You're Pitiful
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “You're Pitiful” | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Digital Download by "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||
| Album | N/A | |
| Released | June 7, 2006 | |
| Recorded | April 12, 2006 | |
| Genre | Comedy | |
| Length | 3:16 | |
| Writer | "Weird Al" Yankovic | |
"You're Pitiful" is a parody of "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt written and recorded by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released exclusively online in June 2006.
In the song, Yankovic describes the pitiful existence of a 42-year-old man who still lives with his mother and his life which involves, among other things, wearing a homemade Star Trek uniform and his job as a Slurpee machine operator.
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[edit] Controversy
Yankovic recorded the song to be included on his Straight Outta Lynwood album after, according to Yankovic, having been given Blunt's blessing to parody the song. However, following its recording, Blunt's record company, Atlantic Records, allegedly told Yankovic that he could not include the song on his album. (When asked by NPR, Atlantic had no official comment on the matter.)
Yankovic eventually revealed that Atlantic "said it was 'too early' in James' career for a parody, and they were afraid that focusing any more attention on 'Beautiful' at that point might lead to the perception of James as a 'one-hit wonder'". According to Yankovic, "They didn't say I couldn't do the parody… they just said they'd let me know 'when the time was right'. So we cancelled our release date and waited. Finally, months later, we got the answer: the 'right' time, apparently, was 'never'."[1]
Yankovic has always had a policy of obtaining approval prior to releasing his parodies from the original artist's record company; however, after a miscommunication surrounding "Amish Paradise", a parody of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", he has sought permission directly from the artist. However, Yankovic told NPR[2] that this was the first time a record label has denied a release of one of his parodies. "[I]f James Blunt himself were objecting," Yankovic told NPR, "I wouldn't even offer my parody for free on my Web site. But since it's a bunch of suits — who are actually going against their own artist's wishes — I have absolutely no problem with it."
Yankovic told NPR in an e-mail that the question of whether Atlantic could legally forbid the parody, given the United States Supreme Court's 1994 Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. decision recognizing parody as fair use, is "moot", saying that the issue was "more of a political matter than a legal matter", suggesting that both Blunt and Volcano (Yankovic's label) would wish to avoid alienating Atlantic.
Yankovic released the song for free distribution on the Internet, and it has become popular on The Dr. Demento Show.
The video for Straight Outta Lynwood's second single, "White & Nerdy", depicts Yankovic taking revenge, of sorts, against Atlantic Records by vandalizing their Wikipedia article by blanking all text and replacing it with the words "YOU SUCK!" in large letters. Said revenge has been realized by some wiki vandals. Yankovic has said that he does not approve of the vandalism, though he admits being amused by it.[3] Also in the video, Al is on his MySpace page and for a split second, "You're Pitiful" is visible as his profile song.
On the concert tour for Straight Outta Lynwood, Yankovic performs the song initially wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and progressively removing clothing to reveal different layers underneath. The penultimate t-shirt revealed says "Atlantic Records Sucks". The final t-shirt is the face of SpongeBob Squarepants. Yankovic then removes his pants to reveal boxer shorts with red hearts, a pink tutu, and fishnet stockings.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Skaggs, Austin (2006-09-19). Weird Al Yankovic Dishes on James Blunt, Discusses His Role as the Whitest, Nerdiest Rock Star Ever (English). Rolling Stone Rock and Roll Daily. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2006-09-25.
- ^ Thompson, Stephen (2006-06-13). Free 'Weird Al' Yankovic! (English). Mixed Signals. National Public Radio. Retrieved on 2006-09-22.
- ^ Adams, Cameron (2006-10-05). Weird Al Yankovic (English). Herald Sun. Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
- ^ You're Pitiful Live Performance at OC Fair.. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
[edit] See also
- Atlantic Records#Media references
- White & Nerdy#References in video
- Wikipedia in popular culture
- List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic
[edit] External links
- "Weird Al" Yankovic (June 2006). "You're Pitiful" (MP3) (English). Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
