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Weird Al Yankovic - It's All About The Pentiums

Music Video | 1999
ArtistWeird Al Yankovic
SongIt's All About The Pentiums
AlbumRunning With Scissors
DirectorWeird Al Yankovic
Director of PhotographyClyde Smith
Year-Date1999-June30, July2
GenrePop
IntroNo
OutroNo
Production CompanyBeth LaMure
Production CompanyCraig Armstrong
Film ProducerExecutive Producer
LyricsWeird Al Yankovic
MusiciansWeird Al Yankovic
Notes50 white pigeons were used instead of doves. Immediately after shooting his video for _The Saga Begins_ Al began growing facial hair for this video. The Nash Metropolitan was courtesy of the president of the Metropolitan Club of Southern California. 80 kinoflow tubes were used to light the Drew Carey set, as well as the ring light. The clock on the Emo set shows the time the scene was actually shot, about 3:30 in the morning.
Original PerformerPuff Daddy(It's All About The Benjamins)
Production time2 days
Set Locationa studio in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Department of Public Works, California, USA
Sound MixStereo
TalentEmo Philips (Newbie)
TalentWeird Al (Al Yankovic)
TalentDrew Carey (Al's Counterpart)
Technical Specificationscolour - 35mm (all types)

Wiki

Synopsis

Weird Al Yankovic struts into a corporate office like a rap superstar, arriving in a comically tiny vintage car with doves in tow. Inside, he boasts about his superior computer hardware while humiliating co-workers with outdated systems, ancient modems, and hopelessly slow processors. The office eventually transforms into a concert venue, where Yankovic and his band perform for a cheering crowd of desk-bound employees. The video spoofs the flashy style of late-1990s rap videos while turning computer obsession into competitive bravado.

Factoids & Trivia

  • The song parodies Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' "It's All About the Benjamins (Rock Remix)," replacing displays of wealth with boasts about computer hardware.
  • The video borrows heavily from the visual language of late-1990s hip-hop: dramatic entrances, swaggering close-ups, a large cheering crowd, and performance scenes staged as though they were captured live.
  • The office crowd is made up of office workers, and the set dressing includes a large "WELCOME TO COMDEX" sign. COMDEX was one of the major computer trade shows of the era.
  • The exterior and office sequences were filmed at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works headquarters in Alhambra, California.
  • The tiny car used for Yankovic's entrance is a 1956 Nash Metropolitan. It had already appeared in Yankovic's 1989 film UHF.
  • The video features cameos from Drew Carey, Emo Philips, and Phil LaMarr. Carey appears with Yankovic in a fluorescent-lit corridor inspired by the stylish performances of Mase and Sean Combs.
  • Yankovic later described the production as probably the most expensive music video he had made at that point.
  • "It's All About the Pentiums" was a very late addition to Running with Scissors. Yankovic had the music and backing vocals recorded before the lyrics were finished, and he recorded the lead vocal only a few days before the album had to be mastered.
  • The computer references deliberately capture 1999 technology culture, including Pentium processors, T1 lines, floppy disks, AOL, Y2K, and the Commodore 64. That dated vocabulary is now part of the video's period-comedy appeal.
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