The Bridge: Living in an Amish Paradise
Chris Molanphy talks to preeminent Weird Al chronicler Nathan Rabin about Yankovic’s many phases, monocultural satire, and use of nostalgia to stay relevant over a decadeslong career.
In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Nathan Rabin, podcaster and writer of two books about “Weird Al” Yankovic. They discuss the most recent full-length episode of Hit Parade, a history of novelty songs on the Billboard charts culminating with the oeuvre of the most successful parody musician ever. Nathan shares the history of his Al fandom and eventual book-length collaboration, and Chris and Nathan theorize about the secrets of Al’s success.
Next, Chris quizzes a Slate Plus listener with some music trivia, and the contestant turns the tables with a chance to try to stump Chris with a question of his own. Then, Chris teases the upcoming full-length episode of Hit Parade, which will look at the record-breaking career of the late Whitney Houston—now a Rock Hall inductee.
While this episode is available to all listeners, our trivia round is open only to Slate Plus members. If you are a member—or once you become a member—enter as a contestant here.
Want your question featured in an upcoming show? Email a voice memo to hitparade@slate.com.
Podcast production by Asha Saluja.
Content retrieved from: https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2020/02/nathan-rabin-and-chris-molanphy-talk-weird-al-yankovic-on-hit-parade-the-bridge.