune was released a few months before the classic game show got the modern re-boot with host Alex Trebek that we are most familiar with today. The video featured the original show’s host Art Fleming presiding over Al’s over-the-top loss as well as announcer Don Pardo and even a cameo by Greg Kihn, the artist Al was spoofing. While Kihn was a good sport, this is another example of the parody outlasting the original.
#7: “Bedrock Anthem” (1993)
Parody of “Give it Away” and “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Call it a Yabba Dabba Double Parody. While this song is primarily a riff on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ funky '90s hit “Give it Away”, Weird Al manages to open it with a parody of the band’s other big song of the decade, “Under the Bridge”. It turns out that both of them also fit the theme of The Flintstones pretty well. Al’s video also proves that Chili Peppers’ imagery somehow mixes quite well with clips from the classic cartoon he intersperses throughout. It’s another great example of how Al excels when he mixes popular music with pop culture.
#6: “Trapped in the Drive-Thru” (2006)
Parody of “Trapped in the Closet” by R. Kelly
This is one epic parody, literally. But considering it is spoofing a song that is essentially a multiple-part mini-movie, it's appropriate. While R. Kelly’s R&B opera deals with themes of violence, infidelity and intertwined stories, “Weird Al” keeps it simple. It tells the tale of a happily married couple trying to figure out what to have for dinner and eventually deciding on taking a trip to a fast-food drive thru. He still delivers the lyrics with all the passion and intensity of the original. The animated video for the song features a slew of characters, though none of them look like Al for a change.
#5: “Party in the CIA” (2011)
Parody of “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus
While lyrics about covert assassinations of foreign heads of state, waterboarding and plotting coups may not intrinsically lend themselves to a fun party song, that’s exactly where “Weird Al” went with his parody of the Miley Cyrus hit “Party in the USA”. The video for this song is animated and lets us follow Al from his first day at Langley through his missions and missteps, taking a cavalier and jovial attitude about some rather intense situations agents face, or at least those they face in dramatic movies. The sarcasm is palpable and vintage “Weird Al”.
#4: “Foil” (2013)
Parody of “Royals” by Lorde
This parody starts in familiar “Weird Al” territory: food, or rather how His Weirdness likes to avoid bacteria by storing his uneaten food in aluminum foil . But then it takes an unexpected turn launching into illuminati-style conspiracy theories for the song’s second verse. Of course Al brings it back as only he can in the final chorus, by singing about how foil can be used not only to preserve food, but to make hats that block alien and government mind probes . The video for this song features an appearance by Patton Oswalt, who, of course, reveals himself to be a lizard person at the end.
#3: “Word Crimes” (2014)
Parody of “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell Williams and T.I.
“Weird Al” Yankovic has a big dictionary and he wants everyone to know it, or at least to know that he really cares about proper grammar. Not only is this song a funny lecture on how people mis-use grammar on the internet, it also provides several grammatical lessons, all to the tune of Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines. While some took offense to the innuendo in the original and criticized the video for being sexist, the only people who may object to this parody are those guilty of the incorrect grammar Al calls out.
#2: “Gump” (1996)
Parody of “Lump” by The Presidents of the United States of America
In this parody that screams 1990s, Al really nails his imitation of both sources he draws inspiration from. Not only does he get the sound and look of alt-rock band The Presidents of the United States of America down pat, the video for the song hilariously re-creates scenes from the hit Tom Hanks movie Forrest Gump. They even insert actor Andy Comeau’s version of Forrest into vintage footage of former US Presidents the same way the film did with Hanks’ character. Al takes attention to detail to a whole other level with this one.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions:
“Jurassic Park” (1993)
Parody of “MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris
“eBay” (2003)
Parody of “I Want it That Way” by Backstreet Boys
“Living with a Hernia” (1986)
Parody of “Livin’ in America” by James Brown
#1: “Yoda” (1985)
Parody of “Lola” by The Kinks
Weird Al knows his fans, and his fans know and love Star Wars. We included “The Saga Begins” in our first list of parodies, but that was only Al’s second trip to a galaxy far far away. This first happened early in his career when he cleverly made the tale of Luke’s training on Dagobah at the hands of everyone’s favorite green Jedi fit the tune of “Lola” by The Kinks. It was a real crowd pleaser that prompted joyous audience singalongs when it first came out and it still is today.
