Alcon
Alcon 2000 followed suit and Alcon III is already in the works!
AlMusic
Al-TV
Al-tv was born in 1984 in response to the success of "Eat It". 2 4-hr Al-tvs were made that year. Since then, the subsequent Al-tvs have varied in content and legnth (anywhere from 2-3 hrs) and they are hot items for trade.
In 1996, for Bad Hair Day, MTV decided that all of Al's zaniness must be cooled down because they were scared of the other artists' reactions to parodies that they didn't approve- scared of the Coolio Syndrome in other words- so Bad Hair Day's Al-tv consisted mainly of the original videos followed by Al's existing parody videos. Even tho this version sat well with viewers (it was aired 100s of times), it did not sit so well with devoted Al fans who felt that MTV had cheated him.
MTV allowed Al-tv to return to its traditional formatting for the Running With Scissors version in December of 1999. Fans everywhere were thrilled out of their skulls!!!
The Authorized Al
Also, Meganurd was kind enough to put this book into a zip file, so if you go here you can download it!
The Compleat Al
Twenkie-Weiner Sandwich
This exquisite treat consits of a hot dog weiner placed into a twinkie which has been cut legnthwise about halfway in depth, topped with squeese cheese, and dipped into a mug of milk.
UHF
The plot involves a young man whose daydreaming prevents him from keeping a job- thus straining his relationship with his girlfriend. When his uncle wins a UHF station in a poker game, this young man, George Newman, proceeds to make the station a success with his wacky mind and childlike janitor. But their rival station, Channel 8 is in for the kill, when George's uncle's gambling debts threaten to close down the station. Can George and his station friends raise the money to save U62?... Well *I'M* certainly not gonna tell ya! Go watch the movie!!!!
UHF has yet to be released on DVD. This is partly due to the fact that MGM, not Al, holds the rights to the film and so far it's been unclear as to if or when it would ever happen. Catra Dothem started a campaign to get it released on DVD. In late summer 2001, MGM announced that UHF *will indeed* be realeased and that they are in talks with Al for doing some extras! Way to go Catra, way to go Al!
VH-Al
Fans exhausted their vcrs and extra blank tapes to get the whole thing recorded. If you're lucky, you can find someone who actually did manage to get the whole thing.
VH-Al consisted of airings of all of the different tv specials Al has done for them like Behind the Music, Weird Al Yankovic Live!, and various other things for hours on end. VH-1 did manage to get in some of its regular programming, but not before Al introduced them! In between shows, Al would be hunkered down in his survivalist bunker awaiting the world's demise on Y2K...even showing off some of his wild ways of coping with the impending doom.
Al-Gals
Diva fixed up an honor pledge and used to maintain the list, but it got too big. There is now a website and mailing list, for the group. (Note about the list: only 1 Al-Gal has a given number and that woman is Mary Yankovic- Al's Mom; and as you've probably guessed, the number she holds is #27.) Here's the Pledge:
Cheers oh sisters in passion, Diva
I [insert your name here], as a devoted Al-gal, do solemnly swear that I will go to whatever lengths possible to nurture, defend and protect the inimitable, scrumptious, and sexy-yet-tasteful Al Yankovic from all enemies, foreign and domestic and microbial; will ensure the integrity of his voice and the safety of every molecule in his butt by whatever means necessary; will button up his overcoat when the wind is free; and will throw ourselves upon him to protect him from any potential incoming missiles, even if they are actually 100 miles away or we only think they might possibly be coming. To this end we pledge our lives, our spirits and our sacred and profane honor.
Al-Heads
Al-Men
There is no current list, but I do have some old saved threads from members. However, I don't think it'll be up anytime.
Al-Gals and Al-Men extra:
Hey, *you* asked... =)
Which brings up another point. Jilly also responded to the Newbie's post; included were the following snips:
#2
#3
She's not too far from the truth about that "Bermuda Babe" thing. There *is* a Worshippers of Bermuda club/website. Dunno 'bout the others tho......future list maybe? :)
Al-oholics
About this same time, Marty used his term again as the name and theme for his website, Al-oholics Anonymous. This just happens to be the very first "Weird Al" website ever made! Kudos my friend!
Al-Team
After that, the number '27' was automatically reserved an people started grabbing numbers...we have never been the same. Sue Kelleher maintains the list and website. You can get your own Al-Team t-shirt too!
Close Personal Friends Of Al (CPFOA)
This is *NOT* the Astronomocal League Convention- it's the "Weird Al" Convention! In 1998, Chicago Al fan Amanda put together the first ever Alcon. Fans from all over the US, Canada, and even Japan attended! Many things happened and many memories were made!
