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A Vermont 'Weird Al' Class Teaches The Art Of Parody

Brian Warwick paced his Vermont State University-Lyndon classroom, running a hand through his dark hair, bobbing on the heels of his sneakers. The screen behind him was frozen on an image of a gang member emerging from a manhole. Warwick looked from face to face, surveying his students' reactions to the video clip. A grown-up-ish interloper among the class of undergrads, I followed his gaze and noted the spectrum of expressions: some perplexed, others focused and studious. More than a few had that unmistakable blank visage of college kids who have rolled straight out of bed and into the classroom.

Most, however, were laughing quietly, some shaking their heads as if to say, "That's so dumb." In this setting, that was strangely a compliment.

Warwick is an associate professor in the VTSU music department. He's also a recording engineer who has collaborated with the varied likes of Stevie Nicks, Ludacris and Slayer. His crowning achievement is the Grammy Award he won for his work on "Weird Al" Yankovic's 2014 album, Mandatory Fun.

The clip on-screen was from the video for Yankovic's 1984 single "Eat It," a parody of Michael Jackson's 1982 smash "Beat It." Warwick had played both videos for his students, not as entertainment but as serious academic discourse.

"What was something you noticed that was similar to the original but deviated in a key way?" Warwick asked his students.

"The gang fight," one student answered, holding back laughter. "It almost looks the same, except for the rubber chicken."

"It Almost Looks the Same, Except for the Rubber Chicken" easily could have worked as the name of Warwick's class, which is actually called "'Weird Al' and His Polkas." Part of the university's Music Business & Industry program, the course, which debuted this semester, is an earnest study of Yankovic's extensive canon of pop music parodies, pastiches and, yes, polka medleys. After 40 years, the musician's place in American pop culture is unquestionable: The "Amish Paradise" and "Smells Like Nirvana" singer is, to borrow a phrase from Wolverine, the best there is at what he does.

Appropriately, VTSU's "Weird Al" class is itself sort of a parody.

"I had the idea for the class in a very 'Weird Al' kind of way," Warwick told me after class. "I saw that Harvard was offering this class called 'Taylor Swift and Her [World].' And I immediately thought, I should teach a class called ''Weird Al' and His Polkas.' It was just too perfect."

Warwick is certainly qualified to dissect Yankovic's body of work. After all, he's part of it. But Warwick's relationship with the music of "Weird Al" goes back to his childhood in the mid-1980s, when he received a red-and-yellow Sony tape deck and a cassette of Yankovic's Dare to Be Stupid.

"I wore that tape out," he recalled. "I became obsessed with his parodies." He also devoured Yankovic's polka medleys of pop hits played on accordion.

Warwick pitched the course to his program coordinator and the school's dean, both of whom gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up. So he set about designing the curriculum, centered on what he dubbed "the three Ps": parody, polka and pastiche.

"Yes, we all know the famous parodies, and we're studying those, for sure," Warwick said. "But his catalog is so much deeper than people realize."

He pointed to the brilliance of Yankovic's pastiches. Instead of parodying specific songs — à la "Beat It"/"Eat It" — these are originals written in the style of other artists, such as "Dog Eat Dog," his take on Talking Heads. Warwick illustrated the roots of this facet of Yankovic's work by introducing students to clips of the American musician and spoof composer Spike Jones, a key Yankovic influence.

"There's such a timeless element to what Al does," Warwick said. "It's this kind of ageless humor that doesn't really punch down. It's goofy and ridiculous, and whatever stick 'Weird Al' is poking you with is never that sharp. He wants everyone in on the joke."

Most of Warwick's class is studying audio production and will be focusing on the techniques Yankovic uses to shape-shift from genre to genre. But I had a much less technical question for the prof. Namely, how has Yankovic crafted such a long career spoofing other people's songs, and why hasn't anyone been able to duplicate that success?

