"Weird Al" Yankovic Radio
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What better way to spend the waning days of 2022 than listening to the entire catalog of an artist that recently received a huge boost in attention thanks to arguably THE best music biopic parody of the year? We’re talking, of course, about “Weird Al” Yankovic, the titular focus of November’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.
Thanks to Green Bay radio station “KZ 104.3” WKZG, you can tune in from wherever you’re from and listen to “Weird Al Radio.” That’s right, just Weird Al, and nothing more. It’s pretty much what you might expect from a dedicated SiriusXM channel celebrating Yankovic’s career, which doesn’t exist yet (but would make a great idea).
As some might suspect given the nature of terrestrial radio stations, this is indeed an act of “stunting,” the action of adopting a playlist that’s quite different from the station’s normal programming, something that usually happens without notice. In the case of WKZG, the station apparently applied for a change in call sign back in November, taking effect early 2023 as WFZZ — which implies a brand and format change.
Hey @alyankovic Proud to say I’m probably the first music director for this musical format. Listen live NOW!!
Listen to Weird Al Radio on 104.3!
👉 https://t.co/wdsU7QV59M— EddieOnTheRadio (@EddieOnTheRadio) December 27, 2022
Weird Al himself has been AL-erted to this format change, which made headline news:
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This is fun stuff. You still have time to listen if you haven’t. https://t.co/cL0CKLRBvo pic.twitter.com/1kzbdlrity
— EddieOnTheRadio (@EddieOnTheRadio) December 29, 2022
Click here to listen to “Weird Al Radio” — but don’t wait, this dream radio station won’t last forever.
If this is indeed a way for WKZG to ride off into the sunset in its present form, well, we can think of no more perfect way than a career-spanning celebration of “Weird Al” Yankovic, the subject of that new “biopic” that tells his life story in absolutely the perfect way — as a parody itself of the heavy-handed “music biopic,” hitting all the right overwrought beats that we’ve come to expect from the genre, star Daniel Radcliffe portraying Al with aplomb.
While writing this article, the station played some serious Weird Al deep cuts like “Stuck in a Closet with Vanna White” (from 1988’s Even Worse),” “Here’s Johnny” (from 1986’s Polka Party!) and “Frank’s 2,000” TV (from 1993’s Alapalooza), indicating that this focus on the legendary musician/pop culture icon is far more nuanced than your expected “Amish Paradise,” “Fat” and “Smells Like Nirvana” material.
This caps a big year for Weird Al, who in addition to his star turn as the focus of a long-awaited biopic went out on the Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, a sold-out tour around the country playing special intimate concerts of fan-favorites (original songs and rarely-played “style parodies” from throughout his career), backed as always by his stellar band, Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz (drums), guitarist Jim “Kimo” West, bassist Steve Jay and keyboardist Rubén Valtierra.
"I don’t think anybody’s tired of this yet. … They’re coming out strong consistently and still loving it. Nobody’s said, 'I’ve heard this before, I’ve had enough Weird Al.' They want more, and that’s good."@TheGreatBermuda of @alyankovic's band. https://t.co/HFB5FOhOMA
— Rock Cellar Magazine (@RockCellarMag) December 21, 2022
Speaking of that backing band, Schwartz spent an hour on a Zoom chat with Rock Cellar for a lengthy and detailed interview about his experience as a member of Al’s inner circle. From our feature interview:
Schwartz also serves as the official “Weird Al” Yankovic band historian, amassing a thorough collection of “Weird Al” Yankovic memorabilia and ephemera, of the level only someone on the inside could compile. It’s this expanded archive of Al material that inspired Schwartz to release two photo books since 2020, the most recent being published on Nov. 15 via 1984 Publishing.
Fresh off a lengthy run of the fan-favorite Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, Schwartz spoke with Rock Cellar about his newest book, Lights, Camera, Accordion!: Eye-Popping Photographs of “Weird Al” Yankovic, 1981-2006, what keeps things running in the Al universe all these years, the new Weird: The Al Yankovic Story biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe, and much more.
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