UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff
UHF - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff | ||||
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Studio album / Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | July 18, 1989 | |||
Recorded | December 20, 1988–May 25, 1989 | |||
Studio | Santa Monica Sound Recorders, Santa Monica | |||
Genre | Comedy, parody | |||
Length | 42:28 | |||
Label | Rock 'n Roll Records Scotti Brothers | |||
Producer | Rick Derringer | |||
"Weird Al" Yankovic chronology | ||||
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Singles from UHF | ||||
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UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff is the sixth
The music on UHF is built around pastiches of rock, rap, and pop music of the late 1980s, featuring parodies of songs by
Peaking at No. 146 on the
Production
Background and recording
Following the success of Yankovic's 1988 album
In December 1988, Yankovic returned to the studio to record the soundtrack to his feature film. Once again, former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer was brought in to produce the album. This would be Derringer's last production credit for Yankovic. The producer and musician eventually parted ways because Derringer found that Yankovic would not listen to his input, and Yankovic came to realize that he could do most of the production work himself. Subsequent studio albums would be produced by Yankovic.[3][4] Recording with Yankovic were Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz on drums, Steve Jay on bass, and Jim West on guitar.[5] The album was recorded in six different sessions at both Santa Monica Sound Records in Santa Monica, California and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles.[6] During the first session, the song "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" was recorded. The second session yielded the titular "UHF" and "Let Me Be Your Hog". During the third session, Yankovic recorded "Stanley Spadowski's Theme"—which would later be renamed "Fun Zone"—as well as the skit "Gandhi II". Only one song was recorded during the fourth sessions, the skit "Spatula City". The fifth recording session resulted in five songs: "Spam", "Attack of the Radioactive Hamsters From a Planet Near Mars", "Hot Rocks Polka", "Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota", and "Generic Blues". The sixth and final session produced the two parodies "Isle Thing" and "She Drives Like Crazy".[7]
Originals
On February 24, 1989, Yankovic recorded the first original song for the album, "Let Me Be Your Hog". The song is a short rock snippet that is heard in the movie as Newman's uncle Harvey (Stanley Brock) lounges in his pool. Originally, Yankovic had wanted to use the 1974 single "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas for the scene, but he could not obtain the rights for the song, and thus "Let Me Be Your Hog" was recorded.[8] Yankovic then recorded the theme from his movie, the titular "UHF", written in the style of a TV station's large promotional campaign. On February 25, Yankovic recorded the instrumental "Fun Zone", also known as "Stanley Spadowski's Theme". Originally written four years earlier for a failed Saturday Night Live replacement titled Welcome to the Fun Zone, this song is played at the beginning of every "Weird Al" concert.[6]
Three months later, on May 24, 1989, Yankovic recorded three more originals. The first of these, "Attack of the Radioactive Hamsters from a Planet Near Mars", is a rock song about a number of mutated hamsters terrorizing Earth. The second original song, "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota", is a folk ballad about a family road trip to a tourist location in
UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff is also notable in that it was Yankovic's first and only studio album to dabble in the art of skits. The first of these segments is called "Gandhi II", which re-imagines Mahatma Gandhi as the hero of a blaxploitation-style sequel to the film Gandhi, spoofing both the theme and promos for the film Shaft.[9] The second skit is called "Spatula City" and is an advertisement for a spatula outlet store.[9] These short segments were used in the film as commercials; other commercial segments, such as "Plots 'R Us" and "Conan the Librarian", were not used on the album.[10]
Parodies and polka
On December 20, 1988, Yankovic recorded "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies". The song features the lyrics of The Beverly Hillbillies theme song altered slightly and set to the tune of "Money for Nothing". The song appears in its entirety within UHF as a computer-animated dream sequence, framed as if it were part of a music video.[1] As part of his terms that allowed Yankovic to record this parody, Dire Straits lead singer and guitarist and "Money for Nothing" songwriter Mark Knopfler insisted that he be allowed to play the guitar featured in the parody.[1][11] As a result, both he and Guy Fletcher—Dire Straits' keyboardist—recorded their parts on guitar and synthesizer respectively.[1] According to Yankovic, his guitarist Jim West had practiced the song for weeks, and, as a result could recreate the original; Knopfler, on the other hand, had been playing the song for years and was much more relaxed with his playing. As a result, West's version sounded more like the original version, although Knopfler's track was the one used.[8] Yankovic revealed in the DVD commentary for UHF that the concept "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" was originally a parody of Prince's 1984 hit "Let's Go Crazy".[8][11] Prince, however, refused, and was unreceptive to any parody ideas Yankovic ever presented him with.[11][12] The fractured titled "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" is a result of Dire Straits' lawyers insisting that "Money for Nothing" remain in the parody's title.[1][8][11] Yankovic was unhappy with the title and stated that he would rather have had the title be either "Money for Nothing for the Beverly Hillbillies" or "Beverly Hillbillies for Nothing".[1] The legal title for the song features an asterisk after the word "Hillbillies", although it is often printed without the marking.[1][5][nb 1]
On May 24, 1989, Yankovic started recording the second parody for the album, "Spam". The song, a play on
Like many of Yankovic's previous albums, UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff features a polka medley of hit songs. "The Hot Rocks Polka" contains songs written and made popular by the Rolling Stones.[5]
Music videos
External videos | |
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"Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" music video | |
"UHF" music video |
Both "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" and "UHF" received stand-alone music videos. The "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" video was reused for the movie, described above. The "UHF" video featured Yankovic and his band parodying other musicians and specific music videos, interspersed with clips from the movie.
Reception
Critical response
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Pitchfork | 4.7/10[18] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [19] |
Due to the short stint of UHF in theaters, its soundtrack got "lost in the shuffle" and did not receive much of a critical response.[1] However, from the few reviews it did receive, the album received a mixed response. Jacob Lunders of AllMusic awarded the album three stars out of five and called it a "guilty pleasure".[9] Lunders noted that the album "endures artistically as a transitional album between his '80s heyday and the imminent artistic makeover revealed on 1992's Off the Deep End".[9] He ultimately concluded that the album is something that only "moderate [to] genuine" fans may want, but that it is "nearly as accessible" as many of his compilation albums.[9] The Rolling Stone Album Guide awarded the album three stars out of five, denoting a "good" album.[19] A TV Guide critic, in a review of the movie, wrote that "the quality of [the movie's] parodies" are "inconsistent, with the movie and music takeoffs being obvious and out of date."[20]
Commercial performance
UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff was released July 18, 1989.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Parody of | Length |
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1. | " Tone Lōc | 3:37 | ||
5. | "The Hot Rocks Polka" | Various | A polka medley of Rolling Stones songs:
| 4:50 |
6. | "UHF" | Yankovic | Original | 5:09 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Parody of | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
7. | "Let Me Be Your Hog" | Yankovic | Original | 0:16 |
8. | "She Drives Like Crazy" | Roland Gift, David Steele, Yankovic | "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals | 3:42 |
9. | "Generic Blues" | Yankovic | Style parody of the blues[1] | 4:34 |
10. | "Spatula City" | Yankovic | Skit | 1:07 |
11. | "Fun Zone" | Yankovic | Instrumental | 1:45 |
12. | "Spam" | William Berry, Peter Buck, Michael Mills, John Stipe, Yankovic | "Stand" by R.E.M. | 3:12 |
13. | "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" | Yankovic | Style parody of Harry Chapin and Gordon Lightfoot[1] | 6:50 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from LP liner notes.[5]
Band members
- "Weird Al" Yankovic – lead and background vocals, keyboards, accordion
- Jim West – guitars, banjo, background vocals
- Steve Jay – bass guitar, background vocals
- Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Kim Bullard – synthesizers
- Rick Derringer – guitar, background vocals
- The Waters Sisters – background vocals
- The Step Sisters – vocals (track 10)
- Jimmy Z. – harmonica
- Warren Luening – trumpet
- Donny Sierer – saxophone
- M.G. Kelly – "Spatula City" announcer
- Jim Rose – "Gandhi II" announcer
- Mark Knopfler – guitar (track 1)
- Guy Fletcher – synthesizer (track 1)
Technical
- Rick Derringer – producer
- "Weird Al" Yankovic – arranger
- Tony Papa – engineer
- Daryll Dobson – engineer
- Jamey Dell – assistant engineer
- Bill Malina – assistant engineer
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hansen, Barret (1994). Permanent Record: Al in the Box (liner). "Weird Al" Yankovic. California, United States: Scotti Brothers Records. 72392 75451-2.
- ^ a b Yankovic, Alfred M. (May 1999). "'Ask Al' Q&As for May, 1999". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
- ISBN 9780634029561.
Rick Derringer: So I was becoming less and less infatuated because Al wouldn't listen to my input, my direction. He really wanted it to be slicker. And he wouldn't allow me to make it less slick in order to make it less funny. And the whole image of the novelty producer I did not like at all.
- ISBN 9780634029561.
'Weird Al' Yankovic: It was certainly nothing personal and it was certainly no reflection on his talent as a producer. It just got to the point where I felt like I could hold the reins by myself.
- ^ a b c d e f g h UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff (LP liner notes). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1989. SZ 45265.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Volcano Records
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. (December 2007). "Recording Dates". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d Jay Levey (director); Alfred M. Yankovic (2002). UHF – Commentary (DVD). UHF: Orion Pictures.
- ^ AllMusic. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ^ Jay Levey (director); "Weird Al" Yankovic (writer, actor) (1989). UHF (DVD). Orion Pictures.
- ^ a b c d Khanna, Vish (July 2011). "'Weird Al' Yankovic Alpocalypse Now… and Then". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ Jennifer, Vineyard (June 9, 2003). "Weird Al Wisdom: Don't Rush Comedy, And Don't Trust eBay". MTV. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- MGM.
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. (October 1998). "'Ask Al' Q&As for October, 1998". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. (September 1998). "'Ask Al' Q&As for September, 1998". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- Vulture. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ Khanna, Vish (June 27, 2011). ""Weird Al" YankovicAlpocalypse Now… and Then". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- Pitchfork Media. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ "UHF Review". TV Guide. 1989. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Yankovic, Alfred M. (2003). "Awards". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Archived from the original on February 3, 2009. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. (January 1999). "'Ask Al' Q&As for January, 1999". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
- Tribune Media Services. Retrieved September 6, 2013.