The seventh of eight new Weird Al Yankovic videos is here, from his new album Mandatory Fun. “Lame Claim to Fame” examines the everyday person’s brushes with celebrities, however tangental they are, that highlight the way we worship celebrity and the people we call celebrities. Everyone’s got at least one of those stories. But all that aside, the video itself is a work of art. Directed by Tim Thompson, it consists of a dizzying sequence of moving collages.
What's your lame claim to fame? My great-great-grandfather was married
to Pocahonta's granddaughter. If that's not lame, I don't know what is.
Can you top that story?
I stood next to John Mellencamp at the concession line at a movie theater in Bloomington, IN. I didn't say anything to him because I had just watched his shitty movie, and he is kind of a dick.
For having lived in L.A. for over 40 years and being in the Radio Biz for a few of them, I had relatively few 'brushes with fame'. The most famous DJ I worked with/for was Gary Owens of Laugh-In/Space Ghost fame, and another DJ played a ring announcer in "Raging Bull". (so two degrees of separation from DeNiro and Scorsese, right?)
But more directly, I got into a very-small club where Robin Williams was trying out new material and he ad-libbed a joke about my sweater (it was a large 'tennis-style' sweater and he 'introduced' me as Bill Tilden. Who?. You had to be there.)
And when I volunteered for a PBS fundraiser, during a 'live auction' segment, due to communication problems, the late Casey Kasem yelled "SIT DOWN" at me on Live TV.
A neighbor's sister went to school with Annette Bening's sister. She said that at the reunion Bennng's sister was pummeled with questions about Warren Beatty.
I stood next to John Mellencamp at the concession line at a movie theater in Bloomington, IN. I didn't say anything to him because I had just watched his shitty movie, and he is kind of a dick.
ReplyDeleteFor having lived in L.A. for over 40 years and being in the Radio Biz for a few of them, I had relatively few 'brushes with fame'. The most famous DJ I worked with/for was Gary Owens of Laugh-In/Space Ghost fame, and another DJ played a ring announcer in "Raging Bull". (so two degrees of separation from DeNiro and Scorsese, right?)
ReplyDeleteBut more directly, I got into a very-small club where Robin Williams was trying out new material and he ad-libbed a joke about my sweater (it was a large 'tennis-style' sweater and he 'introduced' me as Bill Tilden. Who?. You had to be there.)
And when I volunteered for a PBS fundraiser, during a 'live auction' segment, due to communication problems, the late Casey Kasem yelled "SIT DOWN" at me on Live TV.
That song was written for ME.
A neighbor's sister went to school with Annette Bening's sister. She said that at the reunion Bennng's sister was pummeled with questions about Warren Beatty.
ReplyDeleteTHAT is pretty lame.