Weezer released their music video for “Africa” using the infamous Weird Al Yankovic. Those who were never familiar with the band Toto may just as likely not be familiar with Weird Al. For those who do know Weird Al, he’s the mastermind behind cover songs. Except he would change some of the lyrics to fit his comedic style. For example Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” became Weird Al’s “Eat It” and the video showed the remake as similar to Jackson’s Beat It but with Weird Al’s silly lyrics behind it.

This video portrays Weird Al posing as Weezer’s frontman Rivers Cuomo. The video was directed by Brendan Walters and Jade Ehlers who basically captured their inspiration from “Undone – The Sweater Song” a very popular song by Weezer back in the 90’s.

Weezer’s “Africa” cover has climbed as far as #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is even getting airplay on top 40 radio stations. And now they’ve released a fun video that could push the song even higher on the charts.

Back in December, one such kid thought it would be funny to suggest on Twitter that the band cover the soft-rock megasmash. Why? The kid herself, named Mary, didn’t know, she told a reporter who tracked her down, how did she know the Toto tune? Maybe from the Netflix sci-fi sensation Stranger Things, which featured it in a scene redolent of high school sex. Or maybe, as she implied to that reporter, she just knew it. No particular reason.

Anyway, Mary did what teens do – she set up a Twitter account, solely devoted to needling Weezer, her favorite band, into covering “Africa.” It was a joke, but also an attempt to make a meme. Early on in Mary’s campaign, Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson responded to her, and the wheels started turning.

Photo Credit: Brett Padelford