Talk:Amish Paradise

Amish Paradise
The part about Weird Al having that backwards segment done by him singing the song backwards... ah, I'm pretty sure Weird Al is having a bit of fun with his answers to the questions there. I mean, its not impossible that he did it that way (he IS Weird Al, after all) but it seems to me to be the dumbest way you could possibly do that. Is there any source for that other than his little Q/A thing? I mean, elsewhere in that section is the answer: "Well, yeah, on occasion. I get Howard Stern, Kenny G, and on my off days, sometimes even Gallagher ("Hey, man, I love it when you smash them watermelons!")

--

Watching the video, it does look like this is the way it was done (his mouth isn't moving quite correctly at the end, and the way in which he walks looks like it has been reversed). --219.88.80.49 21:23, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

He didn't sing it backwards, the music was played backwards, and he lipsynced it forward.

Removal
I'm removing the Trivia section; it is basically a collection of peoples' favorite moments of the video.   _-M     o     P-_     16:33, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

Lyrics link
I've removed someone's personal website as a violation of WP:EL (self-promotion and advertising) and am considering instead a link to http://www.alsongs.com. Thoughts? RadioKirk (u|t|c)  17:59, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

Backwards Scene
I've removed some info concerning the backwards scene in the music video.
 * "This was accomplished by having Yankovic "phonetically memorize the chorus of the song backwards, then sing it to a backwards music track while walking backwards across a field being crisscrossed by live farm animals," and then play the clip in reverse."

Not only does this sound highly unlikely, but looking at the link, it seems that Weird Al was just joking while answering a subtly humourous question. 69.40.255.154 03:00, 20 July 2006 (UTC)


 * What? its not unlikely, its not even that hard. If you watch the video you can see thats what he's doing, the lip syching doesnt match, his movements are wierd, its obviosuly backwards. Also i disagree about your interpretation of the interview. idont think he was joking, it looked like a serious answer to me. Mloren 12:21, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

Again, I removed this, this time from the trivia section. 69.40.249.240 19:32, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

SheerDark 19:48, 6 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Reguarding the backwards scene (if anyone actually checks this), I think it'd be a bit more fair to say it was likely inspired by the music video for 'Drop' by The Pharcyde ( viewable here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vxxYFN2iObw ). This video came out earlier in the same year that Amish Paradise was released and was met with quite a bit of critical acclaim due to the unique video. Has the bit about being inspired by Top Secret! been verified at all?
 * That was also done in a coldplay song. It's not impossible. Look at phonetic reversal, naimly the one about Radiohead and They Might Be Giants. -Violask81976 19:12, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

YouTube links
This article is one of thousands on Wikipedia that have a link to YouTube in it. Based on the External links policy, most of these should probably be removed. I'm putting this message here, on this talk page, to request the regular editors take a look at the link and make sure it doesn't violate policy. In short: 1. 99% of the time YouTube should not be used as a source. 2. We must not link to material that violates someones copyright. If you are not sure if the link on this article should be removed, feel free to ask me on my talk page and I'll review it personally. Thanks. ---J.S (t|c) 04:36, 8 November 2006 (UTC) Look at the black chicken near the buggy, i flies forward near the end of the scene, chickens don't fly backwards. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.226.194.33 (talk) 18:35, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

Inspiration?
(Both "Amish Paradise" and "Gangsta's Paradise" were musically and lyrically inspired by a Stevie Wonder song, "Pastime Paradise" from his 1976 album "Songs in the Key of Life.") Do you agree? 172.190.24.139 (talk) 17:16, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

This doesn't seem right. On the external link it says that Coolio claimed that the entire song was, in fact, different, which makes sense to me. And Amish Paradise was based solely from Coolio's song, it seems.
 * No, Coolio sampled "Pastime Paradise" by Stevie Wonder. If you look in the Bad Hair Day booklet, in the credits section, Stevie Wonder is thanked. Have a listen for yourself (To Pastime Paradise, adn then to Gangsta Paradise). They sound similar. Hope that clears it up.--Gen. Quon (talk) 01:04, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

"'Weird Al' Yankovic, let me just say, you're welcome." - Stevie Wonder (fabrication) 172.190.24.139 (talk) 17:16, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

Response?
What has been the response of the Amish community to Al's song? I think that should be included.
 * I doubt many would have heard the song, since they don't use electricity. 71.31.154.248 21:57, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

lol
 * Being from the area, I never heard anything much about the reaction to the song myself, but then again, I was still a kid when the song came out, and didnt give much of a shit about the news then, lol. Whammies Were Here (PYLrulz) 03:22, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Uh, according to the uncited thingy, Lancaster loves this song? I go there every year at least once, and I used to enjoy blasting this song as soon as getting there... all I can remember was slightly unfriendly looks from people who definitely were not Amish. David DiBattiste 19:02, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Just for laughs?
I watched Just for Laughs once and it showed Weird Al singing Amish paradise at one part of that session. Should his appearance be mentioned? Flashn00b 23:34, 21 January 2007 (UTC) yeah, why not?

