GUILTY PLEASURE

Today, I confess my guilty pleasure: Anything created by Weird Al Yankovic. 

One of my great regrets in life is that I was a late comer to the Dr. Demento Show, taping each Sunday night broadcast when I was supposed to be sleeping. So I wasn't there for Weird Al's radio debut with "Another One Rides the Bus". By the time I had become a "dementoid", Al was already gaining renown in the world of novelty music. 

I almost got to see Yankovic in concert at the Indiana State Fair in the summer of '84. He was supposed to open for the Stray Cats (!), but he canceled last minute due to illness. I was bummed.

Throughout my teens and twenties, I bought each Weird Al album the moment it came available. I remember even buying a 33 that I felt like I had to hide from my parents because the B side had a song called "Nature Trail to Hell (in 3D)", a comic imagining of a teen slasher movie. 

I got irritated with people who mispronounced his name. And I pitied those who believed that Yankovic was incapable of producing anything but the parodies he became famous for. 

In fact, my favorite songs were often his originals - 

• Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung
• One More Minute
• I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead
• Gonna Buy Me a Condo
• Generic Blues
• Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota

I was a true fan. During my college days, I even went through a Hawaiian shirt faze. 

All this to say that I have already watched his new biopic movie, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, twice. I haven't laughed so hard at a movie for a very long time. 

Here's a public service announcement: I recommend the movie and you can watch it for free on Roku (even if you don't have Roku).