New Weird Al Chock-full of Symbolism

Alpocalypse was released 06/21/2011

Every artist he parodies is either a pawn or handler.

I have been trying to take stills from the videos, to no avail. Apparently "prt sc" doesn't work for me, and most certainly right clicking is not working either.

I doubt I need to point any out as they're so obvious in this one!

He's singing about deceased actor Charles Nelson Reily, a comedic actor best known as a panelist from the 1970's Match Game show. Some of the lyrics include:

"Everyday he' make the host of Match Game give him a piggyback ride
Yeah, two hour piggyback ride, giddy up Gene

Ninja warrior, master of disguise "

Was he actually Gene's handler, disguised as a co-worker?

"He made sweet, sweet love to a manatee
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, that was something to see, I tell ya"

In Brice Taylor's book, Thanks For the Memories, she tells of being forced to engage in dolphin porn for Sylvester Stallone's sick satisfaction. Perhaps Al actually did observe CNR indulge in bizarre fetishes.

A lot of duality/mirrored imagery, I'm not sure what the meaning is behind the Native stuff.

SO MANY symbolic tattoos in this video, oh my goodness! So many blantly featuring the devil, death, he even has a zombie Ronald Reagan skating with Hello Kitty. (I told you zombies are real!) Dragons, dolphins...another reference to Presidential Models? Even a Colonel Sanders/chicken tattoo. I want to know what his obsession with the Colonel is about! He does a Buddhist meditation pose in one scene. Is it just me or does his tramp stamp resemble a pyramid?  And why does he have a tattoo with a man aiming a gun at cherubs? One features a checkerboard pattern with two sex kittens; one has 777 written on her. There is one eye floating in a background soon followed by the Tasmanian Devil aka Taz, crucified Jesus, and Che Guevara's disembodied head "running" away from the tat-man. 

It starts off with Yankovictims?? I can't help but be reminded of Ben's closing comments in my last post on Al "...he may be a monster, uhh...but he's the only Weird Al we've got. And we will leave you with one last memory of our time on the road with him. Every morning when he'd unlock the roadies room and let us out for breakfast and re-education..." There's more in the video that troubles me. Angel's Ass toilet paper, University of Al sweater (taking a jab at the course that disects his lyrics? Eric Dubay of the Atlantean Conspiracy details the truth behind the U.S education system), Yankovic of the Sea (what does Quagadougou Burkina Faso mean?), some of the boardgames he features are Moon Landing Denial, Freud, and Cbnhba-which looks like a badly spelled version of Canada. In the laundromat he wears a shirt with his name and the number 13 while giving a double-thumbs up. He tells his girlfriend she needs lipo while beauty queen Al flashes masonic hand signs, immediately followed by a Goku-Al making another hand sign while dollar bills fly from said hand. His girlfriend and her sister appear wearing black and purple stripes and skulls, the sister with purple hair. They also changed Supercuts to Stuporcuts. At "Wallmart" Weird Al appears on the tv screens with colourful checkerboards flashing behind him. There's also a recurring psuedo-Tinkerbell casting spells on his girlfriend. I could go on, but I feel I've said enough on this video. 

Some of the lyrics:

"Burn that microfilm buddy, will you,
I’d tell you why but then I’d have to kill you!

you need a quickie confession?
we'll start a waterboarding session!"

"Yeah, we’ve got our backups all over the world, from Kazakhstan to Bombay;
payin’ the bribes like yeah, pluggin’ the leaks like yeah;
interrogating the scum of the earth, we’ll break them by the break of day!"

"Need a country to stabilize?
look no further, we’re your guys!
we’ve got snazzy suits and ties,
and a better dental plan than the FBI!

Better put your hands up and get in the van,
or else you’ll get blown away!
stagin’ a coup like yeah,
brainwashin’ moles like yeah,
we only torture the folks we don’t like,
you’re probably going to be okay!"

The video for TMZ could have been better had it lined up with the lyrics. Lyrically, Al fully highlights many celebrity "meltdowns" over the last few years. I find it odd how he focuses predominantly on my girl Britney. (I don't care what anyone says, I empathize strongly with her.) The lyrics:

"You're sort of famous
a minor celebrity
and so it only makes sense
the world would be
obsessed with every
single thing you do

They're running 'round
with their camcorders in the night
they lurk impatienly
in hope that they just might
see something really embarrassing
you do

The bad hair day and sweat-stained t-shirts
that's the story that
they are gonna feature
with exclusive pics
of your flabby behind
you think you're all alone
but that's right when you'll find

A bunch of paparazzi
popping out of nowhere
cameras in your face
and then suddenly
you're on TMZ
you're on TMZ

Following you
when you're walking down the street
and asking stupid questions
while you're trying to eat
so you cover your face
thinking to yourself
"Hey, isn't this creepy?"

