"Weird Al" Yankovic talks TMZ in Studio Q

http://www.cbc.ca/Q
Pop-music parodist, "Weird Al" Yankovic talks about his song "TMZ" and the current culture of celebrity obsession in this excerpt from his interview in Studio Q. You can catch the full interview this Sunday afternoon at 1pm on CBC Television.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• TMZ
• Weird Al
• Yankovic
• cbc
• Jian Ghomeshi
• Lisa Kudrow

[paradoxdesigns]

weird al seems like a real down to earth guy in all interviews.

[bubsadoozy]

@spin1200s It depends whether or not you think TMZ is merely capitalizing off of celebrity-hungry culture or are at the same time creating it -- which is what I believe he is arguing. Weird Al doesn't necessarily glamorize it as TMZ does. He is not feeding that culture.

[mulipoz]

I dont think its a thirst for star failure .......its more a piercing + ripping ,of the fantasy balloon lives that the super rich live

[D0CCON]

@spin1200s

If I were a celebrity myself, I would prefer simply having my works parodied rather than having people follow me everywhere and invade in private matters, which is what the song is about. He's talking more about our obsession to see celebrities fall. We as a nation like hearing about how a huge stare is going to rehab or lost custody of their kids.

[bubsadoozy]

@spin1200s I looked it over. Still it seems to me that if you just consider these two in a hypothetical scenario where it's just them and society you'd find that if TMZ did not exist neither would Weird Al but if TMZ did it wouldn't matter either way if Weird Al did or not. He is not supplying new facts rather he is just parodying what has already been laid out in front of us and exploiting it. He is an oxymoron but he's presented as one, I think that's why his name is so out there. 

[spin1200s]

@bubsadoozy I don't believe there's a distinction between those that are capitalizing off of the culture and those that are perpetuating it.

Regarding the creation of widespread celebrity obsession, we've had tabloid rags and TV for a while (1910s in the former case) occupying a cultural niche but mainstream acceptance seems to have paralleled the inclusion of entertainment in mainstream news.

See Herman & Chomsky's propaganda model in Manufacturing Consent (or the wiki) for an overview.

[spin1200s]

I find his disdain for celebrity-hungry culture slightly ironic. Just as TMZ has made a living by capitalizing off of celebrity-hungry culture (oftentimes making fun of them), so too has Weird Al. Although he's released both unique songs and parodies, it's been his parodies of famous songs and artists that have yielded the fame he currently has.

Without his parodies he'd be another Arrogant Worms or perhaps a Moxy Fruvous.

[LoveThatSceneChannel]

@The72koenig =P