Weird Al Yankovic & Sci-Fi: A Perfect Match Made In Albuquerque

Al and sci-fi go together like blasters and lightsabers.

By Nick Venable | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

“Yoda”
Back in the early 1980s, George Lucas wasn’t quite ready to have people making fun of his Star Wars franchise, so he held Weird Al at bay for a couple of years, finally allowing “Yoda” to be added to the 1985 album Dare to be Stupid. A Jedi-powered spoof of The Kinks’ 1970 hit “Lola,” “Yoda” was a fun and simple song, and somewhat prophetic, too. Just look at these lyrics, in light of the original trilogy’s stars coming back for J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII: “The long-term contract I had to sign/Says I’ll be making these movies till the end of time/With my Yoda.”

“The Saga Begins”
Though Lucas’ trilogies were 16 years apart, Weird Al only went forward a single year for the source of his Phantom Menace parody “The Saga Begins.” On the album Running With Scissors, he used Don McLean’s “American Pie” to structure this tale of a small-fry soon-to-be Jedi and his high midi-chlorian count. Qui-Gon Jinn’s death in the song, however slight, is just as effective as the film version.


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