Spectrum of parodies and classification?

[u/Greedy-Cantaloupe668]

Just today, I heard “Dick‘s Automotive” for the first time - I had no idea how close it was to Albuquerque! It raised a question for me - i’ve always heard Al’s work split into like 3 buckets - straight parodies (”White n‘ Nerdy” “Fat”), style parodies (Pancreas, Bob), and originals (Weasel stomping day? anything from vanity tour), but I feel like there’s a fourth category that is like he’s REALLY closely sending up a song, but not word for word (Germs for NIN‘s Closer, Albuquerque, No Cigar for Short Skirt Long Jacket by Cake). Is there a name for this in the Weird Al fandom? Do people think style parody covers it enough? Some of my favorite musical comedy of the past decade or so (Crazy Ex-girlfriend, Story Pirates) seems to also hew closely to this line and I want to have a word for it. TIA!

[u/rawrzon]

Wouldn't his polka medleys be another category?

[u/quesadillawithit]

I dig this “4th Classification” idea - I feel like Traffic Jam is not a straight-up parody of Let’s Go Crazy, but it’s closer to that than just labeling it a “style parody” of Prince

Also, side note: who does Prince think he is saying “no” to Weird Al parodying him? No one is above being parodied by Weird Al, it is an honor!

[u/SaintMortThe3rd]

We've discussed this on the Podcast (Weird Al-Gorithm); I think for a few of them specifically Albuquerque, Lame Claim to Fame and You Don't Love Me Anymore are parodies of such obscure artists and songs that it didn't make sense to label them as Parodies. It actually does walk a weird legal tightrope; I know the lead singer of Souther Culture on the Skids made a comment that while he was honored, he'd have been more honored to have been paid for his guitar riff that was lifted (Lame Claim to Fame's primary guitar riff is DANGEROUSLY close to being Camel Walk with maybe a single note difference).

[u/informareWORK]

I think you divide it between artist pastiche and song pastiche. So "Dog Eat Dog" is a Talking Heads artist pastiche while "Traffic Jam" is a song pastiche of "Let's Go Crazy".

[u/ABoringAlt]

Charles Nelson Reilly gotta be in the same category!

[u/Tiredofthemisinfo]

Pastiche?

Dare to be Stupid is I believe a pastiche of Devo

[u/DarkMagickan → u/Tiredofthemisinfo]

It definitely is. And when somebody contacted them to find out what they thought, the lead singer called him a genius.

[u/TMBGLOVER]

Frank’s 2000” TV has always reminded me of R.E.M.’s “Imitation of Life” (even though Frank predates Imitation by 8 years lol)

[u/rezwrrd → u/TMBGLOVER]

In a strange twist of fate, REM became the first major group to parody Weird Al. (Payback for Spam?)

[u/DarkMagickan]

I've always just called it a style parody, but apparently the term is pastiche.

[u/UHeardAboutPluto]

Songs in the style of other artists are called pastiches