"I'm always surprised by how relevant Al's music remains," Warwick said. "I think, first and foremost, people never get tired of laughing and being goofy, and Al gives listeners such an open license to enjoy being ridiculous. It speaks to all of our inner 11-year-old in some ways."

Paired with that silly abandon is what Warwick witnessed firsthand in the studio: Yankovic's razor-sharp wit, meticulous attention to detail and musical prowess.

"Al has made it so tough to try and do what he's done by being so, so good," Warwick asserted. "Pre-internet, this is a dude who was going to the library to research hernia operations, going through medical journals to write 'Living With a Hernia.'"

Parodies are legally protected as fair use, giving Yankovic the right to lampoon anyone he chooses. Yet he always seeks permission from the artists he's sending up and generally respects their wishes if they decline.

Yankovic's practice is "a great lesson for the students," Warwick said, particularly in an industry in which samples are used routinely and often without permission.

Warwick followed Yankovic's example and reached out to him for his blessing on the class. Not only did Yankovic give it, Warwick said the singer was honored to have a college class study his work and told him that he'd be happy to answer any questions or help design the curriculum.

Back in the classroom, Warwick pressed play on the "Eat It" video for a second viewing, just as Yankovic, dressed in red leather, did his best impression of Jackson's dance moves before biting savagely into a banana. Students bent over notebooks and laptops, thoughtfully taking notes.

It was a cool enough scene for me to briefly consider accruing more student loans to become a master of all things "Weird Al." (The class is available to non-VTSU students.) But then I remembered that I grew up in the 1980s. Yankovic has already taught me so much.

Weird Al Out Here Asking The Big Questions, Like, "Why Hasn't Weird Al Hosted SNL?"

Weird Al Yankovic has been a comedy institution for more than four decades at this point, having produced TV shows, music videos, films, and, of course, hundreds of beloved parody songs. Which raises a question: Why hasn't he ever hosted Saturday Night Live, huh?

And by "raises a question," we mean Yankovic himself very publicly raised the question recently in a conversation with People, after talking about a time when his pal Andy Samberg called him up to get his okay for an impression of Yankovic he was going to be doing on the series. The parody master agreed to that easily—what are you going to do, hurt Weird Al Yankovic's feelings?—but then pivoted to asking a question that we, honestly, would like to know the answer to, too: "I wonder, 'Why I haven't done that yet?' and that's one of them," Yankovic mused. "But you know it, you know it still may happen. Who knows?" (Also, since you asked, Yankovic said he'd rather host than serve as musical guest, since "If you host, you have more permission to mess up. As a musical guest if you get one note wrong, you're a failure.")

Honestly, if you'd asked us before tonight, "Has Weird Al every been on Saturday Night Live?" we probably would have fired back a "Must have done, yeah?" (Maybe around the time his delightfully fictitious "biopic" Weird was making the rounds.) Yankovic, who was interviewed by People while attending the 2024 Children's Hospital Gala in Los Angeles on Saturday, doesn't seem super put out about never having done the long-running sketch show, but at the same time: Probably would make for a pretty fun episode, right?

Jimmy Fallon Taps Polka With 'Weird Al" Yankovic, Channels Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, And More On Seasonal Debut 'Holiday Seasoning'

When Jimmy Fallon was two seasons into his term at Saturday Night Live, he and castmate Horatio Sanz wrote a holiday spoof late one night. Along with fellow SNL colleagues Chris Katan and Tracy Morgan, Sanz, and Fallon debuted "I Wish It Was Christmas Today" during a holiday episode in December 2000. The skit was such a hit that the foursome returned to perform it on SNL again before Christmas. "It was just a keyboard and that little guitar, and I didn't even think it would be anything," Fallon tells American Songwriter. "We just did it as a goof, and it took off, and then Julian Casablancas redid it and made it into a real song played on the radio."

