SilentChris writes "In what's probably a first, AOL cancelled the 'World Premiere' of Weird Al's newest video 'White and Nerdy' due to it being leaked on the internet. Al writes on his MySpace page: 'Apparently, the video has already leaked online, and AOL doesn't feel comfortable doing a World Premiere promotion for a video that a number of people have seen already ... Anyway, it's really a bummer... it would have been great promotion for the album... but hey, life goes on.' As for the video? Arguably Al's best work (but I'm a little biased)."
He's releasing a "dual disk" CD that has a DVD of videos on the back side of it. Somebody probably swiped one from a pre-release stock room and ripped it.
by Anonymous Coward
on Friday September 22 2006, @12:59PM (#16162107)
Because it's not all about you. Wierd Al is still one of the little guys. He worked hard for the fame he got and deserves his success. It just shows that fans may think it's cool to leak but it is damaging. It cost him the premiere and possibly hurt sales. It's not the first time fans have damaged the very thing they love. Wierd Al was one of the first geeks in a sense. He had his own equipment and worked out of his parents basement. He's never gotten rich but he's done well. I've seen him live and he puts on a good show. In this case jumping the gun on the release isn't a victory for the community but more of an attack on it since it hurts one of their own. A fan gets a thrill from being the one to release the video but at what cost? They didn't create it so what right do they have to release it just to get a little reflected glory? Eventually groups like AOL may not even bother with premieres if they constantly get trumped by fans, then what? The performers loose yet another way of getting their work out there. Yes fans are getting it out there but it may be a handful of people seeing it compared to millions thbrough a major outlet. The fan didn't own it Wierd Al did and he's very generous with his material and not a member of the evil empire. They should be condemed for releasing it not given a thumbs up. Such things will in the end hurt everyone. I want to see Wierd Al keep doing his thing. He should be free to distribute it as he sees fit. Everyone would have a chance to see it this was about a fan doing something irresponsible as an ego trip.
I generally agree with your sentiments about Al, but just one thing... how do you suppose a fan leaked it? How would a fan get it, if it hadn't already been leaked?
"It cost him the premiere and possibly hurt sales."
That's BS. AOL/RIAA is trying to "teach pirates a lesson" by hurting Al. The leaker didn't do a favour, but if their system of secrecy can be felled by one woman, then they need a new business model to survive.
by Anonymous Coward
on Friday September 22 2006, @12:59PM (#16162106)
No no no. You have it all wrong. See, I heard from THE authority on the economics of the music industry - a place called Slashdot - that when music is illegaly distributed without any compensation to the content creator it's GOOD for the artists and when music is legally purchased as a result of a properly informed consumer decision, it's BAD for the artists.
See, selling CDs is BAD and will make musicians suffer in poverty while illegally distributing their content without any chance for income is GOOD because the magical socialism fairy will appear out of nowhere and shower them with butter and wine.
Don't mind that rabbit hole, Alice, you're not in Wonderland, just Slashdot. It's just as fruity, but much, much stupider.
I heard from Weird Al [weblogsinc.com] that if you DO want to buy his music, you should do it from a real store with physical CDs rather then from an online digital licenser.
Just because an illegal act makes them more money in the long run doesn't make any less illegal
I found out about this cool store once because I had ran in there earlier to escape the police who were chasing me. So, I decided to hold the place up. After I got home, I realized the store was totally cool, so now I shop there all the time.
Sure, I robbed them once, but I've more than made up for it by becoming a valuable customer! I'm sure they are glad that I know about their store.
Your allotment of vowels and capital letters seems to have run out, please refrain from posting for a couple of weeks while the inventory is restocked.
Really? I would think that the AOL premiere would generate a lot more sales than Slashdot.
While I must admit that exposure all over is good, it would be MY guess that Slashdot is a better potential buying audience for Al than the typical AOL user.
How many Weird Al Yankovic albums do you own? [ ] none [ ] I downloaded a few songs [ ] 1-3 [ ] 4-6 [ ] more than 6 [ ] all of them, and I could explain all the jokes in "White and Nerdy" and "All About the Pentiums"
I can't be the only one here who would have to check the last option...
More than 6, though I also have the DVD of the videos. And I would not have found out about the AOL release, but the slashdot news dragged me in faster than a black hole. Of course I went to watch the youtube. And I will be buying the CD when it comes out. I can't say that about any other music released these days. Now, what does that say about the typical music sales methods?
