'Weird Al' Yankovic

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert

Guest: "Weird Al" Yankovic
Date: December 13, 2025
Host: Stephen Colbert

---

Overview

This episode of The Late Show Pod Show features an engaging and humorous conversation between Stephen Colbert and "Weird Al" Yankovic, the iconic parody musician and entertainer. The discussion centers on Weird Al's enduring career, his roots, his recent headline show at Madison Square Garden, and his upcoming "Bigger and Weirder 2026" comedy tour. The exchange is warm, playful, and peppered with showbiz anecdotes, music industry insights, and trademark comedic banter.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Relationship with Lin-Manuel Miranda

[05:40 – 06:23]

• Colbert thanks Weird Al for appearing on the show with Lin-Manuel Miranda following the show’s cancellation, revealing the two are friends.
• Weird Al shares that their friendship began before "Hamilton" when Lin-Manuel expressed interest in collaborating on a musical.

  Weird Al Yankovic [06:01]: “He came to my house once, like pre-Hamilton, and was like, 'We should work on a musical together.' And I was like, 'Yeah.'...We haven’t yet to this point done something, but we became friends.”

2. Weird Al’s Career Beginnings and Longevity

[06:26 – 08:50]

• Colbert notes Weird Al’s debut single was released in 1979, marking a 46-year career.
• Weird Al recounts originally pursuing architecture but shifting to comedy music due to his passion.
• He describes the challenges of being labeled “novelty” in the music industry, which was seen as the domain of “one-hit wonders.”

  Weird Al Yankovic [07:31]: “Anything humorous in rock and roll is considered novelty. And novelty is sort of the domain of one-hit wonders. It historically does not have a long shelf life...So, you know, 46 years later, I’m here on the Late Show.”

• He humorously claims he realized this was his career “right before I walked out tonight,” and shares his “make or break” moment: seeing his name on the Billboard Hot 100, which prompted him to leave his day job.

3. Madison Square Garden Milestone

[08:50 – 09:47]

• Colbert highlights Weird Al’s sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, his first time ever inside the legendary venue.
• Weird Al describes the experience as momentous, recognizing the prestige and pressure of following in the footsteps of big names.

  Weird Al Yankovic [09:19]: “Even before I played there, I walked around, and there’s posters all over...Eddie Vedder saying, 'You’re nothing till you’ve played Madison Square Garden.' So no pressure or anything...but now Eddie Vedder thinks I’m something, so I’m very happy about that.”

4. The "Bigger and Weirder 2026" Comedy Tour

[09:48 – 11:22]

• Colbert presents a visual of the extensive list of tour dates.
• Weird Al clarifies the tour is a big production, with all the hits, costume changes, film clips, and props—distinct from his previous, more stripped-down tours.
• The size of the band has doubled for this tour, including world-class musicians, some recruited through referrals and YouTube.
• Al recounts the importance of hiring performers who fit the show’s whimsical spirit:

  Weird Al Yankovic [10:55]: “There’s one guy, Probing Gregory, who played with Brian Wilson for like decades...I’m like, wow, this is really cool. He’s in the band...for this one song, just dressing up like a janitor and mopping the stage for three minutes? He’s like, sure, I’d love to. So they have the right state of mind.”

5. Musical Legacy and Good-Humored Perspective

[Throughout]

• Weird Al’s humility, persistent enjoyment of performance, and camaraderie with longtime bandmates are evident.
• Colbert and Al exchange jokes about the “novelty” label and lasting success.

  Stephen Colbert [08:12]: “Finally settled?” Weird Al Yankovic [08:14]: “Finally settled, I guess.”

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Career epiphany:

  “It was right before I walked out tonight. It just kind of…finally settled.”
  – Weird Al Yankovic, [08:07]

• On playing Madison Square Garden and fame:

  “But now Eddie Vedder thinks I'm something, so I'm very happy about that.”
  – Weird Al Yankovic, [09:42]

• On band dynamics and showmanship:

  “For this one song…just dressing up like a janitor and mopping the stage for three minutes?... He’s like, sure, I’d love to.”
  – Weird Al Yankovic, [11:11]

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:35] – Weird Al joins the show; Colbert references recent collaborative appearance with Lin-Manuel Miranda.
• [06:26] – Discussion of Weird Al’s music parody beginnings and early challenges.
• [08:12] – Al describes when he accepted this would be his career.
• [08:50] – Celebrating Madison Square Garden gig and its significance.
• [09:57] – Details on the scope and concept of the "Bigger and Weirder 2026" tour.
• [11:22] – Closing thanks and tour ticket information.