And they are there praying
you'll have a big meltdown
and take a mono-lethal car chase
through this whole town
they'll be there with you
when you're going to jail
first on the scene
for every wardrobe fail

You just picked up some transvestite
seconds later
it's up on the website
get a vegas wedding
a quickie divorce
and they'll be
sneaking in
snapping pictures, of course

And if they ever catch you
picking your nose
or storming down the street
in a drunken spree
you're on TMZ

Stalking you, just waiting by your front door
trailing you through
airport security
they were TMZ

they were TMZ

[We caught this oscar nominee picking up DOG POO!
Is that a baby back there?
I pronounce you guilty, of leaving the house while FAT!
Look Who's drinking COFFEE!
everything celebrities do is FASCINATING!]

Oh, let me tell you
it's getting to the point
where a famous person can't
even get a D.U.I
or go on a racist rant
those guys are all around
so you really shouldn't dare
go to every club in town
if you just lost your underwear

Seems that every single time
a star decides to shave her hair
or ram their car into a tree
they're on TMZ

If they catch you peeing in the bushes
later on, that night
well, I guarantee
you're on TMZ
you're on TMZ

you're on TMZ

Every single celebrity
knows they're gonna be

They're on TMZ"

I'm curious as to why he brought up Michael Richards, who co-starred in Weird Al's movie UHF. I suppose Al was "done" with Michael after the whole N-fiasco.

Sources:
http://www.spinner.ca/2009/08/04/weird-al-spoofs-white-stripes-in-c-n-r-video/

Zombies

This looks pretty real to me

Few people want to admit that zombies are real, they laugh it off as ridiculous. Yet if its so unrealistic, why are they so prevalent in pop culture? Movies, comics, tv, games, t-shirts, music? Why are people hacking signs of warning?

Max Brooks has written books detailing the various types of zombies, though he neglects to mention some and he's rumoured to be a pawn.

Various ways a zombie outbreak could happen (from Zombie Hub):

"Most of the historical research of zombie comes where they have originated, the Caribbean island of Haiti. The original type of real zombies are people who were manipulated by some kind of drug created by a voodoo priest and used as slave labor. these are also known as Haiti zombies or voodoo zombies."

"Some Parasites have the potential to cause behavior modification in their effected hosts. This change in behavior has already been documented in many species, including humans. Parasites need a way to transfer from host to host; this could be easily done through the exchange of bodily fluids."

"..viruses do not contain the necessary components needed to carry out the basic chemical reactions required for life. Because they can’t live on their own they infect host cells of other organisms to help them survive and reproduce. Like a parasite, viruses need to find ways to spread to new host cells in order to continue living. They have discovered many different ways to spread to new host organisms. The influenza virus transmits through a sneeze or a cough. Many have the ability to change the DNA of the host cell. Some viruses have even found ways to change the behavior of the host ."

"..in the late 1930’s Soviet scientists experimented with re-animation and some of these experiments were very successful."

The parasitic and virus theories should be warnings to more of us. The Healthy World Organization (no, I am not confusing it with the fraudulent World Health Organization), Jesse Ventura, various medical practitioners, and many more (perhaps people you know personally) have spoken out against vaccinations. There is one coming "soon" (I suspect tptb will release it around the much-hyped 2012) that will cause recipients to become unknowing carriers of a virus that causes others to become ill (most likely those who refused the shot, the elderly, the young, etc...), thus creating a "pandemic". In response, a "new" vaccination will be released. "The cure"...in reality, a strerility drug. Personally, I wish they'd release the sterility needle (or whatever form it takes) without the cloak and dagger. Many people would prefer a shot or pill over surgeries...but the majority of the world wants kids. This won't do for tptb. Population must be reduced, they say. This faux pandemic will kill many and prevent survivors from breeding. I'm looking forward to the sterility shot, but not the suffering of the masses leading up to it.

Looks pretty damn IN the skin to me!

I found these comments to be pretty interesting:

"We all are making light of the new H1N1 Virus aka Swine Flu but holy crap their is a variant that makes Zombies REAL and scares the hell out of me. BamKaPow has the following quote which they source to the BBC;

 'Similar to a scare originally found in Cambodia back in 2005, victims of a new strain of the swine flu virus H1N1 have been reported in London. After death, this virus is able to restart the heart of its victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believed to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during ‘resurrection.’"

On a different site:

'http://65.127.124.62/south_asia/4483241.stm.htm (http://65.127.124.62/south_asia/4483241.stm.htm)

BBC Southeast Asia.

