A Baker's Dozen Of "Weird Al" Parody Songs

Okay, so obviously the theme of the day is "Weird." Being a writer of several parody songs myself (maybe I'll share them here someday), I've always been a fan of "Weird Al" Yankovic. Not only are his songs spot-on at satirizing pop culture, they're also extremely well-done, technically speaking. With their numerous visual jokes, the music videos are so much better than just listening to the songs themselves. Here are 13 of "Weird Al"'s all-time best... Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  "Smells Like Nirvana"  (parody of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana)

2)  "Gump"  (parody of "Lump" by The Presidents of the United States of America)

3)  "Amish Paradise"  (parody of "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio ft. L.V.)

4)  "Fat"  (parody of "Bad" by Michael Jackson)

5)  "White & Nerdy"  (parody of "Ridin' Dirty" by Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone)

6)  "Headline News"  (parody of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies)

7)  "Perform This Way"  (parody of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga)

8)  "Like A Surgeon"  (parody of "Like A Virgin" by Madonna)

9)  "I Love Rocky Road"  (parody of "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts)

10)  "Eat It"  (parody of "Beat It" by Michael Jackson)

11)  "Another Tattoo"  (parody of "Nothin' On You" by B.o.B. ft. Bruno Mars)

12)  "Whatever You Like"  (parody of "Whatever You Like" by T.I.)

13)  "Party In The C.I.A."  (parody of "Party In The U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus)

Awesome A Cappella Songs

Awhile back, I posted a collection of amazing cover songs I found while surfing around on YouTube. Well, this post is similar to that (and actually includes some of the same artists as the original post),  with the major difference being that all 10 of these songs are performed entirely a cappella – that is, without any accompanying musical instruments. Since most of these songs are also covers, I've included the names of the original artists (in parentheses). Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Pentatonix  ~  "Thrift Shop"   (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis)

2)  Acquire A Capella  ~  "Sail"   (AWOLNATION)

3)  Mike Tompkins  ~  "Fireflies"   (Owl City)

4)  Miley Cyrus ft. Jimmy Fallon & The Roots  ~  "We Can't Stop"   (Miley's own song)

5)  Backtrack  ~  "Clarity"   (Zedd ft. Foxes)

6)  Shane Stever  ~  "Your Love Is My Drug"   (Ke$ha)

7)  Michael Flayhart  ~  "Blurred Lines"   (Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell & T.I.) (BTW, this is a highly sanitized version of the song – nothing overtly lyrically or visually offensive here)

8)  Straight No Chaser  ~  "Wonderwall"   (Oasis)

9)  Kurt Schneider & Sam Tsui  ~  "King Of Anything"   (Sara Bareilles)

10)  Justin Bieber ft. Boyz II Men  ~  "Fa La La"   (Bieber's own song, apparently)

"Make" Or "Break" Songs

Okay, so I could've padded this one out to the usual 20 songs with several lesser-known gems, but I decided to stick with artists most people would know. You're welcome. Now enjoy it already!  ~  JH

1)  One Direction  ~  "What Makes You Beautiful"

2)  Rhema Soul  ~  "Break Out"

3)  Adele  ~  "Make You Feel My Love"

4)  Jewel  ~  "Break Me"

5)  Avicii ft. Salem Al Fakir  ~  "You Make Me"

6)  Toni Braxton  ~  "Un-Break My Heart"

7)  Michael Jackson  ~  "The Way You Make Me Feel"

8)  Britney Spears  ~  "Break The Ice"

9)  The Pretty Reckless  ~  "Make Me Wanna Die"

10)  Linkin Park  ~  "Breaking The Habit"

11)  Miley Cyrus ft. Johnzo West  ~  "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go"

12)  Judas Priest  ~  "Breaking The Law"

13)  James Morrison  ~  "You Make It Real"

14)  The Doors  ~  "Break On Through (To The Other Side)"

15)  Bonnie Raitt  ~  "I Can't Make You Love Me"

"Empty" & "Full" Songs

Nothing fancy here. Just a bunch of songs with "Empty" and "Full" in their titles. I know, I know, another "Opposites" music post. But it's okay. Really! The world isn't going to end because of one more "Opposites" music post. Anyway, there's, like, 9 or 10 artists here that I've never even featured in a blog post before. So, it's not like it's all "old hat" or anything. Sheesh! ~  JH

1)  Fever Ray  ~  "Keep The Streets Empty For Me"

2)  Björk  ~  "All Is Full Of Love"  (I know, I know, Weirdsville – but it's Björk, what else did you expect?)

