'Weird Al' Yankovic Returns To Star Wars In New LEGO Special
To quote The Simpsons, “He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life.” From “Another One Rides the Bus” to “White & Nerdy,” Alfred “Weird Al” Yankovic has been a master of song parody. His iconic singing voice and skills with the accordion have made him a staple of silly songwriting whose satires of popular songs occasionally outweigh the popularity of the songs they were based on. As such, Weird Al has made sure to poke fun at some of the biggest names in music as well as some of the most popular franchises in all of pop culture.
Weird Al’s Star Wars parodies have been widely celebrated by the fandom for decades, which makes it even more exciting to see him be involved in an official Star Wars project. Just this past Tuesday, June 21, Lucasfilm released a trailer for LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation, the latest animated LEGO Star Wars special following The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special and LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales. In Summer Vacation, we see Rey, Finn, Poe, Rose, and the rest of the Resistance go on a much-deserved vacation at the beaches of Scarif. All the while, we get stories of various other characters having their own vacations, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, and the Emperor. We also see a few new characters including Vic Vankoh, a character clearly based on his voice actor Weird Al. In addition to voicing the character, Weird Al will also perform an original song titled “Scarif Beach Party,” which, going off of the trailer, seems to be very much in the same vein as the artist’s previous Star Wars songs.
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Weird Al’s first venture into the Star Wars galaxy came in the form of one of his most popular song parodies, “Yoda.” Released on June 18, 1985, the song served as a parody of “Lola” by The Kinks and changed the song’s focal point from dancing with someone in Paris to Yoda teaching Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. The song was a huge hit and would go on to be played by Weird Al at most of his live shows, with the inclusion of a “Yoda chant” that would change with every performance. However, his most recognized and widely beloved Star Wars song by far is “The Saga Begins.”
Released on June 24, 1999, to coincide with the release of The Phantom Menace, “The Saga Begins” is a parody of Don McLean’s “American Pie,” replacing the original lyrics with a humorous recap of the film’s events. With iconic lines such as “He was a pre-pubescent flyin’ ace” and “…the Jedi I admire most met up with Darth Maul and now he’s toast,” the song would go on to be quoted by countless Star Wars fans over the years, with Don McLean himself even admitting that he would almost sing Weird Al’s lyrics during his live performances due to how often his own children played the song.
Getting Weird Al back to do more music for Star Wars will always be welcomed in my book. As Star Wars fans, we tend to take this franchise and its lore very seriously. Thus, it is nice to have someone like Weird Al who reminds us of the silly parts of the Star Wars universe. His work for the franchise has provided fans with many songs to dance and sing along to at countless Star Wars conventions. Plus, his musical talents are sure to help bring a cool and relaxing summer vibe to this special. Hopefully, this will not be the last time he polkas his nose into the galaxy far, far away.
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Source(s): Grunge