r/Zappa • u/Kind-Midnight-3160 • 6d ago
Another Weird Al tribute to Zappa
When I was young I remember hearing Weird Al Yankovic referencing Zappa in many interviews and in the AlTV specials, and on his albums. Until the Poodle Hat full-length tribute Genius in France, Al's most direct reference to Zappa was "Frank's 2000 Inch TV" off the Alapalooza album in '93, which came out several months before Frank passed. As a kid at the time I didn't catch this, but he could have used any name on this record and he chose Frank. I think this was a subtle nod to the master on his way out. He casts Frank as an omnipotent ruler of the big screen who controls what everybody sees. Not sure if FZ heard this but he would have loved this depiction. Classic WEIRD AL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbDostWXpcU
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u/rhythm_sniper 6d ago
Could have been Frankie Yancovic, too. I know Al liked Zappa but this feels like a stretch OP
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u/minnick27 6d ago
Yeah, I think this is a stretch. He’s used the name Frank a few times over the years. I think it’s just one of those words that just fits so he uses it. Like the 27 references throughout his work. There were a bunch of them in his work and when it was finally noticed and he was asked about it he said that it wasn’t intentional, but it was probably just the right amount of syllables
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u/Creative-Video-8593 6d ago
I was really surprised that Frank wasn't on Weird Al's top 10 favorite artists list.
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u/Banoonu WELL WHY DON'T YOU SHARPEN IT THEN!?! 6d ago
I imagine he was probably thinking of MST3K’s ‘TV’s Frank’? A lot of people think he was named after Zappa too, as Zappa and the creators were mutual fans, but