3)  Ray LaMontagne  ~  "Empty"

4)  Al Green  ~  "Full Of Fire"  (Bonus song – "Love" – included in this video)

Video wouldn't load properly – click link to view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVS3UmX2uUk

5)  Metric  ~  "Empty"

6)  David Gray & Annie Lennox  ~  "Full Steam"

7)  Kid Rock  ~  "Cold And Empty"

8)  Paolo Nutini  ~  "Pencil Full Of Lead"

9)  Erin McCarley  ~  "Love, Save The Empty"

10)  Eric B. & Rakim  ~  "Paid In Full"

11)  Sonic Youth  ~  "The Empty Page"

12)  Vince Gill  ~  "Pocket Full Of Gold"

13)  Terri Clark  ~  "Empty"

14)  Miley Cyrus  ~  "Full Circle"

15)  Chris Sligh  ~  "Empty Me"

16)  Ben Kweller  ~  "Full Circle"

17)  Stone Temple Pilots  ~  "Big Empty"

18)  INXS  ~  "Full Moon, Dirty Hearts"

19)  Jackson Browne  ~  "Running On Empty"

20)  The Avett Brothers  ~  "Head Full Of Doubt / Road Full Of Promise"

A Baker's Dozen Of Songs With...Well, You Figure Out What They Have In Common!

Seriously, I'm not gonna tell you the theme this time. It's not that hard, really.  ~  JH

1)  ABBA  ~  "The Winner Takes It All"

2)  Keane  ~  "Crystal Ball"

3)  Secondhand Serenade  ~  "Your Call"

4)  B.o.B.  ~  "Don't Let Me Fall"

5)  Robin Sparkles  ~  "Let's Go To The Mall"

6)  Classified  ~  "3 Foot Tall"  (NOTE: The words on the screen are labels that people are unfairly given by bullies and the like – if you take offense, you're missing the point!)

7)  Oasis  ~  "Wonderwall"

8)  The Cyrkle  ~  "Red Rubber Ball"

9)  Kings Of Leon  ~  "On Call"

10)  John Mellencamp  ~  "Walk Tall"

11)  Bat For Lashes  ~  "A Wall"

12)  Mariah Carey  ~  "Whenever You Call"

13)  Miley Cyrus  ~  "Wrecking Ball"  (FYI:  This "Director's Cut" is the family-friendly version)

"Start" & "Stop" Songs

Another "Opposites" song post. Because I feel like it, THAT's why! Enjoy?  ~  JH

1)  No Other Name  ~  "Let It Start With Me"

2)  Sam Brown  ~  "Stop"

3)  A Fine Frenzy  ~  "Now Is The Start"

4)  Red Hot Chili Peppers  ~  "Can't Stop"

5)  Miley Cyrus  ~  "Start All Over"  (I refuse to post Miley's newer, trashier song – "We Can't Stop" – which also would have fit with this theme)

6)  The Pipettes  ~  "Stop The Music"

7)  Gogol Bordello  ~  "Start Wearing Purple"  (Weird song, but oddly appropriate considering the town I live in)

8)  Angelique Sabrina ft. Shontelle  ~  "Stop Sign"

9)  Editors  ~  "An End Has A Start"

10)  Glee Cast  ~  "Don't Stop Believing"  (R.I.P. Cory Monteith: Another young talent who went too soon)

11)  Billy Joel  ~  "We Didn't Start The Fire"

12)  Queen  ~  "Don't Stop Me Now"

Video wouldn't load properly – click link to view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM

13)  Arcade Fire  ~  "Ready To Start"

14)  Foster The People  ~  "Don't Stop (Color On The Walls)"

15)  Sara Evans  ~  "A Real Fine Place To Start"

16)  John Fogerty (of Creedence Clearwater Revival)  ~  "Who'll Stop The Rain?"

17)  Maria Taylor  ~  "A Good Start"

18)  James Morrison  ~  "Please Don't Stop The Rain"

19)  The Trews  ~  "If You Wanna Start Again"

20)  Spice Girls  ~  "Stop"