Nirvana famously said they knew they had made it when Weird Al did a parody of Smells Like Teen Spirit.
If I recall, Weird Al tries to get permission for all his parodies too, just further adding to the point that people mostly are good with that kind of attention.
That he does. The only snafu he had was with Coolio for Gangster’s Paradise. Apparently the label said yes but didn’t actually check with Coolio and he wasn’t happy about it. Weird Al apologized for the mixup and they made peace with it later. Weird Al said the only star that has consistently turned him down was Prince, who didn’t find the whole parody thing funny.
Many years later, Coolio said that he regrets his reaction and that he realizes it's an honor to get a Weird Al parody.
That warms my old cynical heart just a little
Didn't Paul McCartney refuse as well with the live and let die cover: "chicken pot pie".
Or is that just a joke I took too serious?
Edit 2: Never mind. The cover exists. Maybe he just didn't appreciate it
Yep that one is true as well. Paul is a vegetarian and didn’t want a song about non vegetarian food. He didn’t have a problem with parody in general, just that specific instance. Geez, I know way too much trivia about Weird Al :)
Nirvana famously said they knew they had made it when Weird Al did a parody of Smells Like Teen Spirit.
If I recall, Weird Al tries to get permission for all his parodies too, just further adding to the point that people mostly are good with that kind of attention.
That he does. The only snafu he had was with Coolio for Gangster’s Paradise. Apparently the label said yes but didn’t actually check with Coolio and he wasn’t happy about it. Weird Al apologized for the mixup and they made peace with it later. Weird Al said the only star that has consistently turned him down was Prince, who didn’t find the whole parody thing funny.
Many years later, Coolio said that he regrets his reaction and that he realizes it's an honor to get a Weird Al parody.
That warms my old cynical heart just a little
Didn't Paul McCartney refuse as well with the live and let die cover: "chicken pot pie".Or is that just a joke I took too serious?Edit 2:
Never mind. The cover exists. Maybe he just didn't appreciate itEdit 3: it's just not officially released according to wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_Pot_Pie
Yep that one is true as well. Paul is a vegetarian and didn’t want a song about non vegetarian food. He didn’t have a problem with parody in general, just that specific instance. Geez, I know way too much trivia about Weird Al :)
Edit: the song was created just never released.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_Pot_Pie
Performed live, ahaha!
I'm pretty sure Prince wouldn't give him permission.