---

Tone & Atmosphere

The tone is upbeat, playful, and genuinely celebratory of Weird Al’s unique brand, longevity, and influence. Both Colbert and Weird Al showcase their comedic timing and mutual respect, making for a light-hearted yet insightful conversation about the nature of musical parody, show business persistence, and what it means to keep things “weird” for nearly five decades.

---

This summary offers a comprehensive yet accessible glimpse into the episode, capturing both the comedic and substantive elements of the Weird Al interview for listeners and fans alike.

Transcript

[Stephen Colbert]

All right, folks, quick timeout here. If you've ever tried streaming a match from abroad only to get hit with the dreaded not available in your region screen, you know the pain. But there's a workaround. Surfshark vpn. That's why there's Surfshark vpn. It encrypts everything you do online. So snoopers, trackers, or even sketchy coffee shop WI fi hackers can't see what you're up to. Also, hello to geo blocked content. Want to watch your favorite British murder mystery while you're on holiday in Bali?

[Sponsor Announcer]

Dunk.

[Stephen Colbert]

Done. Switch your location with a click and boom, you're home again. One account secures all my devices. Laptop, phone, tablet, even your smart tv. No juggling subscriptions. One click and done. An added bonus, Surfshark alert tells you if your data shows up in a breach, it's like an early warning system for your identity. Secure your privacy with Surfshark. Go to surfshark.com lateshow or use code lateshow for four extra months of Surfshark. That's surfshark.com latesHow or code lateshow. You'll find it in the show notes. There's a 30 day money back guarantee. No risk, just secure browsing. Hey, everybody, Stephen Colbert here about to read the copy for our sponsor. This is from our friends at Wonderful Pistachios. And I was the wonderful Pistachio spokesman for years. Yeah, I have a real close association with. With nut meat. Okay, you know what they say when they reach for a snack? Don't hold back. And that's exactly the approach with Wonderful Pistachios, the don't hold back snack. These little wonders are so tasty, it feels like getting away with something. But surprise. Each serving has 6 grams of protein and 0 grams of regret. That's right. No guilt. Just glory, glory in our nuts. Whether it's a satisfying crack of in shell pistachios, and that's capitalized in shell, or the smooth instant gratification of no shells. No judgment. That's just it. Just eat. No judgment. I take issue with one thing. It's instant gratification. It's super tasty. Smooth.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

It's a hard nut smooth.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. I mean, even out of the shell, it's still a nut.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

We can't disparage the nut.

[Stephen Colbert]

See, I'm not disparaging the nut, I'm describing the nut.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

Don't disparage any flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

I am celebrating the pistachio right now. I'm on board. I love Pistachios. I love a crushed pistachio. Like a pistachio crusted trout. Oh, unbelievable. Instead of a trout amandine, a trout pistachio. Fantastic. Enough butter? Who cares?

[Sidekick or Co-host]

Very good.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I love pistachio ice cream.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

Have you had the sea salt and vinegar? Wonderful pistachio. It's delicious. I get them.

[Stephen Colbert]

I didn't even know I get them.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

Before the softball games.

[Stephen Colbert]

But that's. You see, it's been a while since I've been the spokesman for wonderful pistachios. I didn't realize we'd achieved new pistachio technology.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Wonderful pistachios has every snack style covered right now. There's an obsession with jalapeno lime. There is an obsession. It's almost a disorder. It's spicy, it's zesty. It's basically a flavor roller coaster in a nut. Snacking on the go. Grab a bag of no shells. Feeling contemplative and want to work for it a little. So earning it, they're saying. If you want to earn your nut, crack open those in shell beauties. Either way, it's snacking like a champ. So the next time hunger strikes, don't hold back. Unless it's a hunger strike. And then it's important that you do, because whatever you're doing that for, I'm sure it's a worthwhile cause. Snack like you mean it with wonderful pistachios. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

That was wonderful.

[Stephen Colbert]

I wonder what more there is to learn.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

We just. We just told them so much. We just told them so much about pistachios. But evidently there's a whole other world. There's an unexplored vista.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

They have a bunch of flavors. They got dill pickle, jalapeno lime, as we learned, some smoky barbecue. There's a lot of different flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. And I would not disparage any of them.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

No, no.

[Stephen Colbert]

Bring it on.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

Nothing bad to say.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nutme, nut, nut meat. With nut meat, we're nutting. We got nothing but nut, nutty, nutty, nutty, nutty. Talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about nutty good.

[Sidekick or Co-host]

It's the late show poncho with Stephen Colber.