Later released by Casablancas as a bonus track on his 2009 album, Phrazes For The Young, the song became a standard on the show and was a launchpad for Fallon, who ventured deeper into the holidays years later. In 2021, he revisited Christmas with a trifecta of songs within three years: "It Was a… (Masked Christmas)" in 2021, featuring Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion; "Almost Too Early For Christmas" with Dolly Parton in 2022; and "Wrap Me Up" a year later, which he co-wrote and sings with Meghan Trainor. The latter went to No. 2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay chart. 

All three are sprinkled into Fallon's first seasonal album, Holiday Seasoning, featuring his Late Night house band The Roots, former SNL castmate Will Ferrell, Cara Delevingne, Chelsea Handler, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and more.

Holiday Seasoning opens on the closest thing to a traditional with the hyped-up "Christmas Ding-Dong," before the funkier "Holiday" with the Jonas Brothers, and a ska-tipped "Hey Rudy" backed by the Roots. Justin Timberlake, who worked on Fallon's 2012 Grammy-winning album Blow Your Pants Off and has been the Robin to his Barry Gibb in their ongoing SNL Bee Gees skit, joins on their laid-back "bromance" ditty, "You'll Be There."

Switching genres by track, Fallon's festive pastiche folds into the Yankovic-doused polka countdown, "New Year's Eve Polka 5-4-3-2-1," a lighter take on the more solemn New Year's Eve songs in one vignette, and a Roy Orbison-tinged "Chipmunks & Chestnuts" by another. On the folkier "One Glove" Ferrell tells an absurd tale of a man helping a woman braving the cold—her hands are two different temperatures in the middle of the storm sings Fallon. As the man continues searching for the missing glove, Ferrell adds I could use one of those little hand-warmer things but they never seem to last.

Handler and Fallon twist up harmonies on their psychedelic hymnal, "Merry Happy Christmas," while the wholesome "Hallmark Movie" takes a dark turn into a Lifetime flick. Off-beat reggaeton moves "Coquito." A Weezer-y "Weird Cousin" tells the story of an outlier family member, and "Turkey Day" gets a nod on the penultimate, Dylan-esque "Thanksgiving Eve."

Holiday Seasoning removes all the stresses and seriousness around the holidays, and Fallon has created the perfect holiday mixtape stuffed with some of the most awkwardly comedic storylines ever written.

"I hope people buy this, and listen to the whole thing like it's a mixtape since it's all these different genres," says Fallon. "In this generation, you listen to playlists, so it should sound like one, like the greatest hits of different artists playing in the background."

Fallon recently spoke to American Songwriter about the making of his holiday album, finally learning proper song terminology, writing "bad Dylan lyrics" for the sake of a holiday tune, and why Thanksgiving Eve should be a holiday.

[RELATED: 7 Songs You Didn't Know Jimmy Fallon Wrote]

American Songwriter: How far back does your obsession with holiday music go? Was it "I Wish It Was Christmas Today"?

Jimmy Fallon: Yeah, I think that was the first one. I give credit to Horatio Sanz, The holiday show around Saturday Night Live is a big show. Usually, we get good hosts and good musical guests, and everyone's in good spirits, and the sketches are holiday-themed, and it's just that music is all over the city with 30 Rock and Christmas Tree lit up. There's ice skating, the Rockettes, and we're surrounded by the holidays.

Music fits in perfectly with the holidays, whether you're having a party or get-together with family or friends, music is always a good ingredient to a good party. So we always try to write some musical something for the holidays, and someone had given me a backpacker guitar for Christmas, which is a tiny little guitar that you can take backpacking. So I had this little guitar, and Horatio was playing with it in the office, and it has this tinky little sound to it, and he got a good riff to it, and we started playing, and it's probably two in the morning. I have a keyboard from the '80s in the office and it had some pre-recorded drum beats and loops that you can play with different chords. So we were pretending we were writing a really, great pop song but with really dumb lyrics, and that's what we ended up doing.

