Artist "Weird Al" Yankovic

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"Weird Al" Yankovic

There’s a persistent notion that “Weird Al” Yankovic plays to a new generation of 12-year-olds every time he tours or puts out an album, even though it isn’t exactly true. Case in point: Last December, he played his first-ever European show at the Godspeed You! Black Emperor-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties, and it wasn’t only the preteens singing along with clever, yesterday’s-hit-skewering parodies like “Eat It” and “Amish Paradise.” Over 30-plus years as a songwriter and pop-culture satirist, Yankovic has kept the public’s attention not only through his wit, but also through his marketing savvy: He’s fully embraced releasing new songs online—like 2009’s Grammy-nominated Internet Leaks EP—to prevent his time-sensitive songs from becoming “old and dated.” Several songs from Internet Leaks were incorporated with new material, like semi-controversial Gaga parody “Perform This Way,” in the new album Alpocalypse.

Updated 10/10/2011