Talk:Another One Rides the Bus

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All this material is at "Weird Al" Yankovic now. --Wetman 21:37, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Link colors...[edit]

Why are all the links on this page dark-red instead of the usual blue? Am I the only one seeing this? This is the only page I've ever seen this happen on. The links all work, they're just the wrong color for some reason, like it's pulling from a different .css file? Weird. Lurlock 23:56, 11 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The links look normal to me... Want to take another look and see if it has changed on your end? Perhaps it was something abnormal within your browser or your computer as a whole, and had nothing to do with Wikipedia itself? PaladinWhite 05:32, 24 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It's normal now. No idea what changed it. Very strange that it only happened on this one page, but I guess it's just one of those mysteries we'll never know... Lurlock 21:23, 7 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Removal of lyrics (copyright infringement)[edit]

I'm going to remove the lyrics included in the article as a probable copyright infringement. As far as I can tell, nothing indicates that the lyrics have been released from copyright by Weird Al or any other entity; most standards hold that copyright expires after 70 years from either the work's creation or the author's death, and this time period has not passed in either case. If someone can provide proof that copyright is not violated by their inclusion, the lyrics can be re-added. PaladinWhite 05:32, 24 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sense of Humor?[edit]

Michael Jackson used to have a strong sense of humor because he allowed Yankovic to parody Beat It and Bad as Eat It and Fat. Did John Deacon have as strong a sense of humor as Michael Jackson? BulsaraAndDeacon (talk) 14:22, 25 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Additional citations[edit]

Why and where does this article need additional citations for verification? What references does it need and how should they be added? Hyacinth (talk) 01:54, 6 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Song writing credit[edit]

This song pops up when searching for songs written by John Deacon. The original is indeed written by him, but the parody not I guess? Shouldn't we credit Weird Al? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.214.150.252 (talk) 07:48, 18 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Transfer Of Copyright To Queen[edit]

I found this:

Transfer Of Copyright To Queen

Did a starving artist Weird Al in 1981 transfer the copyright for this song to Queen? Did he get paid? What happened here? Is there a story here we can add to the article? Can anybody tap Weird Al on the shoulder & ask? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ace Frahm (talk • contribs) 20:16, 17 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I know this question was asked about a year ago, but I believe I have the answer (although it is speculative): in order to avoid any legal trouble, Yankovic just gave Queen the full copyright and sent them the royalties. Later, when Yankovic had a record contract, he was able to negotiate the royalties, but before he had this, I believe he was playing safe. Just a guess.--Gen. Quon (Talk) 16:37, 19 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

GA Review[edit]

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This review is transcluded from Talk:Another One Rides the Bus/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Jclemens (talk · contribs) 05:47, 5 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]


Rate Attribute Review Comment
1. Well-written:
1a. the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct. Several comments on the wording/phrasing below should be addressed.
1b. it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation. Lead seems like it might be a bit on the short side, but not unreasonable given the length of the article.
2. Verifiable with no original research:
2a. it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline. Fine.
2b. reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose). No issues noted.
2c. it contains no original research. No issues noted.
2d. it contains no copyright violations or plagiarism. Everything flagged by Earwig's copyvio detector is properly cited to the source.
3. Broad in its coverage:
3a. it addresses the main aspects of the topic. Fine.
3b. it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style). Fine
4. Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each. No issues noted.
5. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute. No edit warring noted.
6. Illustrated, if possible, by media such as images, video, or audio:
6a. media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content. Plausible FURs noted.
6b. media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions. Fine.
7. Overall assessment. Passing per the improvements made. Good Job!