It was just a keyboard and that little guitar, and I didn't even think it would be anything. When I came in the next day, he [Sanz] goes "Dude, I submitted that Christmas song." So then we just did it as a goof. It took off, and then Julian Casablancas redid it and made it into a real song played on the radio.

I've always been into it [holiday music]. It's such a good rush. For this album, Michele Anthony from Universal, who's just a legend, encouraged me. She was like, "You should do a Christmas album like the 12 Days of Christmas sweaters you do on The Tonight Show, but with 12 covers? I recorded half of one song with a big band type of thing, and it was terrible. It wasn't my thing. It was corny. I'm not as good as [Michael] Bublé, Kelly Clarkson, or Mariah Carey. They can rock that, and that's their thing, but it's just not me. It just feels odd to me to be singing this and not be making a joke about it. I had this song called "Chipmunks and Chestnuts" that's like a Roy Orbison-type song. When I record them, in my head, I think "Oh, I'm sounding like Roy Orbison." Then I'll finish and everyone says "You sounded great. You sounded like Elvis Costello." That one was a mix of Roy Orbison, Slim Whitman, and Monty Python.

AS: Is "Hey Rudy" your take on The Specials' "A Message to You, Rudy"?

JF: I was going with The Specials. I was also going for The Avalanches' "Because I'm Me" (2016). I like the da da da da da da—and then you get a rapper in there. With "Hey Rudy," I also wanted to get a little Barry Gibb Bee Gees in there as well. (Sings a melody with Gibb's signature high-pitched falsetto.) With every single song, I could tell you all the influences and people that inspired it.

AS: Who were you trying to channel on "One Glove" with Will Ferrell?

JF: That's more of a Warren Zevon type of jam.

AS: And Bob Dylan inspired "Thanksgiving Eve"?JF: I wanted it to sound like a Dylan bootleg album that would make people say "What is he talking about? He's going home for Thanksgiving and to the bar." I was trying to write bad Dylan lyrics to a holiday song. But I think Thanksgiving Eve should be a holiday. I think everyone's home and they need it. They need an anthem.AS: Thanksgiving, in general, is often overlooked when it comes to holiday music, so it's nice that it's represented on Holiday Seasoning. You also have an ode to New Year's Eve with "Weird Al" Yankovic.

JF: I don't know when the last time someone wrote a comedy holiday album, but either way, we're due. I was trying to hit every holiday I could think of and with New Year's Eve, there are no happy songs. They're all sad. "Auld Lang Syne"" was sad, and Dan Fogelberg ("Same Old Lang Syne," 1981). And it's good, but I was like "What genre is so happy that you have no option but to smile?" And it's polka. To get Weird Al on this … Immediately, he said "I'm in—love it. Do you mind if I rewrite some stuff?" And I'm like "This is so fun. I get to write a song with Weird Al."

I remember my parents used to have parties when I was growing up, and I used to play music with my two friends. We were called Born Losers, and we would do cover songs at our house. We'd harmonize and sing the Bee Gees, the Troggs, the Animals, the Beatles, and Nirvana. And after we'd stop—hopefully, we didn't clear the party out—I would DJ and play music. So I made sure when I did this vinyl, that side-two track one is "New Year's Eve Polka," just in case I've had a couple of cocktails. You don't have to look with a flashlight like "What track is this?" It's the first song, side two. I got you covered.

Jimmy Fallon (Photo: Vijat Mohindra)

AS: Dolly Parton didn't co-write "Almost Too Early for Christmas," but did most of your other collaborators on the album have a hand in writing?

JF: Yeah, we all got in there. With the Jonas Brothers, I was in the studio in LA where a lot of the Jackson 5 albums were recorded. So I wanted to do Jackson's "Blame It on the Boogie" type of jam. Originally "Holiday" was called "Silent Night," then it turned into holiday, time to celebrate and we got in some Nile Rodgers. I wanted to have that Chic groove to it like a roller disco type of song. We just shot a video for that one where the Jones Brothers are trapped in a snow globe singing.

