Weird Al Yankovic has yet again returned with his unrivaled blend of musical parody and satire. Much to the delight of this blog he decides to take on a few fashion trends and men’s style issues head on. Which is rather interesting considering historically speaking his personal style has gravitated towards the more horrifying side of things. But anyway, that is neither here nor there. What is important is that he puts down Crocs, Uggs and Ed Hardy. Most importantly, he makes it clear that wearing suspenders with a belt is also ‘tacky’. He then throws in a few other fashion and menswear references for good measure. Needless to say, the man has won my heart. But he didn’t stop there.
Much of the remainder of the song comments on behaviors and manners (or lack thereof) that are often exhibited these days. Such as name dropping, tweeting about personal events and excessive bumper stickering.
The question begs to be asked: what is Wierd Al really saying about these aspects of popular and present culture? Have we completely lost sight of decency and good taste? I would argue that in some respects yes. Are these passing fads and trends or are they here to stay? And is he even serious about his critique, or is he just being a funny man? Regardless, don’t wear suspenders and a belt at the same time.
–JLJ
PS – For those of you who like to criticize my grammar you may appreciate another one of Weird Al’s songs
“Yank” in Yankovic cannot be authentic Serb or Croatian – if it were of Slavic etymology, what’s its meaning?
This person is an immigrant, that’s why he’s using “Yankee”. If he’s from the Balkan part of Europe, he’s got economic motives to leave, and no sartorial style of sophistication.
Yanko (Janko) is a common Serbian (or Croatian) name. He probably changed “J” to “Y” so it’s pronounced properly. Many Serb last names end with “vic” such as Markovic, Danilovic. Nothing to do with Yanks
I’m going to assume, given the “Word Crimes” video you linked to, that you spelled “Weird” incorrectly on purpose. 🙂
Jovan,
Good catch. The intricacies of some things…
-Justin