What Makes Weird Al So Weird? Taken From Disney Adventures, April 8, 1991 Weird Al Yankovic has been making fun of people's songs for years. Remember "Eat it" and Like a Surgeon," those two take offs on Michael Jackson's and Madonna's songs? Well, Weird Al's new album has even more fun and twisted songs. Weird Al fans can also see him on video in his movie called UHF. Recently we caught up with him to find out if he really lives up to his name. Q: When did people start calling you "Weird Al"? A: It's a nickname I picked up while I was in college. I was a part-time disc jockey on my campus radio station and I called myself Weird Al because all the music I played was, well, kind of weird. Q: Do you really think you're weird? A: I used to think so until I met Milli Vanilli. Yikes. Q: When you were a kid, did you ever do something that made your parents really mad? A: Once while my parents were out of town for a couple of days, I sold the house and used the money to buy a lifetime supply of wax lips. The were so mad when they came back they made me take accordion lessons. Q: C'mon, you're not serious. Is your whole family weird? A: Actually, my family is pretty normal, but I suspect there are some pretty weird chromosomes floating around in their gene pool. Q: What's the weirdest thing you did in school? A: Well, I don't usually like to talk about this experience because it was SO weird, but one time I turned a homework assignment in...ONE DAY EARLY! Q: You make fun of songs by Michael Jackson and Madonna. Have you met either of them? What do they think of your songs? A: I've met both of them and they were very nice. Michael has been especially supportive of what I do. He even asked me to be his opening act on the European leg of his last tour. Unfortunately, I had to turn it down because I was shooting my movie. Q: Oh, yeah, UHF. In that movie, you had your own TV station. If your really had your own TV station, what kind of shows would you put on? A: I would play "Wheel of Fortune" continously for 24 hours every day. Then after everyone's brain turned to mush, I'd TAKE OVER THE WORLD!! YA HAAAAAAA!! Q: You really _are_ weird. Did you always want to be an entertainer? A: I never dreamed I'd be Weird Al for a living. I got a degree in architecture, thinking that someday I'd have a real job and a relatively normal life. Thank goodness THAT didn't happen. Q: Who's your best friend? A: My very best friend in the whole world is Harvey the Wonder Hamster. He's the only one who really understands me. Q: If you could do any of these things, which would you pick: travel 2000 years into the future, travel 2000 years into the past, or spend three weeks with Julia Roberts? A: Well, I certainly wouldn't go 2000 years into the past because they didn't have cable. And I don't think I'd like 2000 years into the future because a little thing of yogurt would probably cost a million bucks. So, I'll have to go for the Julia Roberts Package. I wonder if she likes to bowl? Q: Can you dance? A: I dance a little in my videos and I work with a choreographer sometimes, but I've always thought of myself as a total non-dancer. I never went to a dance in high school, and even today it's next to impossible to get me out on a dance floor. Q: Ok, one more question. If you could invite five people for dinner, who would they be? A: I'd invite Emo Phillips, Uma Thurman, Amy Irving, Yma Sumac and Yoko Ono. I just think it would be fun to introduce them to each other. You know..."Emo, Uma, Uma, Emo. Uma, Yma, Yma, Uma. Yma, Amy, Amy, Yma. Amy, Ono, Ono, Amy..." This file is part of the "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Page located at: http://www.emsphone.com/Al. E-mail Marty at martyl@emsphone.com with questions or comments. Please do not distribute any part of this document without proper authorization.