There has been a small outbreak of �zombism� in a small town near the border of Laos in North-Eastern Cambodia.
The culprit was discovered to be mosquitoes native to that region carrying a new strain of Malaria which thus far has a 100 percent mortality rating killing victims in fewer than 2 days.

After death, this virus is able to restart the heart of it�s victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believe to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during �resurrection.�

Cambodian officials say that the outbreak has been contained and the public has no need to worry.

General Ary Serey had this to say, "We have obtained samples of this new virus and plan to learn how it starts the heart and other major organs of the deceased. We intend to use this to increase the quality of life for all.'

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice opposed the plan saying that the Cambodian government holds a great biological weapon and should destroy it immediately. Cambodian officials have yet to comment.

A United Nations team will be dispatched to Cambodia to confirm the safety of biological research in Cambodia."

Later the same user posted:

"Nevermind, I think it's a hoax, I can't find anything to corraborate it and I can't find it on the BBC via the search feature."

Hoax? Not bloody likely-more like a leak was quickly covered. This is a very real report from ABC:

"In real life, the zombies come from the Caribbean island of Haiti. They are a person who has been almost-killed, and then later raised from the almost-dead by a voodoo priest, to be used as slave labour for the rest of their miserable life. Zombies can move, eat, hear and speak, but they have no memory and no insight into their condition. There have been legends about zombies for centuries, but it was only in 1980 that a real-life case was documented.

The story begins in 1962, in Haiti. A man called Clairvius Narcisse was sold to a zombie master by his brothers, because Clairvius refused to sell his share of the family land. Soon after Clairvius "officially" died, and was buried. However, he had been later secretly unburied, and was actually working as a zombie slave on a sugar plantation with many other zombies. In 1964, his zombie master died, and he wandered across the island in a psychotic daze for the next 16 years. The drugs that made him psychotic were gradually wearing off. In 1980, he accidentally stumbled across his long-lost sister in a market place, and recognized her. She didn't recognise him, but he identified himself to her by telling her early childhood experiences that only he could possibly know.

Dr. Wade Davis, an ethnobiologist from Harvard, went to Haiti to research this story. He discovered how to make a zombie. First, make them "dead", then make them "mad" so that their minds are malleable. Often, a local "witch doctor" secretly gives them the drugs.

He made the victim "dead" with a mixture of toad skin and puffer fish. You can put it in their food, or rub it on their skin, especially the soft, undamaged skin on the inside of the arm near the elbow. The victims soon appear dead, with an incredibly slow breath, and an incredibly slow and faint heartbeat. In Haiti, people are buried very soon after death, because the heat and the lack of refrigeration makes the bodies decay very rapidly. This suits the zombie-making process. You have to dig them up within eight hours of the burial, or else they'll die of asphyxiation.

The skin of the common toad (Bufo bufo bufo) can kill - especially if the toad has been threatened. There are three main nasties in toad venon - biogenic amines, bufogenine and bufotoxins. One of their many effects is that of a pain-killer - far stronger than cocaine. Boccaccio's medieval tale, the Decameron, tells the story of two lovers who die after eating a herb, sage, that a toad had breathed upon.

The other half of the witch doctor's wicked potion comes from the pufferfish, which is known in Japan as "fugo". Its poison is called "tetrodotoxin", a deadly neurotoxin. Its pain-killing effects are 160,000 times stronger than cocaine. Eating the fish can give you a gentle physical "tingle" from the tetrodotoxin - and in Japan, the chefs who prepare fugo have to be licensed by the government. Even so, there are rare cases of near-deaths or actual deaths from eating fugo. The toxin drops your temperature and blood pressure, and puts you into a deep coma. In Japan, some of the victims recovered a few days after being declared dead.

Back in Haiti, once you've got the zombie-in-waiting out of the ground, you make them mad, by force-feeding them a paste made from datura (Jimsons Weed). Datura breaks your links with reality, and then destroys all recent memories. So you don't know what day it is, where you are and, worst of all, you don't even know who you are. The zombies are in a state of semi-permanent induced psychotic delirium. They are sold to sugar plantations as slave labour. They are given datura again if they seem to be recovering their senses."

In 2009 the creator of the Undead Report posted about construction signs being hacked. There were about 3 posts in total featuring several pictures. Harmless nerdy pranksters having fun? The authors final post on the subject was most disturbing:

"The Illinois freeways have apparently been taken over – ‘conquered’ if you will – by a master race of commuter zombies. It’s difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive IDOT workers or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the zombies will soon be here. And I, for one, welcome our new undead overlords. I’d like to remind them as a trusted blogging personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground brain mines."

