You're Pitiful

You're Pitiful

Infobox Song
Name = You're Pitiful


Artist = "Weird Al" Yankovic
Album =
Released = June 7, 2006
track_no =
Recorded = April 12, 2006
Genre = Comedy
Length = 3:16
Label =
Writer = "Weird Al" Yankovic
Type = Digital download

"You're Pitiful" is a parody of "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt written and recorded by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released exclusively online in June 2006.

In the song, Yankovic describes the pitiful existence of a 42-year-old man who still lives with his mother and his life which involves, among other things, wearing a homemade Star Trek uniform and his job as a Slurpee machine operator. [http://www.metrolyrics.com/youre-pitiful-lyrics-weird-al-yankovic.html]

Controversy

Yankovic recorded the song to be included on his "Straight Outta Lynwood" album after, according to Yankovic, having been given Blunt's blessing to parody the song. However, following its recording, Blunt's record company, Atlantic Records, allegedly told Yankovic that he could not include the song on his album. (When asked by NPR, Atlantic had no official comment on the matter.) However, Yankovic and Atlantic weren't always on bad terms,fact|date=October 2008 as Yankovic had years earlier recorded a song for the U.S. soundtrack of "", which was released by Atlantic.

Yankovic eventually revealed that Atlantic "said it was 'too early' in James' career for a parody, and they were afraid that focusing any more attention on 'Beautiful' at that point might lead to the perception of James as a 'one-hit wonder'". According to Yankovic, "They didn't say I couldn't do the parody… they just said they'd let me know 'when the time was right'. So we canceled our release date and waited. Finally, months later, we got the answer. The 'right' time, apparently, was 'never'."cite web| url = http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2006/09/19/weird-al-yankovic-dishes-on-james-blunt-discusses-his-role-as-the-whitest-nerdiest-rock-star-ever/| title = Weird Al Yankovic Dishes on James Blunt, Discusses His Role as the Whitest, Nerdiest Rock Star Ever| accessdate = 2006-09-25| last = Skaggs| first = Austin| authorlink = Austin Skaggs| date = 2006-09-19| work = Rolling Stone Rock and Roll Daily| publisher = Rolling Stone| language = English]

Yankovic had a policy of obtaining approval prior to releasing his parodies from the original artist's record company; but after a miscommunication surrounding "Amish Paradise", a parody of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", he sought permission directly from the artist. Yankovic told NPRcite web| url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5482774| title = Free 'Weird Al' Yankovic!| accessdate = 2006-09-22| last = Thompson| first = Stephen| authorlink = Stephen Thompson| date = 2006-06-13| work = Mixed Signals| publisher = National Public Radio| language = English] that this was the first time a record label has denied a release of one of his parodies. " [I] f James Blunt himself were objecting," Yankovic told NPR, "I wouldn't even offer my parody for free on my Web site. But since it's a bunch of suits — who are actually going against their own artist's wishes — I have absolutely no problem with it."

Yankovic told NPR in an e-mail that the question of whether Atlantic could legally forbid the parody, given the United States Supreme Court's 1994 "Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc." decision recognizing parody as fair use, is "moot", saying that the issue was "more of a political matter than a legal matter", suggesting that both Blunt and Volcano (Yankovic's label) would wish to avoid alienating Atlantic.

Yankovic released the song for free distribution on the Internet, and it has become popular on "The Dr. Demento Show".

The video for "Straight Outta Lynwood"'s second single, "White & Nerdy", depicts Yankovic taking revenge, of sorts, against Atlantic Records by vandalizing their Wikipedia article by blanking all text and replacing it with the words "YOU SUCK!" in large letters. Said revenge has been realized by some wiki vandals. Yankovic has said that he does not approve of the vandalism, though he admits being amused by it.cite web| url = http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20523843-5006024,00.html| title = Weird Al Yankovic| accessdate = 2007-03-22| last = Adams| first = Cameron| date = 2006-10-05| work = Herald Sun| publisher = Herald and Weekly Times| language = English] Also in the video, Al is on his MySpace page and for a split second, "You're Pitiful" is visible as his profile song.

On the concert tour for "Straight Outta Lynwood", Yankovic performs the song initially wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and progressively removing clothing to reveal different layers underneath. The penultimate t-shirt revealed says "Atlantic Records Sucks", however, in some shows he replaces the "Atlantic Records Sucks" shirt with an "I'm With Stupid" shirt (with an arrow pointing downward), followed by a "Tom Is My Only Friend" shirt. The final t-shirt is the face of SpongeBob Squarepants. Yankovic then removes his pants to reveal boxer shorts with red hearts, a pink tutu, and fishnet stockings. [cite web|url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=DEFvyOH9qBY|title=You're Pitiful Live Performance at OC Fair.|accessdate=2007-11-04]

References

ee also

* Atlantic Records#Media references
* White & Nerdy#References in video
* Wikipedia in popular culture
* List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic

External links

*


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • pitiful - pitiable — You say that someone is pitiful when they are very sad, weak, or unfortunate, and you feel great pity for them. ...a fragile and pitiful old lady. ...his thin, bony legs and his pitiful arms. You can describe the experience of seeing a person… …   Useful english dictionary

  • You're beautiful — est l un des singles issus de l album Back to Bedlam du chanteur anglais James Blunt co écrit avec Amanda Ghost. Il est sorti le 30 mai 2004. Elton John, qui a le même manager, pense que You re Beautiful est le successeur de Your Song. Il existe… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • You're Beautiful — Chanson par James Blunt extrait de l’album Back to Bedlam Pistes de Back to Bedlam …   Wikipédia en Français

  • You're Beautiful — Single infobox Name = You re Beautiful Artist = James Blunt from Album = Back to Bedlam Length = 3:34 (Album Version)3.22 (Single Edit) Released = flagicon|United Kingdom May 30 2005 flagicon|World May 2005 flagicon|United Statesflagicon|Canada… …   Wikipedia

  • pitiful — [[t]pɪ̱tɪfʊl[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED Someone or something that is pitiful is so sad, weak, or small that you feel pity for them. He sounded both pitiful and eager to get what he wanted... It was the most pitiful sight I had ever seen. Derived words:… …   English dictionary

  • pitiful — pit|i|ful [ pıtıfl ] adjective 1. ) looking or sounding so unhappy that you feel sympathy and sadness: The scrawny little kitten looked so pitiful out in the rain. The refugee camp was a pitiful sight. 2. ) extremely bad: a pitiful performance a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • pitiful — UK [ˈpɪtɪf(ə)l] / US adjective 1) looking or sounding so unhappy that you feel sympathy and sadness The scrawny little kitten looked so pitiful out in the rain. The refugee camp was a pitiful sight. 2) extremely bad a pitiful performance a… …   English dictionary

  • pitiful — adjective 1 someone or something that is pitiful looks so sad and unfortunate that you feel very sorry for them: The animals were a pitiful sight, in their small cages. 2 not good enough to deserve respect or serious consideration: You don t… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • pitiful — pit|i|ful [ˈpıtıfəl] adj 1.) someone who is pitiful looks or sounds so sad and unfortunate that you feel very sorry for them →↑pity ▪ The refugees were a pitiful sight . 2.) a pitiful amount is very small ▪ The fee was pitiful only about £60. 3.) …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • pitiful — [ˈpɪtɪf(ə)l] adj 1) someone who is pitiful looks or sounds so unhappy that you feel sympathy for them 2) extremely bad a pitiful performance[/ex] a pitiful excuse[/ex] 3) a pitiful amount of something is very small and not enough pitiful… …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”