There's a great Wikipedia article on the video containing some of the little things you may have missed.
Pretty cool. Although, I am surprised at this statement from the wikipedia page: When the lyrics "Steven Hawking's in my library" are sung, Yankovic is shown holding A Brief History of Time, adorned in an unusual cover.
From best I can tell on the YouTube video, it seems to be the Illustrated Brief History of Time. I don't know why this would be considered "unusual". Of all the minute details on thi
by Anonymous Coward
on Friday September 22 2006, @12:42PM (#16161976)
Weird Al is going to get *far* more promotion via YouTube "leak" and the accompanying promotion. The only one losing in this is AOL, who might have nabbed a few clickthroughs for Classmates.com. Sure, Big Al has to come out and sort of say "wow, that's too bad" but the reality is that he's gonna reap the benefits of not only a free-for-all distribution, but also the publicity surrounding "those darn pirates."
Buck up, Al. You're richer than the rest of us, going to get even richer, and we find you funny despite it all.
Weird Al is going to get *far* more promotion via YouTube "leak" and the accompanying promotion.
True... but he won't get any money from the deal that he had with AOL. Also, what's the chance that AOL people are more likely to buy something from Weird Al vs. the/. and YouTube crowd? (Especially when the/. crowd finds opinions like yours "Interesting" instead of shallow and selfish)
Buck up, Al. You're richer than the rest of us, going to get even richer, and we find you funny despite it all.
When does someone become rich enough that it's ok to steal from them? Does your "stealing from rich people" policy only apply to music/tv/movie stars and software developers (ie. people whom you can steal easily from) or should we all be able to steal from Warren Buffett, too?
by Anonymous Coward
on Friday September 22 2006, @12:45PM (#16161999)
Underling: (excited) Hey boss, you know that Weird Al video we're gonna promo? It's been leaked all over the net. There's a lot of buzz! I think it's gonna be a big hit.
Boss: (annoyed) You mean hackers stole one of our products?
U: Well, not exactly, I mean, everybody's talking about it, this is a great opportunity for promotion. I had this idea for instance, we could let people make their OWN parodies of Weird Al's video and put them up on YouTube with a special tag, then we could give a prize to the best--
B: (more annoyed) What the fuck is U-Tube? A brand of glue? Cancel the premiere of Queer Al's video, that's the only way to show those pirates who's boss.
U: You mean "Weird Al".. but.. it's so popular.. we could make a lot of...
B: Hey kid, this is AOL, you think we got this far by being idiots? Now get out of my office.
I'm a Wierd Al fan. Few who hold their geek cred near and dear to them can claim not to be. But I have no idea of this "premier" or anything else involving a new video (like you could see videos on a channel on cable? na.. never.. not now a days).
On the other hand, I catch it on Slashdot and i'm there. And loved it, I cried laughing and got bad looks from people in other cubes until they saw it.. at which point we all geek bonded.
Probably did better for him to have it leaked than played on AoL.
And I'm glad Weird Al isn't taking it too hard (or at least, he isn't showing it) -- it's a fantastic piece of work, and if it's popular it's because it's that good and chimes with a pretty wide audience.
Seriously AOL, you have the world premier, this is the reason Weird Al doesn't mind piracy because the people making it a huge issue is the people who control the music. Weird Al wants people to buy his cds and get money to him. AOL wants the "world Exclusive" so they look special.
When is the RIAA and businesses working with them going to grow up. It's not like there wasn't bootlegs of exclusive material before the internet, it's not like there's going to stop bootlegs even if it's never placed on the internet. All they are doing is acting like the spoiled child who was about to get a toy, his friend got one first so when he gets the toy he smashes it because he doesn't want it any more. The problem for that kid is the only person he hurts by doing that is himself, his friend will continue to have the toy, other people might notice from the kids temper tantrum, but in the end his friend will keep playing with his.
The solution to something like this is to do a world exclusive when you get it, not 30 days after the fact or trying to drag it out as long as you can for promotion, you promote it BEFORE the video is finished and once it's done you show it off.
It's just a shame that piracy is blamed for something like this when it's really AOL's fault. Piracy didn't stop AOL from showing it. It's still a "world exclusive" just because some people saw it first. Didn't the execs and people behind the scenes of AOL see it before airing it? (Otherwise it might be a porno that someone accidently mislabeled).
Not only is the video/song pretty good, even with this "leak" he's still getting great coverage, or as some have pointed out, even better coverage. Case in point, if the premier had gone off without a hitch most of us wouldn't have even heard about it.
by Anonymous Coward
on Friday September 22 2006, @12:58PM (#16162103)
that link is not only flash but to the wrong video. It is just the music with the penut butter and jelly banana dancing to it.
here is the correct link [google.com]
Google video does let you download the video. You might be able to play one of the formats.
Get a User Agent changer for your browser, set it to something weird (that google won't recognize), and visit the Google Video page again. You'll notice that the download link now sends you an AVI instead.
I thought that. This is a little like when you see kids misbehaving and the parent says "one more peep out of you and we're going home" but this time they actually did it!
Did you read his blog? I'm very sorry to say that the AOL "First View" Premiere of the "White & Nerdy" video has been cancelled.
Apparently, the video has already leaked online, and AOL doesn't feel comfortable doing a "World Premiere" promotion for a video that a number of people have seen already. (I can understand songs leaking, but a video? How'd THAT happen?)
Anyway, it's really a bummer... it would have been great promotion for the album... but hey, life goes on.
So...
I'll be uploading the video to this page shortly. Tell your friends!
It was already 'out there', so he put it on myspace. Order of events. 1) Leaked 2) AOL Cancelled 3) Al put it on his site.
He might have put it on his site either way, but there is no contradiction between leak and wide availability.
They see me mowin'
My front lawn
I know they're all thinking I'm so white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Can't you see I'm white and nerdy?
Look at me, I'm white and nerdy
I wanna roll with
The gangstas
But so far they all think I'm too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy.
Really really white and nerdy.
First in my class here at MIT
Got skills, I'm a champion at D&D
MC Escher - that's my favorite MC
Keep your 40, I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin, to the contrary
You'll find that they're quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Steven Hawking's in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
Got people beggin' for my top eight spaces
Yo, I know pi to a thousand places
Ain't got no grills but I still wear braces
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
I'm a whiz at Minesweeper - I could play for days
Once you see my sweet moves you're gonna stay amazed
My fingers' movin' so fast I'll set the place ablaze
There's no killer app I haven't run
At Pascal, well I'm number one
Do vector calculus just for fun
I ain't got a gat but I got a soldering gun
Happy Days is my favorite theme song
I could sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
I'll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
I'm fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon
They see me roll on
My Segway
I know in my heart they think I'm white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Can't you see I'm white and nerdy
Look at me, I'm white and nerdy
I'd like to roll with
The gangstas
Although it's apparent I'm too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy
How'd I get so white and nerdy
I've been browsin', inspectin'
X-Men comics, you know I collect 'em
The pens in my pocket, I must protect 'em
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now and have y
You are absolutely right, we should be offended that someone made a parody of something that is so true. I mean, the gall of some people, making fun of themselves and others. Gay and black people are fortunate that they have escaped the wrath of popular media and comedy. I mean, just imagine it...blatantly gay people being the butt of jokes on a televised series? Oh, Will and Grace. Black people being criticized and stereotyped on public television...oh, sorry, Chris Rock and 90% of the black comedians out there beat you to it.
If we can't look at some of the stereotypes and laugh, then something is wrong. The great thing about disagreeing with stereotypes is that we can then educate people about the fallacies of their own biased and incorrect views. If you think that we are getting a bad rap (pun only partially intended here) from this video, then get out there and say why it is so wrong.
I laugh because I am white and nerdy, but know that I am much more than white and nerdy. I mean, I am tall, and well, I guess that I am just tall, white and nerdy. But still, I am more!
It seems socially acceptable for some black folks to refer to each other as nigger. Try doing that as a white boy to your black office worker and see what happens.
Hmm... (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Weird Al on MySpace [myspace.com]
Re:Hmm... (Score:5, Funny)
but there are laws against violating copyrights and copying 'protected' media. so your explanation doesn't work.
[rolls eyes]
Parent
And I care why? (Score:5, Funny)
[/not trolling]
Re:And I care why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:And I care why? (Score:4, Funny)
At least it would be more original
Parent
Re:And I care why? (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
That's BS. AOL/RIAA is trying to "teach pirates a lesson" by hurting Al. The leaker didn't do a favour, but if their system of secrecy can be felled by one woman, then they need a new business model to survive.
Re:And I care why? (Score:5, Funny)
See, selling CDs is BAD and will make musicians suffer in poverty while illegally distributing their content without any chance for income is GOOD because the magical socialism fairy will appear out of nowhere and shower them with butter and wine.
Don't mind that rabbit hole, Alice, you're not in Wonderland, just Slashdot. It's just as fruity, but much, much stupider.
Parent
Buy The CD, Not the ITunes. (Score:5, Informative)
(This is not meant to invalidate your point!)
Parent
In what's probably a first (Score:5, Funny)
Isn't that the best premiere a "Nerdy" video can get? Being "leaked" to YouTube, featured on Slashdot?
Re:In what's probably a first (Score:4, Interesting)
Since then, I've bought a shirt, both their DVDs, pre-ordered their last CD, bought the rest, and saw 'em live twice.
Yep. They sure got screwed. I'm sure they really wish I'd never even heard of 'em.
Parent
Re:In what's probably a first (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:In what's probably a first (Score:4, Funny)
I found out about this cool store once because I had ran in there earlier to escape the police who were chasing me. So, I decided to hold the place up. After I got home, I realized the store was totally cool, so now I shop there all the time.
Sure, I robbed them once, but I've more than made up for it by becoming a valuable customer! I'm sure they are glad that I know about their store.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:In what's probably a first (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
done! (Score:5, Insightful)
Al, I think that's damn close to a world premiere right there, and a better class of audience than AOL.
Re:done! (Score:5, Funny)
While I must admit that exposure all over is good, it would be MY guess that Slashdot is a better potential buying audience for Al than the typical AOL user.
After all, "White and Nerdy".
Yup. That's Slashdot.
Parent
Re:done! (Score:5, Funny)
Yup. That's Slashdot.
I'm just kind of pasty and geeky, you insensitive clod!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Time for a slashdot poll! (Score:5, Funny)
[ ] none
[ ] I downloaded a few songs
[ ] 1-3
[ ] 4-6
[ ] more than 6
[ ] all of them, and I could explain all the jokes in "White and Nerdy" and "All About the Pentiums"
I can't be the only one here who would have to check the last option...
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Wikipedia article on the little things (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Pretty cool. Although, I am surprised at this statement from the wikipedia page: When the lyrics "Steven Hawking's in my library" are sung, Yankovic is shown holding A Brief History of Time, adorned in an unusual cover.
From best I can tell on the YouTube video, it seems to be the Illustrated Brief History of Time. I don't know why this would be considered "unusual". Of all the minute details on thi
Nobody cry. (Score:5, Interesting)
Buck up, Al. You're richer than the rest of us, going to get even richer, and we find you funny despite it all.
Re: Nobody cry. (Score:4, Insightful)
True... but he won't get any money from the deal that he had with AOL. Also, what's the chance that AOL people are more likely to buy something from Weird Al vs. the
Buck up, Al. You're richer than the rest of us, going to get even richer, and we find you funny despite it all.
When does someone become rich enough that it's ok to steal from them? Does your "stealing from rich people" policy only apply to music/tv/movie stars and software developers (ie. people whom you can steal easily from) or should we all be able to steal from Warren Buffett, too?
Parent
Yeah, real bummer (Score:4, Informative)
I'm sure that getting Slashdotted will more than make up for it.
Overheard in AOL office (Score:5, Funny)
Boss: (annoyed) You mean hackers stole one of our products?
U: Well, not exactly, I mean, everybody's talking about it, this is a great opportunity for promotion. I had this idea for instance, we could let people make their OWN parodies of Weird Al's video and put them up on YouTube with a special tag, then we could give a prize to the best--
B: (more annoyed) What the fuck is U-Tube? A brand of glue? Cancel the premiere of Queer Al's video, that's the only way to show those pirates who's boss.
U: You mean "Weird Al"
B: Hey kid, this is AOL, you think we got this far by being idiots? Now get out of my office.
U: (dejected) yes sir.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
U: (dejected) sir, we're not in your office.
Case study.... (Score:3, Insightful)
On the other hand, I catch it on Slashdot and i'm there. And loved it, I cried laughing and got bad looks from people in other cubes until they saw it.. at which point we all geek bonded.
Probably did better for him to have it leaked than played on AoL.
