This biography of a living person relies too much on references to primary sources .(September 2009) |
Stephen Thompson | |
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Born | August 1, 1972 |
Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Occupation | Journalist |
Years active | 1992-present |
Employer(s) | NPR The Onion / The A.V. Club (1992-2004) |
Relatives | Maggie Thompson (mother) |
Stephen Thompson (born August 1, 1972) is a host, commentator, writer, and editor for NPR and NPR Music. He is a regular on the NPR podcasts Pop Culture Happy Hour and All Songs Considered , [1] a recurring guest host of NPR's New Music Friday, and also serves as an occasional music commentator for Morning Edition . He created NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts with Bob Boilen in 2008. [2] [3]
The son of editors Don and Maggie Thompson, Thompson is a 1994 graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he helped found student-run radio station WSUM. He joined The Onion as an entertainment writer in November 1992. In the summer of 1993, he founded and became editor of the paper’s entertainment section, which was dubbed The A.V. Club in 1995. By the time Thompson left The Onion in December 2004, the section had spawned its own website and book, The Tenacity Of The Cockroach: Conversations With Entertainment's Most Enduring Outsiders, which he edited. In addition, Thompson served as copy editor for The Onion’s comedy section and first six humor books, [2] from 1999's #1 New York Times best-seller Our Dumb Century through 2004's The Onion Ad Nauseam, Vol. 15. When Lady Gaga allegedly refused to allow "Weird Al" Yankovic to parody her single "Born This Way," Thompson broke the news that it was Gaga's manager who had denied the request without her knowledge. Once brought to her attention, Lady Gaga approved Yankovic's parody. [4]
A Green Bay Packers fan, Thompson saw his love for the team manifest in a 22-minute documentary released by the team in 2017, as part of its Packers Life series. [5]
As a freelance entertainment and humor writer, Thompson has been published in Paste magazine, The Washington Post , The Guardian , and McSweeney’s . [6] In 1999, he also co-founded The Onion’s softball team, the haplessness of which he chronicled in loving but often grisly detail at www.teamonion.com. [7] Thompson lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, and has two children. [1]
Poodle Hat is the eleventh studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on May 20, 2003. It was the fifth studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop of the early-2000s. The album's lead single, "Couch Potato", is a parody of "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. The single failed to chart, although the album's song "eBay" eventually peaked at 15 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles in 2007.
Bad Hair Day is the ninth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on March 12, 1996. It was Yankovic's last studio album for the Scotti Brothers label before it was purchased by Volcano Entertainment in 1999. The album produced an array of hit comedy singles; lead single "Amish Paradise", which lampoons both Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and the Amish lifestyle, charted at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Gump", which parodies "Lump" by the Presidents of the United States of America and the movie Forrest Gump, reached at No. 102.
Running with Scissors is the tenth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 29, 1999. It was the fourth studio album self-produced by Yankovic, and his first album for Volcano Records after its acquisition of Scotti Brothers. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the late 1990s, largely targeting alternative rock and hip-hop. The album's lead single, "The Saga Begins", however, was a parody of the 1971 single "American Pie" by Don McLean, and it recounts the plot of the film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which was released around the same time. None of the album's singles charted domestically, although "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi", a parody of "Pretty Fly " by the Offspring, charted at number 67 in Australia.
Off the Deep End is the seventh studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and January 1992, the album was a follow-up to the unsuccessful soundtrack to Yankovic's 1989 film UHF. Off the Deep End and its lead single "Smells Like Nirvana" helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after a lull following his last hit single, "Fat", in 1988.
Even Worse is the fifth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on April 12, 1988. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between November 1987 and February 1988, this album helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after the critical and commercial failure of his previous album Polka Party! (1986).
Dare to Be Stupid is the third studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 18, 1985. The album was one of many Yankovic records produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between August 1984 and March 1985, the album was Yankovic's first studio album released following the success of 1984's In 3-D, which included the Top 40 single "Eat It".
Polka Party! is the fourth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on October 21, 1986. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between April and September 1986, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his successful 1985 release, Dare to Be Stupid. The album's lead single, "Living With a Hernia", failed to chart.