Is this song a parody of a parody?
I'm just wondering cuz i think Gangsta's Paradise could be considered a parody Flashn00b 23:20, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Techo 10:27, 28 July 2007 (UTC) yes

What's that "Yeuch" that everyone makes at the end of the song?
I don't quite get why they all say it. --80.43.130.229 14:39, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Obscure reference
In the first verse, it is mentioned that the Amish man -Weird Al- is "into discipline". I was thinking that this could be an obscure reference to BDSM--Orthologist 22:44, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

I doubt it. Amish don't generally get to kinky. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.215.157.209 (talk) 18:07, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

The AMV Gendo's Paradise
"Gendo's Paradise" - made under influence of "Amish Paradise", as the authors recognise. Notable - won first place in Czech Animefestu 2006, 5 files found on youtube.com. So I offer to include the link to authors' page into article. 217.198.224.13 21:52, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
 * While I'm sure the authors of the AMV really appreciate it's popularity, AMV's technically violate copyright and as such, shouldn't be linked according to Wikipedia's  rules. Already one of the uploads on YouTube has been removed for violating YouTube rules. --Cynebeald 10:31, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

I see the AMV has been added again... but this time, the phrasing is better, more "encyclopedic". I'm still not sure if it doesn't go against Wikipedia's rules, but I have a feeling that if I remove it, someone will add it again, sooner or later. For now, I just corrected the link to point to AnimeFest (Czech Republic), which is different from the AnimeFest in Dallas, Texas. --Cynebeald 19:33, 15 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Well I am going to remove it, Wikipedia does not advocate the posting of illegal material. This goes for AMVs, as so it is not necessary or wise to have it in the article. Rgoodermote  21:22, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

His moustache
I've noticed that he didn't have his mustache in the video, but it was 1996 before he changed his look. I'm mentioning this. -- Coaster geekperson 04  06:03, 3 November 2007 (UTC)


 * It's for the sake of playing an Amish guy; this isn't even the first time prior to 1998 (when he changed his look) that he was without his mustache in a music video. For a few examples, see Ricky and Smells Like Nirvana.  It doesn't seem particularly notable.  2601:1:C100:2930:99F3:D589:FA8A:6578 (talk) 14:00, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

"Uncomplicated Existence"?
At the end of the heading it says that Weird Al describes the uncomplicated existence of the Amish. In the song, Weird Al says it's "hard work and sacrifice". So should'nt "uncomplicated existence" be changed to "difficult existance"? Nappyrootslistener (talk) 03:47, 1 March 2009 (UTC)Nappyrootslistener

External links modified
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The article says

> "Although Yankovic traditionally secures permission from the artists he parodies (even though this is not legally required, as parodies are covered under fair use guidelines)"

This is inaccurate, as parodies are often not fair use. Here's a quote from Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.

> '"The fact that parody can claim legitimacy for some appropriation does not, of course, tell either parodist or judge much about where to draw the line. Like a book review quoting the copyrighted material criticized, parody may or may not be fair use, and petitioner's suggestion that any parodic use is presumptively fair has no more justification in law or fact than the equally hopeful claim that any use for news reporting should be presumed fair."'

I'd recommend removing the parenthesized text 69.41.6.191 (talk) 16:45, 1 August 2017 (UTC)

Some inaccurate or misleading text
The article says

> "Although Yankovic traditionally secures permission from the artists he parodies (even though this is not legally required, as parodies are covered under fair use guidelines)"

This is inaccurate, as parodies are often not fair use. Here's a quote from Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.

> '"The fact that parody can claim legitimacy for some appropriation does not, of course, tell either parodist or judge much about where to draw the line. Like a book review quoting the copyrighted material criticized, parody may or may not be fair use, and petitioner's suggestion that any parodic use is presumptively fair has no more justification in law or fact than the equally hopeful claim that any use for news reporting should be presumed fair."'

I'd recommend removing the parenthesized text 69.41.6.191 (talk) 16:46, 1 August 2017 (UTC)