Oh really??

He even has a map on his website pointing out various zombie "sightings", news and whatnot. He is quite serious that the zombies are coming...or are already here.

Ebaums World has security footage of what looks like a real life zombie.

Yes, I'm serious. I believe zombies, of all kinds, are real and they will come. Some may be Hollywood-ized Undead, others may simply be MK or Haitian slaves, some may Turn from parasites or viruses. We don't know what we'll face-we may not even realize we're dealing with a zombie when it happens.

But it'll happen.

Sources:
http://www.zombiehub.com/zombie-research.html
http://www.undeadreport.com/
http://www.undeadreport.com/maps/
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/12/09/1260445.htm
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/archive/index.php/t-8765.html
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/366419/
http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror_15075.html
http://occultview.com/2009/10/07/real-life-zombies/
http://www.paranormalhaze.com/5-real-life-zombies/
http://www.monster-watch.com/post.php?post_id=45
http://zombie-popcorn.com/?p=92
http://www.cracked.com/article_15643_5-scientific-reasons-zombie-apocalypse-could-actually-happen.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_18683_7-scientific-reasons-zombie-outbreak-would-fail-quickly.html?wa_user1=5&wa_user2=Science&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=recommended

Weird Al part two: Everything You Know is Wrong

In a spot on Joyride Media, entitled Everything You Know is Wrong, (named after an original song on his 1996 album Bad Hair Day) Al, former roadies Ben Garret (whom you may recognize from Reno 911) and Tom Lennon, Jon "Bermuda" Shwartz (Al's drummer), Ruben Valtierra (pianist), Dr.Demento, and others shed some light, and sarcasm, on Al's career over the years. They do mention numerous times they're sticking to a script (who wrote it? Al?), yet they keep calling it "What the mainstream media doesn't want you to know". 

I did not type out the entire piece, though I did type out much of it.

On Himself:


Al: These days most artists really look at it as a-a..an achievement, of sorts, to get a "Weird Al" credit because it's a sign you've reached a certain plateau in your career. Y'know, it's the Third Stage of Success. You get Gold, platinum, and Weird Al. That's the highest honour you could possibly get!


The Accordian?:


Al: ...a door-to-door..uh, accordian school representative came to uh, our house when I was six-years-old and asked if the child of the house wanted to take lessons. And uh-at that early age my parents made that life-altering decision for me that I should, in fact, take accordian lessons.


On His Relationship with Dr.Demento:

Al: Because my mind is also a little warped uh...and demented, uh...on its own...m-mmy music tended to gravitate that way. I-I found a kindred spirit in Dr. Demento. I was a big fan of his show when I was growing up and I would listen uh, religiously every Sunday night. And that's where I was exposed to people like Spike Jones and Alan Sherman and Tom Lair and Frank Zappa and Shel Silverstein, people like that. And I thought "Wow! This is really cool!" and uh,..I would kinda do my own take on that and started sending in tapes to the Dr. Demento Show that I recorded in my bedroom. Uh, it wasn't anything that any other disc jockey in the world would have played, y'know Dr. Demento being who he is, he thought it was unique enough to give it airtime.

I need to look more into the artists he mentioned before I can comment, though I've heard dark rumours about most of them. I do know Frank's son, Dweezil, did some work on The Weird Al Show in 1996 or '97.

Dr. Demento: 1976 I got this cheap cassette in the mail from Alfred Yankovic, Lynwood, California and I put it on and heard a song called Belvedere Cruising, him and his accordian, and a few weeks later another tape came in the mail from him. A song called School Cafeteria. That was even better than the first one, but it was probably in '77 or '78 that I invited him to the station and he showed up in his best Sunday suit...shy, but very, very articulate, personable, and uh...number of further occassions, it was on one of those visits that Al sang a new song live on the air, and that turned out to be Another One Rides the Bus. 


Al: That night was the night I met my still drummer Jon "Bermuda" Schwarz. He happened to be another one of the people Dr. Demento had invited to the studio. Uh, he had done a cover version of a song called "Woodsy the Owl" [I may have gotten that wrong] uh, and uh, he told me he was a drummer so when it came time to perform the song I said "Hey Jon, y'know uh, why don'cha bang on my accordian case for percussion since you're this hotshot drummer?" So, y'know, he did and he did such a good job banging on my accordian case that I said "Hey, d'ya wanna be my drummer for the next 30 years?" and he said "Okay!"