"Another One Rides the Bus" is a song by comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released in February 1981 and is a parody of Queen's song "Another One Bites the Dust". Yankovic's version describes a person riding in a crowded public bus. It was recorded live on September 14, 1980, on the Dr. Demento Show, hosted by Barret "Dr. Demento" Hansen. Accompanying Yankovic was Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, who would go on to be the artist's long-time drummer.
"Like a Surgeon" is a song recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic that appears as the opening track on his third studio album, Dare to Be Stupid (1985). It was released as the album's second single on June 4, 1985, by Scotti Brothers Records. It was issued as a 7", 12", and picture disc. A parody of the pop song "Like a Virgin" by Madonna, its lyrics describe a hospital environment, with the same melody as Madonna's original. The track was written by Yankovic, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, the latter two are credited as co-writers due to the "Like a Virgin" sample. Madonna came up with the parody's title, an act Yankovic generally discourages. Rick Derringer served as the executive producer.
"Jurassic Park" is a parody of Richard Harris's version of Jimmy Webb's song "MacArthur Park", written and performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic; it was released both as a single and as part of Yankovic's Alapalooza album in October 1993. "Jurassic Park" was penned by Yankovic after he remembered the enjoyment he had when he combined a classic rock track with a recent movie theme with his 1985 song "Yoda". Yankovic decided to combine the plot of the recent movie Jurassic Park—a film about a park on a fictional island where geneticists have succeeded in cloning dinosaurs—with the classic Richard Harris track "MacArthur Park".
The A.V. Club is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. The A.V. Club was created in 1993 as a supplement to its satirical parent publication, The Onion. While it was a part of The Onion's 1996 website launch, The A.V. Club had minimal presence on the website at that point.
"You're Pitiful" is a parody of the James Blunt song "You're Beautiful" written and recorded by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released exclusively online on June 7, 2006. In it, Yankovic chides a 42-year-old man who lives a pitiful existence. It was originally intended as the lead single of his twelfth studio album, Straight Outta Lynwood.
Straight Outta Lynwood is the twelfth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on September 26, 2006, the title drawing inspiration from hip hop group N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton. It was the sixth studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the mid-2000s. The album's lead single, "White & Nerdy", is a parody of Chamillionaire's hit single "Ridin'". The single debuted at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #9 the following week; "Canadian Idiot", a parody of Green Day's "American Idiot", also charted, peaking at #82.
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing comedy songs that often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, as well as polka medleys of several popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion.
Nathan Rabin is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for The A.V. Club, a position he held until he left the Onion organization in 2013. In 2013, Rabin became a staff writer for The Dissolve, a film website operated by Pitchfork Media. Two of his featured columns at The Dissolve were "Forgotbusters" and "Streaming University".
"Perform This Way" is a song parody by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. The lyrics are told from the point of view of Gaga and describe her performance style and fashion sense. The song is the sixth single from Yankovic's 2011 album Alpocalypse, and all the proceeds were donated to the Human Rights Campaign charity. Gaga herself has praised the work and has additionally described herself as a "Weird Al" fan. The song entered and peaked at number six on the Comedy Digital Tracks chart of Billboard, remaining for a total of eight weeks.
Alpocalypse is the thirteenth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 21, 2011. It was the seventh studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the late 2000s and early 2010s. The album's first single, "Whatever You Like", was released almost two and a half years prior to the release of the album, and the single peaked at number 104 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's final single, "Perform This Way", was released digitally on April 25, 2011, but failed to chart.
Mandatory Fun is the fourteenth and final studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. The self-produced album was released by RCA Records in the United States on July 15, 2014. Yankovic had previously released Alpocalypse in 2011 and was touring in support of it when he first spoke of his next record. When he began to work on Mandatory Fun, Yankovic found himself listening to older acts, many of which he stylistically spoofed on the album.
Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic is a 15-album box set by American comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on November 24, 2017. Squeeze Box marks Yankovic's second box set since 1994's Permanent Record: Al in the Box.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is the soundtrack album to the 2022 film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a satirical biopic, loosely based on the life and career of comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, who is also credited as executive producer and co-writer of the film. The film, co-written and directed by Eric Appel, stars Daniel Radcliffe as Yankovic, along with Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss, Arturo Castro, and Julianne Nicholson in supporting roles.