I had a bonding moment with my 13-year-old son recently. A few weeks ago, I casually mentioned that he might like the Weird Al Yankovic videos and songs. He gave me his customary eye-roll and his "W" sign for Whatever, Mom.
I loved the Weird Al parodies of Michael Jackson's Eat It and Thriller songs when I was a few years (ahem!) younger. Back then, I had to beg a friend to write down lyrics to songs and none of the videos were captioned on MTV.
Then a few days ago, David excitedly motioned me to come into the office. "Look mom, you gotta see this. It's hilarious!" On the computer screen he pulled up Weird Al's White and Nerdy. Being the typical clueless Mom, I had never heard of Ridin' Dirty by Charmillionaire, the song that is parodied by Weird Al. David pulled up the lyrics and started the video.
They see me mowin' my front lawn
I know they're all thinkin' I'm so
White and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Can't you see I'm white and nerdy
Look at me I'm white and nerdy
I wanna roll with the gangstas
But so far they all think I'm too
White and nerdy
And there's Weird Al, dressed up quite nerdy, extending his hand out to the gangsters in a convertible, who desperately try to lock the door and peel away quickly.
Hilarious indeed!
We watched the video several times together, laughing so hard that the other kids came in and joined us. We watched Another One Rides The Bus, a parody of "Another One Bites The Dust. "Hey kids," I said, "Do you want to see a video that I used to watch when I was in high school?"
"You mean Weird Al was around back then?" they replied, incredulous.
It was my turn to roll the eyes.
So we watched "Beat It." (The kids were amazed at how normal Michael Jackson looked back then!). Then we roared with laughter at Weird Al's "Eat It."
Yes, it would have been much better if the video was captioned on the internet. I'm just so glad that my kids can instantly look up lyrics. I'm glad that they have the ability to adapt the Ipod for use with their hearing aids.
And I'm very thankful for the incredible bonding moment that Weird Al brought us.
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1 comment:
Hi Karen,
Interesting that you found my blog because I have some hearing concerns myself. I have Meniere's which causes tinnitus and vertigo. I have pretty much ignored the tinitus (although it is very loud) and controlled the vertigo with diet (caffeine or too much salt makes it worse). It wasn't until I was about 30 (my Meniere's atypically started in my teens where it most commonly has onset at midlife) that I read a brochure on Meniere's that said it could cause profound deafness! Yikes! I had no idea. I'm not sure if I had blocked it from my consciousness or no one ever mentioned it.
Of course I could be like my 94 year old auntie who has suffered hearing loss due to Meniere's but has not become profoundly deaf.
And BTW I think that Weird Al is funny too and I am old enough to have watched Eat It in high school as well. ;)
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