Bermuda: After we finished playing Bus that night I said something like "You should have a band and I'll be your drummer." uh...but I don't think it was anything specific, like its just fun to play the song like that, and he was a nice, enthusiastic guy, and I could never have predicted there was a serious career in the future. Uh, but a little voice was saying "This is fun! Stick around!" and it was obviously the right place and time for us to meet.


Jim West: Well you know, I've played in a lot of bands so I wasn't really a stranger to, you know, being a stylistic chameleon.  I mean I've-it wasn't new to me, you know, in learning cover songs, y'know and when you're playing in bands often-times you're playing whatever current cover songs are, so it wasn't that unusual y'know. It was more exciting though, 'cause Al was adding his twist to it, which was pretty cool.

[clip plays of one of Al's polkas, featuring him singing "I'm a man/I'm a one-night stand/I'm a slave/I'm a little girl/when we make love together"]


On Michael Jackson

Al: Well starting out back in the day, uh, it was very difficult to get permission-um, actually it was difficult to get phone calls returned. Nobody wanted to deal with someone named "Weird Al" Yankovic. Um, but, um...after a couple albums..uh.. the tides starting turning. In fact I have to say Michael Jackson was a big reason why..uh..artsits tended to uh..give me approval ..uh.. after that. Because uh..you know, once Michael Jackson gave his blessing it was harder for everyone else to say "no", 'cause you know..."If, if it's okay with Michael Jackson...you know...I guess it's okay! You know, who-who am I to say that Weird Al can't do this if he's got Michael's seal of approval?" So I-I have to give Michael props on that because he really opened a  lot of doors for me.


On MTV

1981 logos

Al: I started about the same time that MTV did. This was waaay back in the days-I don't know if you remember this-this was back in the days when MTV played music videos. It was crraazy! They actually played music video-during, during, like, the day! Like, in fact, like all day long! 24 hours-it was such a concept...and what was cool about the early '80s ...your stuff didn't even have to be very good to make it on the air because they didn't have a big, you know...library of material to choose from. They didn't have a big back catalog in the early '80s so, y'know, my early stuff was really low-budget and, y'know not that great frankly, but they'd play it because they didn't have a lot of choice. So I-I did get to grow up with MTV and we had a nice symbiotic relationship for-for-for many years 'til uh-I-uh had my Logan's Run experience where uh-I became "too old for the demographic".


Tom: People ignore the controversy that's often surrounded Weird Al in his life.  Um, the first time he was on tv no-one would film him from the neck up because it was "too disturbing" for the people at home, they said. And then there was that whole thing about Jesus that he said .[They start playing ominous music] He actually didn't say Weird Al was better than Jesus, he said he'd sold more albums than Jesus. I believe that's true. Technically, you can look it up and that is true. [clips to Eat It]

Why would he bring up Jesus in the same manner John Lennon did?

On the Band

Al: Y'know, I-I always like to hear compliments about the band because I always feel that those guys don't get nearly enough credit for the great work that they do. People denegrate the music sometimes because "Oh, its comedy. It's funny. They can't possibly be a real band" but I mean, if you look at the breadth of what they've done over the last 2, 3 decades I mean, they've done everything from zydeco to polka to gangsta rap and they, they nail each genre perfectly. And you know, that's not easy to do. These guys really know what they're doing. It's a pleasure to work with them on a daily basis.

Insanely talented musicians, or working with spirits?

...Tom mentions Weird Al has worked with the same sound engineer for all of his albums "Unemployable? Or loyal? You decide."...


Describing a ritualistic initiation?


Ruben: I learned all the songs perfectly, and when it came my turn to play with Al-during the Dr.Demento 20th Anniversary-he didn't care what I played like. He just wanted to make sure that I took the eye poke well, and fall on my head. So I devised it, when cameras were rolling, that he came over, delivered the eye poke, and I promptly fell eight feet down, on my head, they loved it, they thought it was the funniest thing in the world, and they called me back to go on tour. So there you have it: That's how I ended up with Al.


...Tom and Ben make bizarre not-quite-jokes about restraining orders, breaking into James Taylors house to write songs on his acoustic guitar, Carly Simon, mocking birds, and paying the piper...

Tom and Ben: Al returned after a year wearing long flowing robes, talking about giving back to his people, and smelling like somebodies feet. We were understandably unnerved but we wanted a raise, so we came back to work for him. Turns out he'd spent that year in India with a guy claiming to be a maharishi. At the end of the year, the maharishi tried to get him to invest in a frozen yogurt business 


Tom and Ben mention Al played Vegas for years and was "kind of a lost soul".


[Smells Like Nirvana plays just before this conversation. Puts a different twist on the line "What's the message/I'm conveying?/Can you tell me/what I'm saying?"]


