Dare to Be Stupid (song)
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| "Dare to Be Stupid" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||
| from the album Dare to Be Stupid | ||
| Released | August 1986 | |
| Format | 7" | |
| Recorded | January 3, 1985 | |
| Genre | Comedy | |
| Length | 3:23 | |
| Label | Scotti Brothers | |
| Producer(s) | "Weird Al" Yankovic | |
| Chart positions | ||
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none |
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| "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | ||
| "One More Minute" ( (1985) |
"Dare to Be Stupid" (1986) |
"Living with a Hernia" (1986) |
"Dare to Be Stupid" is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the band Devo, and was featured in The Transformers: The Movie.
[edit] Track listing
- "The Touch" by Stan Bush – 3:54
- "Dare to Be Stupid" – 3:23
[edit] Music video
The music video and song are, as Yankovic himself said, a "style parody" of Devo's works.[1] Yankovic and his band wear the yellow radiation suits from Devo's cover of The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" video throughout, but there are segments that are reminiscent of several of Devo's videos; in one, the band is standing in the same pose as Devo in their "Devo Corporate Anthem" video, in another, the band wears nylon stockings over their heads, similar to Devo in their "Jocko Homo" video. There are also several scenes of black-and-white stock footage, similar to the footage used in the "Beautiful World" video, the group in front of very simple computer graphics, similar to the "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise" video. The use of stop-motion animation and computer graphics is also reminiscent of several Devo videos, notably "Freedom of Choice". The use of Roman togas also comes from "Freedom of Choice", while the guitar solo features the guitarist alone, wearing a cowboy outfit. The first sequence, once the lyrics in the song begin (a man with a pipe, smiling and watching television with a chainsaw), is a very typical Devo-like image as well, juxtaposing violent, out of context or unexplained occurences and objects with a 1950s-like "wholesome American" feel. The video also includes a lot of bizarre imagery which is for the most part relevant to the lyrics; these include three elderly men in cowboy hats and diapers sitting in playpens and firing toy guns, Yankovic's head in a microwave, and his face emerging from what appears to be a pile of breakfast cereal. A breakdancer appears at one point in the video whose style bears striking resemblance to Spaz Attack, featured in the Satisfaction (I Can't Get No) video by Devo.
The clay animation was done Mark Osborne, who also did the clay animation on the 1993 Yankovic video "Jurassic Park".[citation needed]
The song is played in The Transformers: The Movie as the theme of the Junkions, a group of robots living on the planet of junk. Like the song, Junkion speech was littered with cultural and television references.
Shortly after the song was released, Yankovic received a letter from Mark Mothersbaugh congratulating him on writing "the perfect Devo song".
[edit] See also
| “Weird Al” Yankovic |
|---|
| Band members |
| "Weird Al" Yankovic • Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz • Steve Jay • Jim West • Rubén Valtierra |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: "Weird Al" Yankovic (1983) • "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D (1984) • Dare To Be Stupid (1985) • Polka Party! (1986) • Even Worse (1988) • UHF (1989) • Off The Deep End (1992) • Alapalooza (1993) • Bad Hair Day (1996) • Running With Scissors (1999) • Poodle Hat (2003) • Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) |
| List of singles by "Weird Al" Yankovic • List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic • Complete discography |
| Filmography |
| Music videos • "Al TV" • The Compleat Al • UHF • "The Weird Al Show" • "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! |
| Related articles |
| Dr. Demento • Parody musicians • Comedy musicians |
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