On NPR last night I happened to catch “Weird Al” Yankovic espousing on the rock ‘n’ roll merits of the 1964 hit “Surfin’ Bird” by the Trashmen, who he called “arguably the best surf band ever to come out of Minneapolis.”
With the nonsensical song yammering in the background, he raved about its simple merits and how its qualities define rock to its primal core. He spoke with impassioned endearment over such a stupid song (though, dang it’s catchy) that it cracked me up. Not that I thought he was joking, but his true honesty was rapturous in its silly way. When he said it is the basis of all his inspiration, I believe him.
It was so hilarious; I have to share the link, so check it out by clicking here.
And if you are not familiar with the song (let’s face it, this song is now generations old), download it in its entirety here. Or you can buy the CD in the link at the top of this post.
(Copyright 2009 by Hans Morgenstern. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
I remember “A bird is word!!” It was a fun song in my childhood, until I was traumatized when it was played during a raunchy scene of John Waters’ Pink Flamingos! Now I can only picture that scene when I hear this song.
Man, that must suck (thank God I have yet [if ever] to see that movie, though I do like some of Waters’ work). The film soundtrack I associate this with is Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, which is a much nicer association.
I don’t know if I want to take musical advice from “Weird Al” Yankovic…
He is the king of deconstruction when it comes to pop. He can tear down any pop song and rebuild it as a joke. The man is a genius in a clown’s disguise.