Maybe I’m uncultured, but I’m still waiting to hear why Hamilton is such an amazing show, and after seeing bits and pieces of it, large chunks in fact, I still can’t figure it out. But then again a lot of what’s seen on TV, in theaters, and even on stage is a matter of personal taste. But Weird Al Yankovic putting his own beat to this play is kind of funny since it’s what you might expect from the artist after all this time, and he doesn’t disappoint. Over the years Weird Al has been spoofing just about everything he can get his hands on and there have been a lot of people that have been highly entertained by what he has to offer, especially when it comes to his Polka songs. While some of those folks that love Hamilton might find this less than amusing, those with a good to great sense of humor might find it kind of flattering since to be fair and realistic, Weird Al’s spoofs aren’t meant as an insult most times as instead they’re meant to take something that people people care about and make good sport of it, kind of like spoof movies do when they get made.
Realistically there are those that don’t like Hamilton and might find the Polka kind of a funny way to look at it without needing to take a dig just because they can. The whole idea of a spoof isn’t always to show hatred for something, but to make light of it and allow people to see it from a different perspective, which is important really since too often when it comes to anything in the entertainment industry we tend to find that people are willing to say they like something just to curry favor with their friends, relatives, or anyone else as they don’t want to deal with any criticism that might be levied against them. The fact that some people don’t really like Hamilton doesn’t make them uncultured, but it does make them free-thinking individuals that don’t go along with the hype that everyone else falls into at times. Granted, a lot of people do happen to love this play immensely, but at the same time it’s not a requirement and it doesn’t mean anything other than that someone has different tastes in entertainment. Disney+ thought it was worth bringing Hamilton to the platform, and many individuals have thought this a great idea. Some haven’t really cared since they don’t have much to say about the story either way.
When it comes to Weird Al spoofing a song it’s actually considered an honor by some since it means that the song was a big hit at one time or another and someone thought that it was worth paying some kind of homage to. Some folks might not see it that way since anything done in jest is, to the thinking of some, less than respectful and in some cases born from envy. Given the success of his career it’s fair to say that Weird Al might be envious of some people in this world, but when it comes to the level of their success that’s kind of laughable, kind of like his songs. He’s made such a big career out of spoofing one song after another that even thinking he’s making fun of someone is a bit silly to be sure since despite the content of the spoof songs he’s keeping pretty much everything but the words most of the time and is actually reproducing the song in a very impressive manner. The polka songs do carry kind of a frantic beat that makes it feel a little rushed, but then again that’s one of the main points of the songs since it’s all in fun and the pace is part of the main point. As far as Hamilton goes, the main production isn’t being hurt by the song and the actors shouldn’t worry too much, if they even notice, about how the song is for the most part riffing through most of the production, going almost word for word in many spots and yet somehow making it funny as only Weird Al can do.
There are many constants in Hollywood at this point, but one of them is that Weird Al is definitely going to pick up on one song or another when he hears it and if he decides it’s worth the effort, then he’s going to make a go at it and create something that people will enjoy and possibly laugh along with. Realistically Weird Al doesn’t even need to ask permission at times to use the songs as his parodies fall under the Fair Use Doctrine, though he has been denied in the past by artists and record labels. But really, if anyone has a problem with it they likely don’t have a great sense of humor.
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