If most – not all – Yankees fans were not insufferable enough given that they have the honor of cheering on the most storied and successful franchise in MLB history, now one of them has the audacity to go ahead and completely bastardize the quintessential pop song of the summer, Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”?
This cannot stand, my friends. It’s not right. I will wholeheartedly admit without any sense of shame or embarrassment that yes, I do count myself among the admirers of Miss Katy Perry. Granted, her pop music stylings are not what I would call my kind of music – in my opinion, the epitome of righteous and grooving tuneage begins and ends with Boz Scaggs – she is nevertheless quite talented, appears to have a great sense of humor about herself and hoo boy, is quite the looker. Hoochie mama!
That is why Michael LaPayower’s video submission to the YES Network’s “Chevy Fan of the Year” contest is so disconcerting. And while “Yankees Land,” which I suppose you could say is kind-of-sort-of not-really-but-I-guess-for-the-lack-of-a-better-word “sung” to the tune of the lovely Miss Perry’s “California Gurls” is, according to LaPayower himself, intentionally humorous, it nevertheless remains an abomination to the concept of a well-executed parody song.
The video and the aspiring “Weird Al” Yankovic’s explanation for his video and sonic opus after the jump.
From myyesnetwork.com (via Deadspin):
Sweet. Sassy. Molassey. What in the holy hell was that? To answer that question, why not go to the source himself? What say you, Michael LaPayower?
Hello All,
My video entry is suppose to be humor. If your unable to first be able to laugh at yourself then how are you suppose to laugh at others. Within after one minute after this video starts I first apologize of my lack of proper singing. I also state that I’ve had fun making this video. Parodies of songs are suppose to be funny. Not something that would be consider an embarrassment. There was never any intent to poke fun of anyone ESPECIALLY the The New York Yankees. I’m a native New Yorker and I’ve been a New York Yankees fan all my life. My intent was to create an entry to stand out. Not to insult anyone. Before you consider myself an embarrassment Lady Gaga made a spectacle at both a Yankees game this current season and also at Citi field? Who goes to a baseball game an gives the finger? Lady Gaga. I personally never had any intentions of mocking anyone especially the New York Yankees. Also this week the closer of the New York Mets K-rod attacked his girlfriends father at Citi field an was arrested. Now that’s an embarrassment. So please understand the first minute of my video is suppose to be a joke. Something to laugh at and not against. The second minute of my video i’m myself and explain that i’ve been a long time fan. Which is why at the end of the video i’ve posted a picture of me as a kid wearing a Yankees hat during the early 80′s and also a picture of me now wearing a Yankees hat. I will always be a New York Yanekes fan.
Sorry for all of the confusion.
Fair enough. I particularly enjoy how he takes a shot at the Mets during his narrative. I don’t care what anyone says about the guy, just because of that, he’s the quintessential Yankees fan through and through.
But still, man, why did you have to ruin “California Gurls”? I guess I won’t be dancing around my living room while the catchy pop confection blasts out of the speakers anytime soon.
Not that I have ever done such a thing. Nor was I planning on doing so immediately after publishing this post. That would be awfully silly and embarrassing, wouldn’t it?
***
Big Yankees Fan, Inspired By Katy Perry, Humiliates a Franchise [Deadspin]
Yankees Land [myyesnetwork.com]
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- FrankZappa - Aug 15, 2010 at 2:02 PM
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pop music (i used the term music very loosely) sucks, so does everything else the corporate fascists invent to cram down the throat of young americans to prevent them from seeking out real music…likewise any article that even calls attention to modern pop sucks, by definition
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- Chase - Aug 15, 2010 at 2:55 PM
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What the hell happened to music? Just 30-40 years ago almost every top band from the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who, and so many others were incredibly talented musicians. What do we have now? Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. I am down right ashamed.
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- the Jarhead - Aug 15, 2010 at 3:03 PM
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Yet another writer with an anti-Yankees bias.
Who cares if the guy did a parody of a pop song? Weird Al Yankovic, Bob Rivers, John Valby, and a host of others have been doing that for years. Is it because you had nothing else to write, so you came up with this lame topic?
I would tend to think that the majority of Yankees fans are not Katy Perry fans, so your little blurb won’t mean squat to them…. except that you are just one more prejudiced writer who wishes that their favorite baseball team would be more like the Yankees.
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- davidc45629 - Aug 15, 2010 at 3:36 PM
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“I’ve seen almost every game since 1995″ , ultimate fan says…Sounds like nothing more than a bandwagon fan.
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- phantom - Aug 15, 2010 at 4:05 PM
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Yankee fans suck and here’s why. I attended a game where the Yankees were on the road in my home town about 2 months ago. There were probably more Yankee fans there than fans of the home team. That’s fine. I appreciate the Yankees have fans everywhere. The game was a good game and the teams traded leads throughout the game. The Yankees won it in the top of the 10th as the home team couldn’t put up a run in the bottom of the inning. That’s OK. Can’t win them all. But were the Yankee fans gracious about it? Was there good natured ribbing during and after the game? Was it all in good fun? NO! They were the rudest, meanest, nastiest fans of any team in any sport I’ve ever met. Not only did they rub it in that their team won, they did it in the nastiest meanest most vile manner they could. I have nothing against the Yankees as a team. They’ve earned their accolades but I will NEVER attend a game the Yankees are playing in ever again. That includes when I go to New York for the first time ever next year. I was looking forward to making a Yankees game a part of the trip. I think I’ll go to a Mets game instead.
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- Gunner420 - Aug 15, 2010 at 4:17 PM
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Retarded to the core!!!
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- JimB - Aug 15, 2010 at 7:10 PM
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… The worst thing about being a Yankee fan is the incredibly boorish behavior of Yankee fans. I’ve been a fan since 1960 and to see and hear the crude, filthy, loutish things that these bandwagon fans – yeah, all of the supposed “fans” who started showing up in ’96 – makes me embarassed to say I root for the Yanks. This is a team that represents what used to be the most sophisticated, cosmopolitan, urbane city in the country, if not the world, and these knucklewalkers who call themselves fans don’t have a clue. It’s a shame.
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- Jimee Johnson - Aug 16, 2010 at 12:56 PM
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Met fans are not any better. It’s that NorthEast arrogance-asshole of the world thing. New Yawk sucks!
