Fullweird Al-Chemist #1 - "Skipper Dan"
"Look at those hippos, they're wigglin their ears. Somebody shoot me cause I'm bored to tears."
The Song: “Skipper Dan”
What Is It?: Original in the style of Weezer
Songwriters: Al Yankovic
First Album Appearance: Internet Leaks (2009)
Also Appears On: Alpocalypse (2011)
We kick off the project with a low-key bang, as the RNG gods bless us with a top-shelf Al original and a bit of a fan favorite. Combining inspiration from a Yankovic family outing on the Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland with the stylings of Weezer, specifically “Pork and Beans” and a bit of “Pinkerton”, “Skipper Dan” is subdued, somewhat bleak, and soul-crushingly relatable while still being darkly humorous. It's also an expertly crafted, sonically pleasing bop that holds up well for a “comedy” song.
The titular skipper aspired to be a successful actor, and he seemed to do all the right things. He studied the greats, put the work in, and graduated at the top of his class in Julliard, one of the world’s premiere performing arts schools.
Young Daniel dreamt big. Rolling Stone magazine covers, standing ovations on Broadway, and film festival fanfare were among his aims. Visions of Quentin Tarantino film roles danced in his head like hyperviolent, profane sugar plums.
However, things didn’t exactly pan out for the promising thespian over the coming years, so, in order to pay the rent, he’s employed as a creatively-stifled tour guide on Adventureland’s little river boat, the Congo Queen. He’s tasked with making the same corny, scripted jokes and pointing out the foibles of the animatronic animals every time out. The character was actually inspired by a real failed actor-turned-skipper Yankovic met on the Jungle Cruise ride.
While a lot of Al’s original material is an excuse to make up fantastically silly or pathologically deranged scenarios, “Skipper Dan” is refreshingly grounded. There's the odd chuckle here and there, but “Dan” is not the kind of song to elicit hearty belly laughs.
The humor comes with a side of grim relatability. Many listeners, including actual Disneyland cast members who apparently loved the song, feel what Dan is going through, enduring the ennui of having to work an unfulfilling job in order to make ends meet, while your aspirations get smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror.
Contrasting with the subject matter, the surrounding music is infectious and peppy. Taken on its own, it’s a solid slice of pop-rock.
Like many Al songs from around this period, “Skipper Dan” received the animated music video treatment. Directed by Divya Srinivasan, who did several projects for They Might Be Giants, the animation style meshes well with the overall vibe of the material.
In all honesty, I was a bit ambivalent about this tune when it first came out, but the quality of the composition and everything I brought up above helped win me over in the years since.
You'd think Al and Weezer, a bunch of nerdy little guys, would have always gotten along beautifully, but their relationship started off on a surprisingly contentious foot. Back when the alternative band was in their “we are a super serial band, guys” phase, they denied Yankovic permission to use “Buddy Holly” in 1996's “Alternative Polka” medley. Al had already arranged the polka with the Weezer hit factored in, assuming they'd say yes, but it was ultimately removed. That’s why Weezer was thanked in “Bad Hair Day”’s liner notes despite no audible contributions.
Yes, the band who started off one of their top singles with, “What's with these homies dissin’ my girl?” were afraid that being included in a polka medley along with top bands like R.E.M., Green Day, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers was going to sully their reputation. I actually quite like Weezer, but I always found that funny.
Suffice to say, relations between the two parties improved since then as the stick eventually fell out of Weezer's collective butt. Al got to use “Beverly Hills” in 2006’s “Polkarama!”, and Yankovic stood in for Rivers Cuomo in the music video for Weezer’s fun cover of Toto’s classic, “Africa”. To add another layer of satire, the video itself is a mild parody of the 1993 music video for “Undone - The Sweater Song”.
Interestingly enough, while this is officially acknowledged as a Weezer pastiche, some fans pointed out that “Skipper Dan” feels more akin to Fountains of Wayne. Particularly, depression-laced, humorous storytelling in catchy pop-rock dressing. I'm not familiar with FoW beyond “Stacy's Mom”, but feel free to check out Nathan Rabin’s article on this very song as it further explores that comparison.
“Skipper Dan” was first unleashed as a digital single on July 14th, 2009, a little over a month before the release of the 5-song digital EP, “Internet Leaks”. I’d say it was the second-best song from that collection (hey, I love me some “CNR”).
All five tracks from “Leaks” made it onto 2011’s full-length album, “Alpocalypse”, and “Skipper Dan” retained its status as one of the standout songs from that record. Heck, unless something drastically shifts over the course of the project, “Skipper Dan” is a top fifteen original song from Yankovic, possibly top ten.
I swear, not all of these are going to be this long. Who knows that the random number gods have in store for me in the coming months/years/eons, but I’m glad we started off on a relative high note.
Until next time, STAY WEIRD!
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