Published: June 25, 2008 11:29 am            

Yankovic keeps his weirdness intact

INDIANAPOLIS — He’s not the twentysomething misfit fanboy sending homemade spoofs to Dr. Demento anymore.

In fact “Weird Al” Yankovic’s life has changed drastically since recording “My Bologna,” a parody of The Knack’s “My Sharona,” in the bathroom of the college radio station where he worked as a DJ. He’s now “Weird Al,” married with a 5-year-old daughter.

“That’s sort of the center of my reality,” he said of his family. “I’ve been focusing my spare time on them.”

Indeed, Yankovic’s pop culture railleries have become more infrequent in recent years. But when he does offer up new satire, it still hits its mark. His last record, 2006’s “Straight Outta Lynwood,” gave him his highest-charting album and single (“White & Nerdy,” a spin on Chamillionaire’s hit “Ridin’”) in his long career.

“Had I been single, I’m sure I would’ve had another album out by now, but my priorities in life have changed,” Yankovic said.

However, it doesn’t mean he’s gone the opposite of weird. During a recent media tour here Yankovic strolled through the Westin hotel lobby wearing his signature Hawaiian shirt and slip-on shoes. He even had luggage to match his kitschy get-up. His dark, curly locks (all natural) look the same as they did when he exploded onto the music scene in 1983.

Yankovic says he still manages to keep his finger on the pulse of society, despite the rigors of being a father.

“I’m not able to listen to my music or Top 40 music around the house as much as I used to,” he said. “I’m sort of beholden to what my daughter wants to listen to. I still mange to discern what’s out there and get ready for the next shift in the zeitgeist.”

It’s not the change in personal life that’s most affected Yankovic. Like with all of his professional peers, it’s the dramatic deviation in how music is distributed that’s marked the biggest transformation. But with Yankovic, being current is especially important.

“That’s one of the unfortunate things about how the recording industry’s model has worked for me,” he said. “I have to wait until I have an album’s worth of material, then hopefully come up with a hit single that’s topical. I’ve been lucky in the past. It’s a hard puzzle to put together.”

Faster, more direct avenues in which to disseminate music work in Yankovic’s favor, especially when he aims to lampoon current events. He’s hoping to change his record deal so that he can release parodies immediately online rather than hold them until the next album is released.

The larger challenge is simply determining what’s impacting our culture the most.

“It’s just more difficult nowadays to figure out what in fact is a hit,” Yankovic said. “In the ’80s and prior to that, you could basically look at the Billboard Hot 100 chart and look at the singles and say ‘OK, these are the most popular songs.’ It doesn’t work like that anymore.”

Many songs comprising today’s charts aren’t even released as singles now. Often they’re digital tracks that people are downloading.

“You have to look at that, album sales, airplay charts, ringtone charts,” Yankovic said. “Nowadays when I’m being methodical in trying to figure out what would make the most sense to run with, I literally have to look at a dozen charts to figure out what are the hits.”

Yankovic has had no problem divining the topics foremost on the minds and lips of citizens. His original composition “I’ll Sue Ya” became something of a rallying cry for tort reform, even though Yankovic claims he wasn’t trying to make a serious point with it.

“That wasn’t necessarily my intention when writing the song,” he said. “It’s hard for me take a partisan stand on some of these issues. I just like to bring up the issue and have a laugh with it.”

Same idea with “Don’t Download This Song,” which addresses online piracy. Listeners reading into Yankovic’s lyrics both commended and denigrated him for it.

“I like to keep it nebulous so they don’t know where I stand,” he said.

While Yankovic has found a few targets for his next record, which he plans to start writing after his summer tour, one will not be the ongoing Britney Spears soap opera. Even Yankovic, the master satirist, can’t find any humor in that.

“When things get that sick and twisted I tend to back away from it,” he said. “It’s really pathetic the way the media and public are drawn toward stories like that. That poor girl really has problems. It’s not funny. The thing I like the least about the world we live in is the focus on stories that have no meaning or substance. It’s so out of balance with reality. It makes me angry sometimes.”

Good thing Yankovic has kept his distinct personality through all of life’s twists and turns. In a couple years he’ll hit the half-century mark. It begs the question: Can “Weird Al” Yankovic still be weird at 50?

“I’ll only get weirder as time goes by,” he promised. “No shortage of that.”

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Online:

www.weirdal.com



Just the facts

WHO: “Weird Al” Yankovic

WHEN: 8 p.m. July 3

WHERE: WhiteLies Lawn at White River State Park, 801 W. Washington St., Indianapolis

        

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