Initial Thoughts[edit]

  • The lead is a bit convoluted:
    • "The song, which describes a person riding in a crowded public bus, was recorded live on September 14, 1980, on the Dr. Demento Show, hosted by Barret "Dr. Demento" Hansen." needs to be at least two sentences.
      It now reads: "The song 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."
    • "Critically, the song has been well received, and Brian May, the guitarist of Queen, has singled it out as an exemplar spoof of the parody's source material." This may need to be two sentences also, but 'exemplar spoof of [...] source material' is a needlessly convoluted construction.
      It now reads: "Critically, the song has been well received, and Brian May—the guitarist of Queen—has expressed his amusement with it."
  • "While practicing the song outside the sound booth, Yankovic met Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz who told Yankovic he was a drummer." Drummer is overlinked no matter what. Did Scwartz pretend to be a drummer? Might "who offered to drum for him" be more straightforward?
    I've tried to rewrite this whole section to make it a little easier to read and a bit less redundant: "While practicing the song outside the sound booth, Yankovic met Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, who offered to provide percussion for his performance. Because Yankovic did not have a drum kit, Schwartz kept the beat by rhythmically striking Yankovic's accordion case."
  • "quandry therein"? Simplify that a bit please. The article is discussing comedy recordings, let's bring it down in reading level.
    Done.--Gen. Quon (Talk) 14:32, 5 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • "care of the North Pole" avoid using wikilinks in direct quotes.
    I've kept a link it, but now it directs the user to Wiktionary, as I feel the term 'care of' might (alas) be lost on those (i.e. 'the youths') who have not regularly sent post. If you don't know what 'care of' means, then the sentence "I think one went to Santa Claus, care of the North Pole" is somewhat hard to understand.--Gen. Quon (Talk) 14:32, 5 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'd like to hear more about the transfer to Deacon. Was this his pattern in later creations? How did Deacon take it? Was this part of Al's nascent respectful treatment of the artists he parodied? Inquiring minds would like to know.
    Honestly, all I know is that which I put into Note 1. At some point the copyright was transferred, and Yankovic isn't listed anywhere as an author. This hasn't been his modus operandi since, so I suspect that your hypotheses are correct (I'm guessing he was preemptively trying to prevent a lawsuit, just in case). Unfortunately, I can't find any good sources that specifically discuss this in detail.--Gen. Quon (Talk) 14:32, 5 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Jclemens: thank you for the review. How does the article look now?--Gen. Quon (Talk) 14:32, 5 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Second run[edit]

  • "Yankovic was accompanied by Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, making this the first song of Yankovic's that Schwartz would play percussion on." Passive voice, preposition is a bad word to end a sentence with, etc.
  • "Hoping to capitalize on the success of the song, Yankovic originally released "Another One Rides the Bus" on an EP of the same name, which he self-released." Self-released can replaced the first 'released', eliminating the need for the trailing clause.
  • You use a comma after the first word or two of a majority of sentences in the lead: "Later," "In 1983," "Critically,"... And that's just the lead.

I don't want to have to go through and nitpick your prose for you sentence-by-sentence. You've got FAs on your wall, I would like to see writing that shines brighter than this by default. I reviewed my first Weird Al GA over 8 years ago, and I love that people are still doing them... but I want the prose to be a bit easier to read, flow conversationally, and be devoid of things that make me sit up and say "well, that was an awkward way to say that" or "Um, what did that mean?". You know? Give it a whole run through, read it with a friend or significant other, and see if you can't just polish things a good bit better. You've got all the information, all the forms, and aren't doing anything wrong... it's just the prose could stand improvement. Is that enough guidance? Jclemens (talk) 18:38, 6 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Jclemens: I have performed my first copy-edit. Am I on the right track here?--Gen. Quon (Talk) 17:53, 9 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, you've done a good job. There's still a few simple things to fix, which I will do for you. Jclemens (talk) 05:32, 11 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Use in "The Walking Dead"[edit]

[1] (and others) have noted (eg enough to pass WP:TRIVIA that this song was used in the Season 8 premiere of The Walking Dead, though why it was used is a question. I'm just dropping this here, as its a very odd music choice (as noted by many sources) so it may have some more depth as the season goes on. --MASEM (t) 06:23, 23 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I think you already saw it, but I've added a section about that. This is such a bizarre thing, though! Thanks for pointing it out.--Gen. Quon (Talk) 14:22, 23 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]
That EW source is basically what I was hoping to see to understand why it was used, which helps solidify its inclusion. --MASEM (t) 14:33, 23 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]
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