On Songwriting and Masonry


Al: First and foremost I'm just..*strange noise* going for laughs. Every once in awhile some satire or actual commentary will creep in. A-against my will. Then-then they're teaching these classes in the -uh- Weird Al discography at the local community college. They're-they're picking apart the lyrics trying to find the meaning [laughs almost nervously].
Ben: Weird Al scholars have puzzled for years over his constant use of the number 27. Which did happen after he took that intensive correspondance course on Kabbalah.
Tom: You don't know what it is?
Ben: No, I don't. He never told me. Did he tell you?!
Tom: Oh, yeah! He told all the guys in the band and me,y-yeah.
Ben: Really?!
Tom: Yeah.
Ben: What is it? [sounds like he opens a folded note] oh my goodness!
Tom: Yeah.
Ben: Wow! Look at that!
Tom: yeah.
Ben: Is that like, Masonic?
Tom: uhh...I think it predates the Revelations.
Ben: Wow!
Tom: ..lemme...fold a dollar bill...like that...[paper rustling]
Ben: Wow! Look at that! ...Nostradamus stuff!
Tom: Yeah...interesting, right?
Ben: *sounding impressed* Very!
Tom: ...and if look and you take the eagle like that [paper rustling] it was hiding there the whole time! Looks like Weird Al, there y'go. On the dollar bill.

Either Bermuda or Jim: Yeah, y'know Al pretty much has outlived-his career has outlived- many of all the bands he's, uh, he's done stylistic comments on. But I mean one way of looking at it is there's never-never a lack of m-material for him to uh work with. There's always going to be something out there. And its interesting too because his career has uh-everytime he puts a record out...he kind of um, regenerates a new audience. The demographic at our shows is all over the map. 
Jim or Bermuda mentions couples who have met at Al's shows and gotten married, predicts they'll breed a new generation of Al fans.
Ben: ...Kids, you exist because of the magical talent of Weird Al Yankovic.


Wrapping Up


Ben: Ladies and gentlemen, he may be a monster, uhh...but he's the only Weird Al we've got. And we will leave you with one last memory of our time on the road with him. Every morning when he'd unlock the roadies room and let us out for breakfast and re-education, we'd put our hands on our hearts and sing along with what we called "The 'Weird Al' Anthem". Then he'd charge us royalties for singing his song. That's the way it works with him.   [they banter some more then end with Dare to be Stupid]

Hit stores June 21st 2011

(Some) Image Sources:

http://fredseibert.com/post/68774160/mtv-music-television-the-logo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63721124@N00/3793128266/

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/10/20/the-search-for-a-great-tv-space-comedy-continues-robert-ben-garant-and-thomas-lennon-could-be-the-ones-to-get-it-right/

Why does my lighter say Dia De Los Muertos?

While at the store today I remembered I needed to re-stock my lighters. We had cheaped out the last time, so despite having purchased many, we still had a bunch of dead lighters. While I knew Bic is bad for their animal testing (what and how, I do not know. They're listed right here on Peta's site. I have some issues with Peta, but they also do some good work. However, The Vegetarian Site doesn't list Bic as still testing on animals. Perhaps they did in the past but no longer and Peta hasn't and/or won't update/d.) they do make reliable and affordable products.

 

Trying to pick out a couple quickly, I picked what immediately attracted me. It wasn't until I arrived home that I started questioning the imagery before me, cursing myself for being such a product of conditioning:

The Prometheus flame meets the twin snakes wrapped around the heart? Originally I'd bought this because it seemed most innocent of what was available.

"A pirate's life for me" I'd rather not live such a life, thanks. But who, exactly, is the "me" behind this?

"Dia De Los Muertos". I understood the death, but not the rest. Tomzap had this to say:

"El Día de Los Muertos [Day of the Dead] originated in Mexico, before the Spanish conquest. The exact date is unknown but it has been speculated that the idea originated with the Olmecs, possibly as long as 3000 years ago. This concept was passed to other cultures such as the Toltecs, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec and Aztecs. Zapotec and Mixtec influence are strong in Oaxaca.. The Aztec celebration was held during the Aztec month of Miccailhuitontli, presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl Lady of the Dead, and dedicated to children and the dead. Following the Spanish conquest of Mexico during the 16th century, there was a strong effort to convert the native population to Catholicism. There was a good deal of reluctance on the part of the indigenous people which resulted in a blending of old customs with the new religion. All Saints' Day and All Hallows Eve (Halloween) roughly coincided with the preexisting Día de Los Muertos resulting in the present day event which draws from both. This "compromise" was necessary both to preserve church membership and to satisfy church authorities that progress was being made in converting the indigenous to Catholicism. Although the skeleton is a strong symbol for both Halloween and los Días de Los Muertos, the meaning is very different. For Días de Los Muertos the skeleton represents the dead playfully mimicking the living and is not a macabre symbol at all."

