Weird Al Yankovic – White & Nerdy & Justin Timberlake – My Love
As we were going to press, Justin Timberlake and ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic were both riding high in the download charts. One, of course, is white and nerdy, while the other has made a business out of producing high-quality pop parodies. One looks totally incongruous as he tries to hang with the homies, while the other has had his greatest success selling amusing imitations from the modern black American songbook. Confused? Well, you should be. The whole schtick of this article is connecting the seemingly unconnectable, drawing parallels with the apparently perpendicular. Yes, that’s right, I’m ingeniously pointing out the similarities between Timberlake (boy band boob) and Weird Al (boob) in these two popular cuts —White & Nerdy and My Love. So ingeniously, in fact, I have no idea who’s ‘white and nerdy’ and who isn’t… but that’s the point, two apparently unrelated figures from two very different eras share so much… they’re both white and nerdy… or is that the point…? It all made perfect sense to me when I went to write this… I mean, the ironic symmetry — if only I could nail it — is delicious.
Maybe I should start again… or maybe not… this is the trouble with doing these article two minutes before deadline… maybe I should approach this more conventionally rather than getting all post modern and too-clever-by-half…
Okay, let’s get straight into the video reviews.
White & Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic: This track is a crafty hip hop cum R&B parody. It’s laugh-out-loud ridiculous. I could hardly believe how nerdy and unconvincing Weird Al Yankovic is when placed in the same frame as real-life, loose-limbed homeboys. His moves are a joke. The choreography looks like it was taken from the animated classic, The Wrong Trousers, where Wallace is lurching out of control, imprisoned by the dastardly ‘techno trousers’ — very funny. I know Weird Al Yankovic’s halcyon days were back in the 20th century but it’s great to see that joke songs can still chart strongly. White & Nerdy, indeed!
My Love by Justin Timberlake. This track is a crafty hip hop cum R&B parody. It’s laugh-out-loud ridiculous. I could hardly believe how nerdy and unconvincing Justin Timberlake is when placed in the same frame as real-life, loose-limbed homeboys. His moves are a joke. The choreography looks like it was taken from the animated classic, The Wrong Trousers, where Wallace is lurching out of control, imprisoned by the dastardly ‘techno trousers’ — very funny. I know Justin Timberlake’s halcyon days were back in the 20th century but it’s great to see that joke songs can still chart strongly. White & Nerdy indeed! — CH.