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Dare to Be Stupid (song)
"Dare to Be Stupid" is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a musical pastiche of the band Devo.[1] Released as the flipside to "The Touch", the song was included in the soundtrack for The Transformers: The Movie and is his most popular original song. Lyrics and styleLyrically, the song encourages the listener to be stupid in various ways; mostly by advising them to do the opposite of common idioms (e.g. "let the bedbugs bite" or "put all your eggs in one basket"), with the occasional absurd non sequitur (e.g. "stick your head in the microwave and get yourself a tan"). The song also encourages the listener to "...let your babies grow up to be cowboys," a reference to a popular country song, to "squeeze all the Charmin you can while Mr. Whipple's not around," a reference to a long-running series of ads, and to "sit around the house and watch Leave It to Beaver". a reference to the television show of the same name. The tune somewhat resembles that of "Deep Sleep", "Time Out for Fun" and "Big Mess" from Devo's Oh, No! It's Devo album. Al's line "Yes!" in a slightly altered voice is reminiscent of the "Yes!" from "Explosions" on the same album. A descending synth line heard before some verses is similar to one used in "Deep Sleep". The recurring synth line heard throughout the song is very similar to the opening synth line from "Time Out for Fun". A descending three-note synth line heard throughout the chorus is very reminiscent of one used heavily in "Whip It". After completing the song in 1985, Yankovic played it for Devo lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh. In 2024, Yankovic recalled, "I'm not sure how honest of a reaction I got, but he seemed to enjoy it. And in fact he complimented me. He said he really liked the sounds we got on the synthesizers."[2] In a 1999 interview on VH1's Behind the Music, Mothersbaugh stated in reaction to the song that: "I was in shock. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. He sort of re-sculpted that song into something else and... I hate him for it, basically."[3][4] Yankovic said Mothersbaugh's response in the program was not serious, and was representative of his dry sense of humor.[2] Music videoThe music video is, according to Yankovic, also a "style parody" of Devo's works:[5] Yankovic and his band wear the yellow radiation suits from Devo's cover of The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" video throughout. Many of the performance segments of the video are modeled on the "Satisfaction" music video, including the man attempting to breakdance on a carpeted wall and floor. This is a parody of dancer Craig Allen Rothwell, nicknamed "Spazz Attack", who was featured in Devo's video with his signature flip onto his back. Segments of the video are reminiscent of several of Devo's other videos:
The video also includes much bizarre imagery, which, for the most part, is irrelevant to the lyrics, such as Yankovic's face emerging from a screen filled with tiny baby figurines (a nod to the similarly Devo-esque scene in the video of "Mexican Radio" from early 1980s band—and friend of Devo's—Wall of Voodoo, when lead singer Stan Ridgway's face emerges from a bowl of cooked pinto beans). The machine Yankovic controls during parts of the video is an interocitor from the film This Island Earth. The swim goggles Yankovic wears over his eyes resembles those of Devo vocalist Mark Mothersbaugh's in the "Satisfaction", "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise" and "Come Back Jonee" videos. The scenes in the video are supposedly taking place in a man's dream. In popular mediaThe song has an ongoing relationship with the Transformers franchise, spanning both television and film. The song was featured in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986, appearing during a battle scene featuring the characters Wreck-Gar and the Junkions.[6] It was subsequently released as a double A-side along with "The Touch" by Stan Bush. Yankovic would later guest star in the 2007 TV series Transformers: Animated as a new version of Wreck-Gar, who makes an allusion to the song in his dialogue ("I am Wreck-Gar! I dare to be stupid!").[7] Track listing
Personnel
See alsoReferences
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