I love the video. And the song. (Score:3, Insightful)
Aol takes their ball and goes home. (Score:5, Interesting)
When is the RIAA and businesses working with them going to grow up. It's not like there wasn't bootlegs of exclusive material before the internet, it's not like there's going to stop bootlegs even if it's never placed on the internet. All they are doing is acting like the spoiled child who was about to get a toy, his friend got one first so when he gets the toy he smashes it because he doesn't want it any more. The problem for that kid is the only person he hurts by doing that is himself, his friend will continue to have the toy, other people might notice from the kids temper tantrum, but in the end his friend will keep playing with his.
The solution to something like this is to do a world exclusive when you get it, not 30 days after the fact or trying to drag it out as long as you can for promotion, you promote it BEFORE the video is finished and once it's done you show it off.
It's just a shame that piracy is blamed for something like this when it's really AOL's fault. Piracy didn't stop AOL from showing it. It's still a "world exclusive" just because some people saw it first. Didn't the execs and people behind the scenes of AOL see it before airing it? (Otherwise it might be a porno that someone accidently mislabeled).
Good stuff, even when its bad... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:No flash... (Score:5, Informative)
here is the correct link [google.com]
Google video does let you download the video. You might be able to play one of the formats.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
You mean that the banana isn't Weird Al? I thought I read somewhere that he recently had cosmetic surgery to look more like a banana.
Re:No flash... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:No flash... (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Download on YouTube (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:No flash... (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Isn't that a somewhat nerdy thing to do?
Re:No flash... (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re:"Leaked"?? (Score:5, Informative)
I'm very sorry to say that the AOL "First View" Premiere of the "White & Nerdy" video has been cancelled.
Apparently, the video has already leaked online, and AOL doesn't feel comfortable doing a "World Premiere" promotion for a video that a number of people have seen already. (I can understand songs leaking, but a video? How'd THAT happen?)
Anyway, it's really a bummer... it would have been great promotion for the album... but hey, life goes on.
So...
I'll be uploading the video to this page shortly. Tell your friends!
It was already 'out there', so he put it on myspace. Order of events.
1) Leaked
2) AOL Cancelled
3) Al put it on his site.
He might have put it on his site either way, but there is no contradiction between leak and wide availability.
Parent
Re:Whose song is he spoofing? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Lyrics (Score:5, Informative)
They see me mowin'
My front lawn
I know they're all thinking I'm so white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Can't you see I'm white and nerdy?
Look at me, I'm white and nerdy
I wanna roll with
The gangstas
But so far they all think I'm too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy.
Really really white and nerdy.
First in my class here at MIT
Got skills, I'm a champion at D&D
MC Escher - that's my favorite MC
Keep your 40, I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin, to the contrary
You'll find that they're quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Steven Hawking's in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
Got people beggin' for my top eight spaces
Yo, I know pi to a thousand places
Ain't got no grills but I still wear braces
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
I'm a whiz at Minesweeper - I could play for days
Once you see my sweet moves you're gonna stay amazed
My fingers' movin' so fast I'll set the place ablaze
There's no killer app I haven't run
At Pascal, well I'm number one
Do vector calculus just for fun
I ain't got a gat but I got a soldering gun
Happy Days is my favorite theme song
I could sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
I'll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
I'm fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon
They see me roll on
My Segway
I know in my heart they think I'm white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Can't you see I'm white and nerdy
Look at me, I'm white and nerdy
I'd like to roll with
The gangstas
Although it's apparent I'm too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy
How'd I get so white and nerdy
I've been browsin', inspectin'
X-Men comics, you know I collect 'em
The pens in my pocket, I must protect 'em
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now and have y
Parent
Re:Cliche (Score:5, Insightful)
If we can't look at some of the stereotypes and laugh, then something is wrong. The great thing about disagreeing with stereotypes is that we can then educate people about the fallacies of their own biased and incorrect views. If you think that we are getting a bad rap (pun only partially intended here) from this video, then get out there and say why it is so wrong.
I laugh because I am white and nerdy, but know that I am much more than white and nerdy. I mean, I am tall, and well, I guess that I am just tall, white and nerdy. But still, I am more!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It seems socially acceptable for some black folks to refer to each other as nigger. Try doing that as a white boy to your black office worker and see what happens.
Weird al is 'one of us', so he's allowed.