Weird Al Yankovic: Not just a parasite of cultural power but a source of it himself

Weird Al Yankovic's parody music seems ancient, but a great text in the New York Times about Yankovic's show - "a parody concert felt like a category error, like confusing a mirror for a window", made it so fun - "It felt less like a traditional concert than a Broadway musical crossed with a comedy film festival crossed with a tent revival". When it finished, the journalist decided "Weird Al Yankovic was a full-on rock star, a legitimate performance monster. He was not just a parasite of cultural power but — somehow, improbably - a source of it himself". Although a parody is essentially a joke, which lasts as long as a laugh, Weird Al's joke still endures, 40 years on.