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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 9707408" data-attributes="member: 7023840">When it comes to Weird Al in the popular consciousness, I think it's interesting to view him in terms of his popular hits. There's a lot of ways to measure this (especially in the later youtube/streaming years, or in the zeitgeist-y sense*), but the Billboard Hot 100 is a good proxy for what I am about to do to illustrate why I would not put Fat in my list.*The Saga Continues was very zeitgeist-y, but not a Hot 100 song.Note- Weird Al had eleven songs hit the top 100 in his career.Weird Al was a fixture on Dr. Demento, and his first album actually had a top 100 single on it- the parody song Ricky (peaked at #63). But nothing prepared the world for his next two albums, released in quick succession-3-D and Dare to be Stupid.The lead single was Eat It, and it reached ... NUMBER 12!!! In addition, the success of Eat It created space for airplay of Weird Al, and caused a number of subsequent singles to hit the top 100.King of Suede (62)I Lost on Jeopardy  (81)Like a Surgeon (47)Which brings us to Fat. Did he have a great video? Yes, subject to the caveat I will discuss. Did it hit the top 100? Yes, but barely (blipped at #99). But IMO, it was a massive misstep. Because for most people (the non-nerds, back when nerd culture wasn't mainstream) ... Weird Al was a novelty act. Like Buckner & Garcia (Pac Man Fever).Weird Al was the guy who sang parodies about Michael Jackson, except ... food. Get it? And now he has a parody of Michael Jackson ... with food! I'd also point out that while I don't ding comedy for being of its time, it's definitely not in the Hall of Fame for "Weird Al Songs that have Aged Well."If I was going to credit a song for re-establishing his popular cultural relevance, it wouldn't be Fat... in my opinion, that hurt it. It would be ... Smells Like Nirvana, which showed he really did have his finger on the pulse and peaked at #35.Of course, I would argue that Weird Al's true moment of greatness was .... White & Nerdy. Released in 2006, he not only was capturing the wave of increased nerd relevancy, he had his first, and to date only, top 10 hit (#9).Finally, there was the pop culture return of Weird Al with Word Crimes in 2014 (#39).Whew. So, if I had to say that there were defining moments in Weird Al's career in music in terms of popular culture as marked by specific songs, they would be:1. Eat It. Weird Al dares the world to be stupid.2. Smells Like Nirvana. Weird Al proves that he isn't a novelty act and has staying power.3. White & Nerdy. Weird Al gets a new generation weird just as that generation is already daring to be stupid.4. Word Crimes. Weird Al reminds us that he's still got it.And now? Now I am looking at everything I have just written, and wondering where it all went wrong for me. (The only other charting songs I haven't mentioned are Amish Paradise, #53 in 1996, and Canadian Idiot, #82 in 2006)</blockquote>

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