AS: You also got to work with Justin Timberlake again. 

JF: Sometimes you're at the studio and Ryan Tedder is next door and Greg Aldae [Hein] who had just written "Flowers" with Miley [Cyrus]. So they go "You want to write a song?" We wrote a bromance song for Timberlake. It's me calling Justin saying, "Hey, can we hang out this holiday?" And he doesn't call me back. We went to Electric Lady [Electric Lady Studios in New York City], and stayed till two, three in the morning, laughing and rewriting.

That guy [Timberlake] is a professional. He is a perfectionist. He's a talented, talented human being. Do you ever think that your friends don't really work? You go to your friend's job and go "Whoa, you work?" That's Justin Timberlake. This is the most talented guy. He harmonized with himself. He produced the track. He added instruments. He played the keyboard on it. He'll say "Put this on the left side, put this on the right side." It's so fun to watch and I learned a lot. I've always had respect for writers and recording artists, but man, it's a lot of work to put out an album of originals.

AS: But you've been writing for a while since your debut The Bathroom Wall (2002). Are you a better songwriter now?

JF: Completely. Without a doubt. I actually know what a bridge is, which I didn't know before. I didn't know what was going on. I'm learning all this stuff, this terminology. I remember writing with Meghan Trainor, and I needed a rhyme for the line I'll go get the ribbons, which rhymes with nothing and she goes Honey, you don't get it. She said if you say "ribbons" right it will rhyme with "get it." It makes no sense, but then you listen to the song. … She's a genius. With Meghan, we charted. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. It's like That Thing You Do! Moment when they're playing your song on the radio.

When I do songs by myself, I have a little bit more confidence, because I can be weirder. I just throw it down there and get as weird as I can because I grew up with novelty records, Dr. Demento, and Weird Al.

I also don't want to let an artist down if they're doing a song with me. I want to be professional and make sure all the things are there and it's well written. When I worked with Dolly Parton, I didn't want to waste one second of her time. And she's the best to work with. I said, "Let's start here, and if we end up doing another song, we can get a little weirder." Now, she trusts me and she turned the song into a whole new thing. She made it professional, and it sounds great.

I have artists come on the show, and that's their whole life. They wake up and they write songs. Taylor Swift writes a song every day. That's their workout. I tell jokes, but they write songs and it's such an art.

AS: And now you've learned more about song structure, and that side of your songwriting.

JF: Yeah, at 50 years old, you can still learn (laughs). I'm learning and I've gotten a gazillion times better, from the scratch on my phone to what the song turned out to be, the whole layers, and the breaking down of a song. I hope people buy this, and listen to the whole thing like it's a mixtape since it's all these different genres.

In this generation, you listen to playlists, so it should sound like one, like the greatest hits of different artists playing in the background. Then you can walk away, and go "That was good, and that was weird—and it's fun." Hopefully, it can be part of your tradition every year. It's crazy for me, because I grew up listening to everyone else, and the fact that I'm lucky enough to do this … I'm the luckiest guy on the earth.

'Holiday Seasoning' Tracklist:

1. "Christmas Ding Dong"2. "Holiday" with the Jonas Brothers3. "Hey Rudy" with The Roots4. "Wrap Me Up (Meghan Trainor)5. "You'll Be There" with Justin Timberlake6. "It Was A… (Masked Christmas)" with Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion7. "How You Know It's Christmastime" "8. "New Year's Eve Polka (5-4-3-2-1)" with "Weird Al" Yankovic, The Roots9. "Chipmunks & Chestnuts"10. "One Glove" with Will Ferrell11. "Merry Happy Christmas" with Chelsea Handler12. "Coquito"13. "Hallmark Movie" with Cara Delevingne14. "Weird Cousin"15. "Thanksgiving Eve"16. "Almost too early for Christmas" with Dolly Parton

Photos: Vijat Mohindra / Courtesy of Republic Records

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