Actually not too off-topic! Weird Al released this parody of the Beatles' "Taxman" about the same time as Buckner & Garcia released "Pac-Man Fever". Imagine what might have been if it had caught on instead! Both songs even debuted together on The Dr. Demento Show, both local (12/20/1981) and national (1/3/1982).
Weird Al's song didn't become available on physical media until Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 4 (1995/96), which was issued on both CD and cassette. The Basement Tapes were only available to Dr. Demento Society members.
The song finally became more widely available as part of the Squeeze Box box set in 2017, although it, too, is now out of print. It was on a new disc/record in that set that was a compilation of mostly previously unreleased cuts called Medium Rarities.
Amusing aside: There was a Pac-Man clone released for the Apple II that was called Taxman! Presumably this is just a coincidence.
No comments:
Post a Comment