C'mon....we are Weird Al fans...we are nerds.

Surprised that no one else has done this, so here goes.

Teaser Analysis:

based on the few pictures we saw, here are my song predicitons;

Weird Al Reveal (resized).jpg

- Taco Grande
- Tacky
- George Of The Jungle
- UHF
- White + Nerdy
- Harvey The Wonder Hamster
- Word Crimes
- Handy
- Germs
- Like A Surgeon
- Stuck In The Drive-Thru
- Weasel Stomping Day

Anybody else catch anything I missed?

Later,
EV

why is the title squeeze box (a who song) but the song is the beatles taxman?

How does the song licensing work in the case of Weird Al? Do rights to the original song also need to be acquired so the parody song is included in the game?

My question is, will this game have his famous parodies or mostly his original songs?

sometimes artwork doesnt reflect the song list, but it could very well. im assuming a parody means only licensing through weird al and doesnt require any permission from the original artist

I guess all will be revealed soon. I have to imagine he owns his parodies.

I'll join this one:
In addition to the above:
Virus Alert,
White and Nerdy
Like a Surgeon
Dare to be stupid
Hardware Store
I'm so handy

Weird Al Speculation (resized).png

His box set was called Squeeze Box (like an accordion), and the song is a parody of Taxman.

Parody songs fall under fair use. He gets permission and even pays royalties sometimes (I think) on his parody songs just because hes a nice guy, but technically he doesn't have to. For his polka versions/mashups they are considered covers and do need things cleared. From his wikipedia:

Under the "fair use" provision of U.S. copyright law, affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in the 1994 case Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., artists such as Yankovic do not need permission to record a parody. However, as a personal rule and as a means of maintaining good relationships, Yankovic has always sought permission from the original artist before commercially releasing a parody. Yankovic stated of these efforts: "I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. I don't want to be embroiled in any nastiness. That's not how I live my life. I like everybody to be in on the joke and be happy for my success. I take pains not to burn bridges." The communications are typically handled by his manager Jay Levey, but at times Yankovic has asked the artist directly, such as flying to Denver, Colorado, to attend an Iggy Azalea concert and speak to her personally about parodying her song "Fancy". He claims that only about two to three percent of the artists he approaches for permission deny his requests.

Separately, Yankovic needs to negotiate for royalties to the original artists for including their songs within a polka medley, which is considered a cover in copyright law. This created difficulties in recording his first medley "Polkas on 45" since it involved thirteen different royalty schemes, but since then he has established a relationship with most large music publishers to easily secure the license to use their songs.

While I'm not the world's biggest Weird Al fan, I've long thought Weird Al would make for a great theme. I'm excited to see the layout and gameplay and maybe one day actually play it.

My big issue is that, as a P3 game, the likelihood of it making its way on location is basically non-existent. And the cost of entry feels too high for someone who isn't fully committed to the P3 platform. With that being said, I hope this theme/game blows the lid off of P3 and finally gets it the attention that it deserves.

I wonder how many boxes of unreleased parodies are in his closet because the original artists didn't give permission.

Never mind location. We don't actually have any MM distributor in Canada. Pretty difficult to find folks who managed to get one.

For those of you who have Amazon Prime, the movie UHF is available to stream for free.

Just watched it last night for the first time since it came out in 1989. Great low budget 80's cheese fest.

There is a member/owner in Canada, I would think you can contact MM directly for the shipment across the boarder? I've shipped to CAN and didn't have too much of an issue as long as the paperwork was done.

Good to know, I'm gonna have to re-watch it soon. It's been a while!

He asks permission before he does it

The only major issue I think he had was with Amish Paradise. Coolio’s record company gave approval but Coolio was first upset because he wasn’t directly asked/informed. But Coolio got over it and apologized for being ugly about it at the time.

I am a huge Weird Al fan and this always bothered me. I would like to present to you the evolution of this song and why Coolio does not have a leg to stand on... he was sampling Stevie Wonder for his version. For those of you unfamiliar with Weird Al, stylistically this is one of his greatest achievements. What do you feed chickens?

I was imagining that he created drafts prior to asking to give the artist an idea of what they were consenting to.

It’s not about the sample. He was upset because he wrote what felt like a very serious and personal song, and then Weird Al made fun of it.

He was just taking himself too seriously at the time. He lightened up over it.

He might have also been annoyed because he worked with Stevie Wonder to make the lyrics acceptable to Wonder

Nice work! I noticed a few of these but you definitely found more. Those are a lot of promising references.

I've toyed with ordering P3, but I'm not sure where else to ask this.

How does the playfield feel compared to a "traditional" machine? And given how open the front 2/3 of the playfield is on most game kits, does it feel too "same-y"?

What about the P3 do you think makes it less likely to be on location? Just that it's something kinda odd and new, or the extra technology might scare operators or...? The price *is* high, but I continue to be surprised by the number of Stern LEs in bars etc., and the P3 isn't much more expensive than those now.

The bottom 2/3 is open but the screen will have targets and objectives displayed on it that will interact with the ball being tracked by a grid of optos. (Or on something like Heist, the crane extends down into that area to interact in a few ways)

My big p3 question is how do the flippers feel? I'm a huge flipper stickler

They feel good. They work different than typical ones but the power and snappiness feels right.