Check out the following Alcon pages:
AlMusic is the parody of MuchMusic, MTV's Canadian sister. Most of what appears in an Al-tv ends up on an AlMusic, but of course each has its own unique bits so they're not *totally* identical. Because most of Al's internet fans (and thus the ones who do the most trading) arn't able to get MuchMusic, all AlMusics are hot trade items. Ironically, when MTV cooled Al down for Bad Hair Day, MuchMusic cooled Al down for Running With Scissors! Hopefully the fears will fade away and the Al-waves will return to normal.......wait, does that word even apply?!
The parody of MTV. For every album from In3-D to Running With Scissors, Al has taken over the tv waves with his pirated transmittor and turns MTV into ALtv- where Al gets to play all the videos *he* wants to watch! He also does mock interviews, over-dubs others' videos, super-imposes himself into others' videos, does short comedy routines, has Harvey do a stunt or two, anwsers his mailbag, goofs off in his 'office', mixes up the news, and BUNCHES of other stuff!
This rare and out of print (notice a pattern here?) book is a mockumentary of Al's life and is a sort of companion to The Compleat Al. Every now and then, you can find the 2 on Ebay.
This rare and out of print video is a mockumentary of Al's life and includes all of his videos thru Polka Party.
The famous Twinkie-Weiner Sandwich is THE official food of "Weird Al" Yankovic fans! Its origins in fine cuisine began as a close-up of George Newman making his buddy, Bob his 'favorite' to cheer him up and make up for losing their jobs.
Variations:
Al's one and only feature film. He co-wrote it with his manager, Jay Levey (who also directed it). Even tho it was released in the summer of 1989 and *completely* swamped by the high-budget blockbusters, booed by critics, and gone out of print...it has gained a cult-like status with Al's fans and has a steady stay on cable. Talks are circulating of a DVD release of UHF, which, to say the least, would be WONDERFUL! The soundtrack is a little hard to find, but is just as much in print as Al's other albums!
Not too long after the Running With Scissors installment of Al-tv, VH-1 decided to get in on the action that MTV and MuchMusic had been cashing in on for years- they let Al take over the airwaves! But not for any 4-hour stint, oh no...try **18** hours!!! I can't remember if it was 18 or 24 hours...but it was a loooooong time!
The female fans of Al! Those who love, admire, and dream about Al for the man he really is, an/or for the personna he plays.
I was asked to re-post the Al-gal oath this weekend so here it is again.
Is the generic term for an Al fan. It derives from 2 origins:
Upon seeing the Al-Gals unification, the guys wanted to get in on it too. So they gave themselves superhero personnas and call themselves the Al-Men.
A newbie once asked us (right when this whole thing started) just what the 2 groups *were*. Phoenix summed it up pretty good:
Al-Gals:
women that have sworn to devote their life to the worshipping of Al.
Al-Men:
men that use their incredible super powers to protect Al and band.
#1
The Al-Gals are a group of women here in the newsgroup (I think it's ALL the women in the newsgroup) who go ga-ga over, as Nan puts it, the sexy-but-tasteful one.
The males of the newsgroup were kind of creeped out at first, listening to us females discuss their boyhood idol so boldly, but eventually they got used to it. They even decided that since we females could create a sort of "inner circle" that they could also, and thusly the Al-Men were born. Each one has special superpowers and their own cute little action figure that looks nothing like them.
There are also several Bermuda Babes, Westerners, Rubenesque gals, and then there's Carlotta :)
This term was actually cooked up by Marty "Gumby" Lick and used to describe himself when he called in to a radio station that was interviewing Al. A few years later, Al used it in the Al-tv for Off The Deep End as a fake parody add for Alcoholics Anonymous.
Came shortly after the Al-Gals and Al-Men frenzy. It began as a response to a post about "royalties and a 'limited number' of items" stuff...I missed that first part so don't quote me on that. Anyway, the Al-Team concept began as the following post By Timothy David Schnepp:
NUMBERED ORIGIONALS? That gives me an idea. Everyone on this ng (and maybe beyond) could be given an official Al Number. The Numbers could be worn on a series of T-shirts or something. Maybe tatoo it on your foot. I call number 77 (I'll save 27 for a more deserving fan) On second thought, we might end up calling each other only by our numbers & not our real names. :-}
The original official fan club for Al. Sadly it didn't last as a 'fan club', but it remains as the place where you send all of your fan mail (all except for parody suggestions- they burn those). For more on CPFOA, head to WeirdAl.Com's FAQ or to Marty's FAQ.