By James Crowley
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Voting is normally no laughing matter, but even funny people take time to exercise their rights and participate in their civic duty, like the parodic virtuoso "Weird Al" Yankovic.
On Thursday, the "White and Nerdy" singer tweeted out a photo of himself donning a flowery face mask and dropping an early voter ballot into a ballot drop box.
Read More
The Postal Service, Anne Hathaway and More Team Up for Painfully Awkward PSA to Vote3 min read
The Freewheeling Joy of Weird Al Yankovic’s ‘Self-Indulgent Vanity Tour’: Apollo Theater Concert Review6 min read
Weird Al Tour Dates Are Here, But the Shows Are ‘Not for Everybody’2 min read
"Nice day, thought I might mess around and participate in democracy," he wrote along with the photo.
Besides sharing the picture of himself voting, Yankovic has made a few other efforts to help get out the message to his fans that they should go out and vote. On National Voter Registration Day in September, the singer shared a photo of himself wearing a matching t-shirt and face mask outfit, which called for people to vote. He also shared a link to voter registration non-profit Headcount.
He also had an appearance in indie supergroup The Postal Service's comedic "Zoom Auditions" PSA. In the clip, the Sub Pop executive (played by comedian Jon Daly) asked him to come up with a parody of "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion on the spot ("make it about bologna sandwiches or something like that," Daly says).
After Yankovic says he doesn't come up with parodies on the spot, Daly asked him to sing about voting. "Voting is important, and everybody should make a plan to vote, and vote early if you can, and go to Headcount.org to register," he says, before Daly interrupts to ask him to put it to music. Yankovic begins singing "Vote" over and over again, while tapping on a coffee mug, before closing the Zoom.
While political humor isn't necessarily what Yankovic is known for, the singer did take part in a song called "WE'RE ALL DOOMED" by Schmoyo, which auto-tuned President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden in the first presidential debate.
In the song and video, "Weird Al" takes the part of moderator, singing silly takes on the debate questions ("Will we ever get back all the jobs we lost/Or should we set up 11 million Etsy shops") as well as a chorus with interjections from both candidates. "Who's it gonna be in the West Wing? We're living in the apocalypse. I'm begging you to put a stop to this pretty please," he sings.
Before the final chorus, Yankovic sings his own verse about a number of issues that plague Americans like hurricanes, the coronavirus pandemic, vaccine conspiracies, and more.
Newsweek reached out to "Weird Al" Yankovic's agent for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
...
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines