The Alternative Polka (found deleted "Buddy Holly" segment from "Weird Al" Yankovic song; 1996)
The Alternative Polka is one of multiple polka songs made by comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, with it being included in his ninth album Bad Hair Day. The song, much like his other polka-based medleys, consists of multiple segments parodying popular music from around the time, such as "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden and "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails.
The track however, was met with some changes during its last days of production, with one the songs parodied, "Buddy Holly" by Weezer, being cut at the last minute due to Rivers Cuomo, the song's writer and one of the band's members, being against it.
The Deleted Segment
In the CD and cassette release of the album, several musicians are listed under a special thanks list, with one of them being for the American rock band Weezer, despite them never being included in any of the songs in the album. During an "Ask Al" Q&A, one fan asked about this credit for the band, to which Al responded stating that Weezer's "Buddy Holly" was originally going to be included in the album's polka medley, which was fully recorded, but during the final mix, a call was made by Weezer's management, stating that Rivers Cuomo wanted the segment completely cut from the track. Due to this sudden change, the "Buddy Holly" portion was physically cut from the song, despite the CD and cassette booklet already being printed with the band listed.[1]
The exact reasoning for the segment's removal remained unknown for some time, until March 8, 2023, when Rivers Cuomo left a YouTube comment, stating how he was regretful for its removal and that at the time, he felt that the segment was too similar to the original song, and not finding it funny as other "Weird Al" songs he was aware of.[2]
Release
After the album's release, the segment would go unreleased for several years, until August 22, 2009, at 7:16 PM, when Al would make a Tweet stating how a "Rarity of Rarities" would get posted,[3] a few hours later, Al would post the deleted "Buddy Holly" portion of the song through the now-defunct website Twaud.io.[4][5] While the original upload of the segment is no longer playable, it was later posted to the official "Weird Al" YouTube channel on June 25, 2010, where it can still be watched today.
Gallery
Gallery
Credits for the album, which lists Weezer in the special thanks list.
See Also
- "Weird Al" Yankovic (partially found early demos and recordings from comedy musician; 1973-1983)
- Orgy on My Own (found unreleased "Weird Al" Yankovic song; 1981)
- UHF (lost original cut of comedy film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic; 1989)
- Pretty Fly For A Rabbi (lost official remix of "Weird Al" Yankovic song from Yahoo! Music Beatnik GrooveGrams Contest; 1999-2000)
- Couch Potato (lost production materials of unreleased Weird Al Yankovic music video; 2003)
- Al's Brain (found 3D educational short film; 2009)
References
- ↑ Midnight Star “Ask Al” Q&As for July/August, 1996. Retrieved 26 Oct '24
- ↑ Recreation of The Alternative Polka with the deleted segment, where a comment by Rivers Cuomo was made. Retrieved 26 Oct '24
- ↑ Archived Tweet by Al, vaguely announcing the eventual release of the segment. Retrieved 26 Oct '24
- ↑ Tweet by Al, featuring a link to the segment's orignal upload. Retrieved 26 Oct '24
- ↑ Archived page for the segment's upload on Twaud.io. Retrieved 26 Oct '24