If you’re like me, you often sit in front of your computer screen and think, “Y’know, Weird Al has done so much to advance the cause of parody music in my lifetime. But what I really want is for someone to make a goofy parody of that kooky Asian pop music I listen to.” Then, if you’re also like me, you silently weep because you’re too white (and possibly nerdy) to do such a thing yourself.
But guess what? You’re now in luck: Patty Yu has taken the initiative here, creating the alter-ego BaO, who sings a paean to pork buns based on Korean pop star BoA’s U.S. debut single, “Eat You Up”:
I’m wasn’t a big fan of BoA’s original, but — like Weird Al’s own parodies of songs I didn’t initially like — I find Patty’s version entertaining and goofy, which made me warm up to the original a bit…to the point where I almost kinda like it now. I especially like the cameo by “Kim Jong Il” getting down with some pork buns and a couple of hotties. And not only is the quality of the parody song itself impressive, but the video is also quite well-done, something that can’t be said about many self-made videos in this day and age (and believe me, I say this as someone who has helped make some of those shitty self-made videos in his lifetime).
In a perfect world, this would be a win-win situation for both artists: Patty would be recognized for her creative talents, and BoA would get some badly-needed publicity for her English-language debut album, BoA, which is getting a re-release in September (after flopping pretty badly upon its original release this past March). Normally I’m against double-dipping like this, but considering the original album seems to have had an initial press run of about 25, a re-release might not be a bad thing (note: I’m not saying this is the ONLY reason the album flopped, but it couldn’t have helped).
You can follow Patty at her web site or Twitter, and spread the word if you’re so inclined. And BoA too, I guess. (Seriously, am I the only person in the world who doesn’t have a Twitter account? Should I rectify that?)
I now return you to your regularly-scheduled Oddball Update. Tune in later this week for the five-part epic “Chief Oddball Cosplays as SV-7“! You won’t want to miss it!
Edit (8/1/09): I now have a Twitter account, so I am no longer the only person in the world without one. Hoo-ray!
I will have to ask Apple about BoA and see if she is familiar with her. There’s this huge “Korean wave” taking Thailand (and much of Asia) by storm at the moment; when I was over there we’d always hear K-pop playing in restaurants and stuff.
That parody was fantastically done; I watched both videos and it immediately became apparent what a quality job Patty Yu’s video was. Pretty funny shit too! Very Yankovician. And I can’t help but agree with the central point anyway…those pork buns are tasty..
Ha, me cosplay as SV-7? I doubt it, but these strange folks did. (Well, as D-84.) With some of the actual costumes from the serial, no less.
I don’t know much about BoA beyond what I’ve read (and the few songs I’ve heard), but she seems to be pretty huge in Japan. From what I can tell, she tends to do the R&B electro-pop that I’m not too much a fan of; however, I’d thought about picking up her album if it was cheap enough (I picked up Utada Hikaru’s latest U.S. disc — which is kinda “meh” — for only $9.99), but not a single place seemed to have even heard of it (and I didn’t want it so badly that I was gonna order it online or anything).
It was definitely a Weird Al-esque video; it actually kinda reminds me of “Eat It” (or perhaps “Smells Like Nirvana”) in that it copies a lot of the original video shot-for-shot, then goes overboard with the goofy. It’s also a testament to what having a “get up and go” attitude can get you, I guess, as she made the video with some help from her friends over the course of a couple of months (I think).
I’ve never had pork buns. But the last time I was at Happy Garden I picked up some Chinese doughnuts. Oohhh man, are those tasty…
Haha, that YouTube video. I didn’t realize The Robots of Death was so popular as to warrant fan-made videos. That kind of reminds me of those “New Voyages” guys (or whatever they’re called now) who make fan films out of the old Star Trek: Phase II scripts.
I suppose the spiritual similarity to “Eat It” may not be accidental; I read on Patty’s blog (or Twitter, one or the other) that “Eat It” was one of her favorite songs when she was younger. As you said, I think it’s doubly amazing that the whole pork buns video was an informal project she put together with her friends (that was the impression I got too). It was very well-done considering.
Hell yes, pork buns — OMG, love them. Every time we’d go somewhere in Thailand that had them, I’d have to get one. We went to this one place way down in Songkhla that is famous for these buns. We got one and it was HUGE. I mean, if you cupped both of your hands together it wouldn’t even fit in them.
Mmmm…Chinese doughnuts, eh? Were they like unsweet fried dough balls that you dip in condensed milk to sweeten them? I’ve had a similar concoction under the moniker “Thai doughnuts,” although Apple assures me no one in Thailand has ever heard of them. 🙂
Yeah, the Robots of Death cosplay video was mega strange. It reminded me of that 1970s high school video project called “School Lost,” which I watched really late at night one time when I was very wired and in a very strange mood. You actually wouldn’t believe just how many of those fan-made Star Trek series there are now…many of which are completely naff. I think Starship Exeter was the highest quality one I’d seen, but I have yet to find one with really convincing acting. I think they’re all better at set design than actually emoting…
Heh, reading about how she got her friends together and did it almost makes me nostalgic for the times when we’d do our own crazy stuff like that (like the radio station for GTA: Vice City that I never finished). Speaking of which, I actually had a few crazy ideas for commercials for Oddcasts…haha.
Hmm, I think I’ll have to try some pork buns at some point, to see if they are indeed as tasty as you say they are!
Chinese doughnuts…well, they were kinda like regular doughnuts. They were fried dough balls, except they were coated in granulated sugar and served piping hot. Better yet, it was $2.50 for 10 (I think). Not quite as awesome as Donutown, but still very delicious. 🙂
I’ve never actually watched any fan-made Star Trek, but I guess I’m not surprised that there’s apparently so many of them. Aren’t the Exeter guys the ones Bermaga went to for the fourth season of Enterprise because their sets were so authentic? When they needed the Defiant and all that rot for their mirror episode?
Ahhh, the Oddcasts. I need to do something about those. Something as in “make more of them.” I was thinking about changing the format and making it a gaming podcast, but perhaps instead I will broaden it a bit and use them as repositories for all the articles (reviews, commentary, et al) that I don’t feel like writing. It would be sweet if I had some commercials to throw in. 😉
I remember that Vice City radio station you started working on; that was awesome. In fact I just ran across that CD the other day. I also always loved that old tape you did with Forster and…who was it, Irwin?…about the storming of the Bastille. That was such comedy gold. I miss that kind of stuff too…
I think you’re right about Starship Exeter’s bridge set being borrowed by Bermaga (or was it Manny Coto by then?) for that ENT episode. A pretty high honor. That’s probably what I liked most about Exeter; their sets are amazingly authentic.