The Stunning Endurance Of Weird Al
Last week, the winner of the internet was pretty much unanimous: it was Weird Al by a mile. After releasing his new album Mandatory Fun and putting out a new video for eight straight days, it became abundantly clear that the world is still interested in Weird Al’s warped take on the popular songs of the day. Really, this isn’t surprising; he’s a hilarous guy, and he always has been. But one interesting thing to consider is that Weird Al has managed to remain relevant in music for 30 years now. That sort of thing is practically unheard of. As the trends in popular music have shifted again and again, the only thing that’s really remained constant is Weird Al’s ability to mock them. There’s always a New Dylan, a Next Springsteen, and a Madonna-in-waiting. But Weird Al is pretty much irreplaceable. Plenty of aging musicians still have their albums[...]