Skip to main content

Take Me Down to Parody City

The NSD Team are both 90s kids, and nerdy ones at that, so the recent passing of rapper Coolio hit us both because of his own work (near-inescapable for a period in our adolescence) and because of the odd relationship he had with "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of his biggest hit, "Gangsta's Paradise," as "Amish Paradise." Al had been given permission by Coolio's record label, but not Coolio himself, who had issues with his work being parodied. To my knowledge, this is the highest-profile of a parodee being upset about Al's version, and it's certainly the one time I was around to experience it. But what makes a parody stick with us just as long as the original, and, in some cases, even longer? What do we, as audiences, get from them and how should we approach them as creators, ourselves?

"Weird Al" Yankovic,as I've written about before, played a vital role in my musical journey. He wasn't constrained by genre, so each Al-bum was a pop culture smorgasbord, offering a sonic spectrum beyond anything one might experience spending the same amount of time listening to the radio or watching MTV - not that I was doing either, of course. One thing I've noticed about other nerds is a near-universal love of comedic music, sometimes to the point of loving something done jokingly while also declaring a loathing of the same sound played straight. (This is a major undercurrent, unfortunately, of "nerdcore" hip-hop.) Al is a master jokester, using them to combine disparate genres into a function whole. Not to mention his distinct voice serving as a consistent hook and acting as a joke in itself: Al sounds goofy no matter what the song is. But the humor can also obscure his skills as a musical craftsman and fan of the craft - unlike many musical parodies, Al's work rarely mocks the songs themselves for simple or annoying: the closest I can think of is "Achy Breaky Song," which Al felt guilty enough about to donate all proceeds from the single to charity. While some parodies are about the performer's eccentricities, most shift the subject to something else - mostly, per his own admission and referencing Talking Heads about TV and food.

Structurally, this is the ideal approach to a parody, and certainly one expertly used by The Simpsons at its peak. It allows for the parody to serve as part of a functional whole (whether as a song on a record or a scene in an episode), while also taking advantage of the craft exhibited in the original and (ideally) audience familiarity with the original. If the parody is well-constructed enough, though, familiarity isn't necessary at all: my discovery of all kinds of music through "Weird Al," for instance, or people recognizing classic films re-created on The Simpsons decades later. It's also a lot more work, essentially building the original all over again in a different form rather than taking the lazier simpler approach of assuming audience familiarity and making a reference. It's not uncommon for artists to start in one form of parody and move into the other: Al himself started with simple renditions of songs on accordion and eventually moved to an incredibly nimble and capable band that could recreate any style seamlessly.

For aspiring parodists (which, if you're reading this, I can assume you to be, at least to some degree), this kind of standard can be daunting. But, I'd argue, it's more about approach than technique - the latter is only developed over time. To go back to the (hopefully not too tired) well of my favorite tabeletop RPG, Paranoia, as a comedy game, often utilizes parody throughout, from individual characters to scenes to entire scenarios. Earlier pre-published adventures often felt it sufficient to simply make references and let the participants' familiarity with the subject matter provide the humor. One example is the module "Clones in Space," best-remembered now for its legendary Explosive Decompression Table. If the players have managed to survive to the end, one of the final scenes involves a dogfight with alien craft called "PIE Fighters," which are shaped like... pies. The joke requires familiarity with the Imperial fighters in Star Wars and, aside from the inherent silliness of spaceships shaped like baked goods, that's it. If I were handling this kind of scenario, I would try, as best I could, to recreate what space combat would be like in the Paranoia universe - probably through the PCs lack of clearance to actually use necessary systems. (This may be inspired, like much of my Paranoia material, from real-life workplace situations). If I make an effort to recreate the situation of a scene familiar to players, I can trust them to find the humor inherent in the shift of context or tone. Would it be as clever as "Like a Surgeon" or "It's All About The Pentiums?" Almost certainly not, but, if Al's taught us anything, it's that it's always better to both the source material and the audience.

