What happens when legendary Weird Al Yankovic turns the legendary Hamilton into a polka mix? Sheer, unmitigated joy.
This is the most delightfully Friday thing I have ever experienced. It just single-handedly cured all of my end-of-week sleep deficit and brought cheer to a freezing rain sort of day. I for one am revived, for I never knew how badly I needed to hear a polkafied “The Room Where It Happens” until, well, it happened.
It seems that a Weird Al spin on Hamilton has been an object of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s desire for some time. According to The Daily Dot:
For this month’s #Hamildrops—planned releases of new Hamilton and Hamilton Mixtape covers from major artists every month in 2018—Lin-Manuel Miranda got his longtime idol“Weird Al” Yankovic put his spin on on the musical. Miranda had been teasing “The Hamilton Polka” all day Thursday as the “February 30” roll-out (a.k.a. March 2) brought the song to each time zone at midnight Friday.
Unlike the recording artists who have tackled a single Hamilton song, Weird Al squeezes more than a dozen numbers into five minutes. The master of satirical versions of popular music, Al’s chameleon-like voice switches between affecting King George’s nasal tone to Aaron Burr’s dulcet purr.
This is all great fun, but for a true Weird Al experience, I’d love to see him rewrite a Hamilton song or two in the style of “Like a Surgeon” or “Eat It” or “Yoda.” Still, “The Hamilton Polka” is super impressive, especially when you consider that Hamilton songs at normal speed already move at a challengingly fast clip, and Weird Al sets these into overdrive.
(via The Daily Dot, image: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
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