YouTube After a string of successful parody singles in the ’80s, the career of Weird Al Yankovic hit a lull. However, he rebounded with ‘Smells Like Nirvana’ from 1992′s ‘Off the Deep End,’ and Yankovic recently spoke with Spin about the parody of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ near the 20th anniversary of its release. The most difficult part of the process was tracking down Kurt Cobain to get permission to do the song. “A friend of mine was in the cast of ‘Saturday Night Live’ [Victoria Jackson],” Yankovic recalls. “I told her, if you ever get Kurt Cobain alone in a room, put him on the phone, because I’d love to talk to him — and she did! Directly! He was sweet and he got it in like five seconds and said, ‘Of course you can do a parody.’” Yankovic continues, “The famous quote from him was, ‘Is it going to be a song about food?’ because at that point that’s primarily what I was known for. And I said, ‘Well, no, it’s going to be a song about how nobody can understand your lyrics.’ And he said, “Oh, sure, of course, that’s funny.” The song was a massive success, and the video for ‘Smells Like Nirvana’ was shot on the same soundstage as ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and used many of the same props and even some of the same cheerleaders and audience members. It ended up being nominated for ‘Best Male Video’ at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. After ‘Smells Like Nirvana’ was released, Yankovic had a chance encounter with Cobain. “I only met Kurt in person once at a restaurant in Los Angeles. He just happened to be eating at an adjoining table with his friends. This was after the parody had come out, so I got to go over and thank him in person. I just profusely thanked him and said, “Anything I can do for you, let me know.” Kurt extended his hand to me and said, ‘Polish my nails.’” Watch Weird Al Yankovic – ‘Smells Like Nirvana’ Video
Posts Tagged ‘mtv’
Amy Lee Says Evanescence Will Take Extended Break After Current Tour
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Evanescence fans had to wait five years between ‘The Open Door’ and last year’s self-titled album, and now singer Amy Lee is suggesting that fans may have to wait a while for album number four. The band has done a lot of touring behind their self-titled effort, including the recent Carnival 0f Madness tour — we were there at the Boston show . They are now preparing for upcoming South America and European runs. Lee tells NME that Evanesence will probably take extended time off after this tour. “I’m really not sure what I’ll do next,” she explained. “At the end of any really long tour you need to get your head in order. I think at the end of the run we’ll go on a break for a while and figure things out.” Lee says she doesn’t have a problem with long gaps between albums. “Taking long breaks is seen as a bad thing, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. People have the idea that you have to keep putting stuff out while people remember you. But I’d rather make something that’s awesome and then make people remember again. I hope it doesn’t take five years, but I don’t want to put a timeline on it either.” Evanescence were recently nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award in the category of Best World Stage. The band faces some tough competition, with artists such as Justin Bieber, LMFAO, Snoop Dogg and Taylor Swift also getting nominations. The awards ceremony will be in Frankfurt, Germany on Nov. 11. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/top-evanescence-songs/” title=”Next: Top 10 Evanescence Songs” align=”center”]
Green Day Unveil Details of Billie Joe Armstrong’s Recent Hospitalization
It’s been a whirlwind few days for the members of Green Day, who have gone from Italy — where they saw frontman Billie Joe Armstrong admitted to the hospital — to Los Angeles, where they’re prepping for their appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards tonight (Sept. 6). While Armstrong is apparently resting his voice for tonight’s festivities, his bandmates Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool found time to speak with
Green Day to Rock 2012 MTV Video Music Awards
Green Day will continue their ‘love’ affair with MTV. The band, who’ve played the MTV Video Music Awards several times in the past and are premiering their ‘Oh, Love’ video tonight on the network, will perform at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. They join previously announced pop stars Alicia Keys, One Direction, and Pink among those performing at the Los Angeles-based event. This year’s ceremony takes place Sept. 6
Keyboardist Adam Wakeman Talks Touring with Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne
It’s hard to escape the drama that seems to follow Black Sabbath around, but according to keyboardist Adam Wakeman, who also plays for Ozzy Osbourne’s band, the Black Sabbath bandmates are just a normal group of guys at the end of the day. In a new interview with MTV Hive the musician talked about his relationship with the legendary band, working for Ozzy, and his own rock star roots. When