Which brings us back to Coolio. If Al's treatments are so respectful, why was he so opposed to haivng his work parodied? (Even if, decades later, he would call this reaction "dumb.") While I'm certainly not at his level of success in my own original musical endeavors, I can still see where he's coming from. Al's parodies rely on works of songcraft existing on their own in the popular consciousness, separable from their subject matter and even creators - on treating music as "product," in other words. And while, given its success both as a standalone single and part of the Dangerous Minds soundtrack, the reality of "Gangsta's Paradise" as product is inescapable, it's still a piece of art that required dedication and seriousness in its creation - particularly as a "message rap" song released when serious statements in hip-hop were seen as hokey and unrealistic. Sure, one could say that placing that much value on what is, unavoidably, a piece of pop product, is simply an ego trip, but I'm willing to give Coolio the benefit of the doubt. It has yet to happen to me, but I can imagine how it feels to see something into which you've put great effort and dedication re-purposed into something silly. It may not have been the right choice at the time, but it's still an understandable one - one that any of us could have made given the circumstances. Stories like these make the artists and their process very real in our minds, ironically, in this case, through separation from their work. As we enter in our own, usually smaller, versions of the process, it's worth keeping everyone's perspective in mind, whether you're in the role once occupied by "Weird Al," Coolio, or their listening audiences.

- B

Send comments and questions to neversaydice20@gmail.com or Tweet them @neversaydice2.


 

Popular posts from this blog

An Introduction to Risus

While roaming the internet in the late nineties/early noughties, I came across a TTRPG that was rules-lite and called itself “the anything RPG.” Want to play a high school cheerleader/samurai-in-training part-time goth enthusiast fast food cashier? The hot pink stick figure art glared back at me. Nah, not interested. But I was wrong. The stick figures were actually purple, and Risus is a surprisingly versatile, handy and down right fun TTRPG. I wouldn’t figure that out though till I discovered it again several years later. Even though it was written as a comedy system (and somewhat lighthearted response to GURPS) you really can use it for just about anything: space opera, high fantasy, pulp, vampires,western, any movie setting you could think of...seriously anything. You can read a far more detailed and interesting history in a number of other places should it strike your fancy. It is time for your Risus indoctrination introduction. Risus really is versatile and fairly easy to learn

[Backstory Redacted] - Getting Ready to Run Paranoia

Greetings, Citizens! For scheduling reasons Due to Commie sabotage, the benevolent and exceptionally well-prepared individuals in charge of Never Say Dice have chosen to follow up the recent Paranoia post with another, this time about what you need to do before the game. Readers unfamiliar with Paranoia should take this opportunity to educate themselves before their ignorance is discovered and punished, and any readers uninterested in Paranoia should join the line for the nearest Termination Booth forming here . Please fill out the Citizen Satisfaction Survey before stepping into the booth. Have a pleasant daycycle! When we last spoke, I had covered the setting and talked a little about my first (successful) Paranoia session, but closed without sharing the lessons I had learned from my years of running the game. Players: Welcome to Alpha Complex, Six Death Minimum I must admit to having a certain advantage in my pool of available players that other Gamemasters might not: I live in

Be a Grinch! (in a Tabletop RPG)

The Holidays may be almost over (for a while), and we hope you’ve all enjoyed your seasonal music and movies/specials. We here at Never Say Dice have covered the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special and the new LEGO edition a few posts ago. A common thing many of us into tabletop RPGS like to do is incorporate media into our games. After all, many of us have grown up with the blending of media and the holidays as a given. It provides us a framework to build on and a common touchpoint to the people at our tables, virtual or otherwise. One classic character featured in holiday specials and commemorated in his own song is the Grinch, the avocado-green villain with strange cardiac growth problems apparently linked to his personality. The Grinch, villain though he may be, has a slew of characteristics that would make the character an excellent one at the gaming table. Those of you not familiar with Suess-lore may really only know the Grinch from the How the Grinch Stole Christmas animated

The Mission Will Be Very Safe and Fun for Everyone: Some Thoughtcrimes on Running Paranoia

  I'm sorry citizen, but the question "why hasn't there been a Paranoia post in over fifteen months" cannot be processed. Records indicate that the previous post, " [Backstory Redacted] - Getting Ready to Run Paranoia " was activated in the Year 214 of the Computer, and, as this is currently Year 214 of the Computer, your internal chronometer must be malfunctioning. Rumors that is has always been Year 214 of the Computer are treason. Please report to Internal Security for cerebral re-adjustment. Have a nice daycycle. So, why hasn't there been a post about Paranoia in fifteen months, anyway? The previous two have been quite popular , and, as I'm fond of saying, I've put more thought into this game than nearly anything else in my life, formal education included. As time went on, I found myself procrastinating on the follow-up. I didn't have enough time to work out everything I'd want to cover, I'd tell myself, or that some other top