Weird Beat

Yesterday, I was at the Puayllup Fair, a major annual fair in the state I live in. It holds a stadium that hosts concerts throughout the year, including during the fair. Tickets to get into the fair are separate from tickets to get into the concert, but fair goers can and do listen in on the concerts going on.

In previous years, I have listened to The Steve Miller Band, and have caught a glimpse at The Manhattan Transfer during my visits to the Fair.

This year I listened in on Weird Al Yankovic. What a treat! I had only learned that he was performing there a couple of days earlier and so I could not prepare myself to attend the concert itself, but it was a lot of fun to hear his music live and listen to the audience.

Yes, the audience was a mix of screams of appreciation and roars of laughter. Next time he comes around, I hope to be a part of such an audience!

I vaguely knew of him when he made parodies like "I Like Rocky Road" (from "I Like Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett), and "My Bologna" (from "My Sharona" by The Knack), but, like to many others, he became a famous sensation to me when he dared to parody the King of Pop during his peak.

Michael Jackson was riding high on the success of his Thriller album and nobody could say anything against him without facing a fight. What Yankovic did could have been considered as making fun of Jackson and angered the Pop fans, but, luckily, Jackson fans and non-fans alike saw it for what it is; humorous.

But not only did the song sound very much like the original, but he made his video look very much like Jackson's video, except...