Like clockwork, every year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class drops another stylus on the organization’s long-perceived snubs: Sure, we finally got Warren Zevon this time, but where are the B-52’s, the Monkees, Sonic Youth, and Devo? In a new Rolling Stone interview, John Mulaney dusted off his proverbial accordion and grooved an inspired candidate who’s overdue for recognition. “I’m a big proponent of novelty music. I’m a big proponent of ‘Weird Al’ getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” he explained. “‘Weird Al’ brought more people to music than is recognized at all.”
If Chubby Checker made this cut this year with his “part novelty” career about twisting, Mulaney argues, “this is one step closer” to his comedy hero also making the cut. “I will, in fact, greatly devalue my coolness by saying when I was young, it wasn’t until ‘Smells Like Nirvana’ defanged ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ that I could enjoy ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ It was scary at first,” he added about Weird Al’s famous parody. “It just was like, ‘I’m pretty happy, I’m a kid.’ I needed a way in. And after you laugh at ‘Smells Like Nirvana,’ you go, ‘Oh, this is a really good song.’” Let the campaign begin.
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