You definitely need to find one and spend some time on it. It “feels” like pinball to me. Does take a little getting used to. I played Heist at expo and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately there are no P3s on location near me

I played P3 for the first time 10 years ago at a show where I also played WOZ for the first time. I cancelled my WOZ order based on the flipper feel. I really was impressed with the flippers of P3. Granted, that was an early proto…I’ve heard conflicting opinions over the years…but it sounds like they’ve improved things multiple times since starting official production.

Yeah, the best thing to do would be me to hit up LAX or some other local expo. I don't know anyone near Indy who has one.

Heist has been their biggest seller to date (so far as I know). There are exactly 4 on location in the USA according to pinside maps.

The huge LCD can double as Frank's 2,000 inch TV

I think gammagoat did a layout overlap and most pinballs have a open/bare 2/3's lower pf. It just doesn't look that way until you see it.
I will comment that even with the same pf module, but you switch games, like CCR module/game and you play ranger in the ruins they feel different. Because different shots are important. I get the shots are the same but the game(s) feel different.

NOT AT ALL!

Heist plays completely different than Lexy, and they both play completely different than CCR/Sorcerer's Apprentice.

I know people have not adopted the platform or the games in droves, so I'm not surprised Multimorphic doesn't get a lot of credit. But people are really sleeping on their playfield layouts. I'm eager to see Weird Al, because word is the layout is amazing, and I don't doubt it based on what I've seen so far.

I absolutely LOVE Lexy for how diverse the modes are, but it is definitely their weakest layout, and that's the one designed by Nordman. CCR/SA is an absolute flow monster! It's insane how smooth those loop shots are. Really fast and fun.

Heist is packed and a really cool/fun layout too.

Gerry - you're never going to win me over on the separate button for the upper flipper, and new players NEVER use it. Please think about a setting to use the standard flipper button to control the upper flipper like all other games.

That point aside, the depth and variability of all the P3 games is insane.

So, if the games or the platform isn't for you...fine. But don't get caught up in the "empty playfield makes the games the same" narrative. Couldn't be further from the truth.

sounds like software could solve that, if it were made into an option.

This is a good point too.

**Short plug for RITR - best mini-game ever!**

CCR and SA are both "full" games on the same playfield, but they play so different because of the assets and the rules. CCR encourages on-the-fly flowing of shots. SA requires you to be a bit more deliberate.

And the whole concept of using the secondary flipper buttons to change your spell (weapon) before you hit certain shots is genius. So hard to do, but such a great concept and so fun to try.

IIRC the p3 can be changed to have lower and upper flippers use the 1 button... I think that has been an option "forever". HOWEVER. While I said that as a new p3 player...once you play a p3 a lot, having them separate is so much better... but I get it!

North End Pub in Lafayette is supposed to be getting a P3 in March/April timeframe. Operator said he plans on ordering the Weird Al module as well!

Yeah, I'm not advocating to take the functionality away. I just think in the spirit of the platform trying to be something for everyone (especially non-pinheads), there should be a setting that allows the flippers to function the way they do in every other pinball machine. The control scheme should never be a barrier to entry.

If this is true, it wouldn't be the first time something I was hoping for had been there all along. LOL

ya! Deff need to play it!

That must be Tommy? Ya he has one on order!

Yep that's the man! He had some good knowledge and opinions to share on a FB thread the other day regarding P3's and why he is getting one for his location. I will definitely need to make the trek down to see it when it's there.

There are a few. He releases some online (like in the case of You’re Pitiful) and does others in concert but won’t publish them.

And P3 deserves credit for putting those buttons at the player's fingertips, rather than inconveniently on the lockdown bar.

Dried corn?

I like that eventually even Coolio fessed up that he was being too sensitive and it was an honor to have AL parody one of his songs.

Just a few thoughts:

- There has to be a box or something these modules come in. Make that a really nice case with the backbox artwork for displaying and that's a selling point for me.
- I've seen a couple posts where ppl say P3s weigh "a lot". Does anyone know if they weigh more than a normal machine and how much?
- When the ball isn't in play, if the flippers could "play" accordion (even better, the iron lung in Mr. Frump and the Iron Lung!) that'd be awesome!

I give big props for anyone who routes it! It would be cool to see/hear when he swaps pf's and how often etc.

Paging the Magna-save in BK:SOR...

Oh god yes! I usually do the whole kneel down, put your one knee under the game, and lift your heel to prop up the game (to swap/remove legs, put something under the feet, etc).

I just finished powder coating my P3 and dear lord! I thought my calf was going to explode trying to hold the game in this position while I swapped the legs.

The Hobbit and surprisingly Safecracker were the 2 heaviest games I've moved. I think the P3 is about the weight of the 2 of them put together.

Do you have a link to the procedure, this drives me batty. i can get it on the serve but it feels fucked switching back and i never use the top flipper again. I'm not a gamer.

MultiMorphic started offering a flipper upgrade in Dec 2021. I never played a P3 so I cannot comment further.
https://www.multimorphic.com/news/flipper-upgrade/

The P3 weighs 335 lbs (Source: Multimorphic support site), actually 16 lbs less than The Hobbit, which weighs 351 lbs (Source: JJP games page).

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The P3 weighs 335 lbs with or without a module installed?