So blending Mexican holidays in with Western culture [slapping it on a lighter] is acceptable, because it appears we're welcoming multi-culturalism with open arms, but public celebration of Christmas is offensive? Just another mind-fuck dulling us to the NWO.

The ones I didn't buy:

Another Day of the Dead lighter? Warning of things to come?

Looks like the spider is moving in on its prey.

On the surface they're jumping on the "Vampires are hot" bandwagon, but there's more to it than that.

A Chinese dragon and a ..flaming meteor?

Why does this American propaganda even get sold in Canada? My people like to beLIEve we're not patriotic to the USA.

Very Interesting

In looking up zombies (post coming in the near future) I stumbled across some journal logs on Lost Zombies. There were many images extracted off a hard-drive sent to them from someone known only as J. They believe these were testers of a drug which led to an outbreak, though it reeks of MK conditioning to me.

   Alice in Wonderland

Psychic abilities

DID/MPD (you can see three different writing styles/people) "Help me!" is repeated then heavily scratched out. These are entries from a tester who died 

I strongly recommend reading the other entries-I wish I had access to the original journals themselves! 

MKSlaves could easily be likened to zombies. Perhaps not the Hollywood-ized Undead that feast on brains, but a zombie of sorts still. If you think about it, Hollywood itself is feeding off the brains of the masses, turning us into zombies. Look at people in front of their tv's for hours on end, how it takes over their existance as they discuss celebrities and fictional characters as if they know them intimately. Sports fans are no different-it matters to them a great deal if their team does well that season.

Weird Al part one

I really want to believe he is simply a funnyman, a brilliant musician parodying popular music inadvertantly promoting an agenda to which he is oblivious. Better yet, he is outright mocking it. I want to believe that! I love this man so much that at one point in time I was saving my virginity for him! It's true. However, I can't deny the plausability of his involvement in something darker; so I'm exploring the matter.

I won't get too much into the details of Al's debut album as this site here gives the play-by-play complete with YouTube clips of the song.  It includes Ricky, a tribute to I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball has been linked to pretty much attributing her success to a visit from the dead. You could say Lucy is a pet name for Lucifer.

Toni Basil's career is now teaching performing, choreography, production, acting, and directing for theater, film, video, and concerts according to her website. Perhaps she is deliberately grooming the next generation of puppets. According to rumours, in her video and promos for Mickey she wears her actual Las Vegas High uniform, for whom she was Head Cheerleader. According to Pop-up Video she was never Head Cheerleader.

If I'm not mistaken, Weird Al's first actual music video was Ricky. His first "music video" was My Bologna and was more a live performance. Ricky is the only video that doesn't resemble the original, probably due to the Lucy theme and possibly becase Al didn't want to be in drag for his debut. Here are some pictures (stolen from his website) of him getting into Ricky's character:

No moustache

Notice the difference in his eyes? Good actor, lack of glasses/blindness, or something more?

His next big video was I Love Rocky Road. They used dyed mashed potatoes because ice cream would melt too fast on set.

In 1985 Al released one of his original songs (in the style of Devo) as a single, entitled Dare to be Stupid

He refers to "time" a lot:

"It's time for us to join in the fight"

"You better sell some wine before it's/its time"

"It's time to make a mountain out of a molehill"

"There's no more time for crying over spilled milk
Now it's time for crying in your beer"

I find these particular messages interesting:

"Settle down, raise a family, join the PTA
Buy some sensible shoes and a Chevyrolet
And party 'till you're broke and they drive you away
It's OK, you can dare to be stupid"

"The future's up to you
So what you gonna do

Dare to be stupid"

Whaddya know? As the years (and Al's career) progressed, Western society became more stupid. No, I'm not crediting Al with turning us into morons. Merely stating that his lyrics were prophetic.

  

Weird Al's career picked up momentum with the release of his Michael Jackson parodies.

Beat It was an homage to masturbation.

His "sexy" Madonna dance near the end is both memorable and awesome

In 1996 Al's career was at a high with the release of Bad Hair Day. His single Amish Paradise was wildly popular, and surrounded by contreversy. The story is Al was told he had the green light from Coolio to parody Gangsta's Paradise and do a music video. By the time he found out a video wasn't okay, it was too late. 

Amish Paradise became one of Al's biggest hits, making Bad Hair Day a best-seller.

Scared he's going to run into Coolio?

One song that didn't recieve any attention (it was sadly never a single) was yet another original, entitled Everything You Know is Wrong.

