White and Nerdy
Weird Al Yankovic was the gateway humorist.The irreverent parody songs. The silly polka mashups. The crazy getup. I was hooked on the unabashed nerdery of it all.
Once he infected my sense of humor, I was corrupted for good. I'd twiddle with my radio to catch Dr. Demento shows from Ann Arbor on Sunday nights. I'd spend my cash on whatever cassettes I could find at Sam Goody's or Musicland at Southland Mall...whether it be George Carlin or Richard Pryor or Bill Cosby or Eddie Murphy or Sam Kinison or Monty Python or whatever I could afford.
I would go on to write silly articles for the school paper, pull dumb pranks and be voted the class clown. I would even run for Homecoming Queen and almost be expelled from high school. I would grow older and still do silly bits and do funny things that were only funny to me, whether alone in front of the mirror or in front of full house on an improv stage.
And it all started with a nerdy kid who heard "Like A Surgeon" on the radio and fell in love with this amazing thing called comedy...and it still makes me feel like that little kid all over again any time I hear his latest song.
Thanks, Al.
(Inspired by Weird Al's latest video, "White and Nerdy")
posted by Sammy @ 10:32 PM
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