"And as I'm laying bleeding there on the asphalt
Finally I recognize the face of my hibachi dealer
Who takes off his prosthetic lips and tells me

Everything you know is wrong
Black is white, up is down and short is long
And everything you thought was just so
Important doesn't matter"

Near-death experience resulting in a revelation by someone in a mask (of sorts). Al is being quite blunt in the bolded lines.  

He mentions a Hibachi dealer. I assumed this was a car model. Turns out its a Japanese grill.

http://www.beso.com/castiron-hibachi/search?rf=bbq

http://www.hibachi.com.au/

Scary prosthetic lips (and face) on Halle Berry (another product of MK)

"..I accidentally stepped into an alternate dimension
And soon I was abducted by some aliens from space
Who kinda looked like Jamie Farr

They sucked out my internal organs
And they took some polaroids
And said I was a darn good sport
And as a way of saying thank you
They offered.."

Another world that exists within our world unseen to the majority. Alien abduction is popular among MK victims. It is often believed that Jamie Farr played an alien named Stobo in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), however that was Al Nesor, who looks a lot like Jamie Farr. The internal organ suctioning would be a metaphor for a feeling/state of emptiness. Handlers have also been known to take pictures of their work (mementoes, if you will). In 1996 the internet was still catching on, and mostly dial-up. Digital cameras weren't really heard of. If you were a Handler in '96 capturing your "glories" on camera, Polaroids would likely be your choice unless you had trusted connections who developed film (or better yet, had your own darkroom). MK victims usually receive rewards after ritualistic abuse.

"Just then the floating disembodied head of
Colonel Sanders started yelling"

I'm not 100% on any Coloner Sanders symbolism. In 1935 he was granted the title of Colonel and started dressing as a Southern gent, calling himself the Colonel in a manner of self-promotion. It could have been purely innocent on his part. But this seems scary to me:

It feels like he's watching us

"Everything you know is wrong
Just forget the words and sing along
All you need to understand is
Everything you know is wrong"

Very telling, yet on the surface, strange, lyrics. What he's really saying is bolded. But of course nobody is listening: He's Weird Al! He sings ridiculous nonsense all the time! Nobody drives down a freeway with rabid wolverines in their underwear!

"I was just about to mail a letter to my evil twin
When I got a nasty papercut
And, well, to make a long story short
It got infected and I died"

Duality, DID/MPD. Another death experience.

"So now I'm up in heaven with St. Peter
By the pearly gates
And it's obvious he doesn't like
The Nehru jacket that I'm wearing
He tells me that they've got a dress code"

Simon-Peter is most famous for his upside-down crucifixtion. He chose to be hung that way, stating he was unworthy of dying in the same manner as Jesus Christ. He'd never forgiven himself for his denial of Jesus the day of his Saviours death. Followers of the dark one have twisted the meaning of the upside-down cross to represent their lord. I find it particularly odd that he insinuates Heaven would find a Nehru jacket distasteful.

Jesus did say that the devil wanted Peter. I guess this artist decided to help the dark one. Allegedly Gene Simmons claims that as a boy he saw his mother do this hand gesture. When he asked her what it was, she told him it was to ward off evil. I don't believe it for a minute!  

The Nehru jacket; this site did an article on said jacket, unaware it was full of symbolism. (Sammy Davis Jr. was a Satanist, and the Beatles have also been linked to the Illuminati. Dr.Evil is standing in front of a black and white stripes. Perhaps this is why St.Peter dislikes the jacket, despite its dressy appearance.) The Nehru jacket is originally an Indian design.

1996 was also the year The Weird Al Show came out. It only lasted a season, as the network that ran it changed their Saturday morning line-up. Remember how awesome Saturday morning tv used to be?

Dr.Demento and Al at the "Dr's" 20th Anniversary bash , I believe at Disneyland. Dr Demento gave Al the leg up early on in Al's career.

At the Team America:World Police premiere

White and Nerdy

Straight Outta Lynwood

Does that say "Empty" behind him?

Have you noticed the strange look in his eyes yet? Its prevalent in many of his pictures

Ritual of sorts? The blond guy has intense eyes:

Why is he pointing to his junk at a kids book signing?

Checkerboard tie on a suspicious looking Teller (the other guy has a reptilian stare going on)

Monarch purple robe

Chris Robinson of the Black Crows, also Kate Hudson's ex

New album coming out

This was entitled "Holy Trinity of Pop Culture" on his website

At the Red premiere

Inverted red pyramid behind, she has a vacant stare

Living up to his "Weird" persona?

 

The Weird Al wiki has some notable facts about his use of the number 27.