[Stephen Colbert]

Welcome back, everybody. Ladies and gentlemen, my next guest is a Grammy and Emmy award winning musician who's hitting the road again for his bigger and weirder 2026 comedy tour. Mr. Yankovic, your weirdness.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

We'Re ready for.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, great. Cool.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Cool.

[Stephen Colbert]

Please welcome back to the late show Weird Al Yankovic. Fantastic Al, the building is a buzz that we are here.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I'm a buzz, too.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, listen, I want to thank you. I didn't get a chance to talk to you that night. I want to thank you for coming.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

The night first show after we were canceled, you came on with Lin Manuel Miranda to help us celebrate this Coldplay bit we did. And so thank you for that. What I didn't know is that you and Lin Manuel are buddies.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yeah, we're old friends.

[Stephen Colbert]

How did that happen?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

He came to my house once, like pre Hamilton, and was like, we should work on a musical together. And I was like, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

He just cold called you?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Well, I mean, I told my we had the same agent and. And I let them know that I was maybe interested in doing something on Broadway. They said, we get this young up and coming guy, Elin Manuel Miranda. Maybe you guys could do something together. And we haven't yet to this point, done something, but we became friends.

[Stephen Colbert]

All right. Good things are worth waiting for.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yes, indeed.

[Stephen Colbert]

Obviously, you're the king of music parody. You've been ruling the kingdom. It's been a long reign. You've been at it since your first, your debut single, my Bologna, in 1979. There you go.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

My college DJ year.

[Stephen Colbert]

Is that college?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yeah, that's college.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's fantastic. Can you believe you've been doing this for 46 years?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yeah, it's pretty crazy. It's been a minute. It's been a minute.

[Stephen Colbert]

What did you like? What was the plan? Was this always the plan?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Well, no, I mean, you know, I went to college to get a degree in architecture, which I got. I use all the time. But no, I graduated and I thought, that's not really my passion. I want, you know, let me see if I can get a record deal. And nobody wanted to sign me. I mean, they said, oh, you're very funny. This is amusing. You're a genius.

[Stephen Colbert]

My Bologna was a hit.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Ew.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

It went vinyl. You know, it's old.

[Stephen Colbert]

Like, I remember listening to it.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Did you?

[Stephen Colbert]

In 1979? Yeah, exactly. I was a sophomore in high school. I was core audience for you. Yeah, well, nice on Dr. Dementia.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

It wasn't until a few years later, I mean, I was trying to get a record deal and. And nobody wanted to sign me because, you know, what I do is considered novelty music, because anything humorous in rock and roll is considered novelty. And novelty is sort of the domain of one hit wonders. It historically does not have a long shelf life or long career trajectory. And people are like, ah, we want to sign People that are going to be around for a while. So, you know, 46 years later, I'm here on the Late show, and.

[Stephen Colbert]

That'S nice.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

A lot of other people around that time, not so lucky.

[Stephen Colbert]

What was the moment when you thought, okay, this could actually be my career? This is not. I'm not a flash in the pan.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

It was right before I walked out tonight. It just kind of.

[Stephen Colbert]

Finally settled.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Finally settled, I guess. I mean, I made the decision to be, like, Weird Al full time. I think it was 1982. Cause I had just signed a record deal. And that doesn't mean you're gonna be famous or rich or anything. It just means, like, we've got you under contract. They didn't give me a big pile of money, but I was still working in the mail room, literally for, like, $5 an hour, which I think was minimum wage back then. And I picked up the mail from the post office, and sticking out of the sack was the new Billboard magazine. And I opened it up to the Hot 100 chart, and I was on the Hot 100 chart. And that was the day I gave notice.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. You hit a milestone this summer when you played Madison Square Garden for the first time, which I'm really surprised. There you are. If you look closely on the sign, it says sold out at the bottom of it.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yeah. I'd never even been inside Madison Square Garden, and then I was headlining.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, you got a hell of a view of nearly 20,000 people excited for.

[Sponsor Announcer]

You to be there.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

That's pretty crazy.

[Stephen Colbert]

What's it like? What was it like for you to play the world's most famous arena?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

It's amazing. You know, I played a few arenas that size before, but, yeah, there's so much cachet and history to msg. And even before I played there, I walked around, you know, the Garden, and there's posters all over the place from, you know, Elton John and, you know, Taylor Swift. And all these people say, oh, it's the greatest venue in the world. And there's one from Eddie Vedder saying, you're nothing till you've played Madison Square Garden. So no pressure or anything, you know, but now Eddie Vedder thinks I'm something, so I'm very happy about that.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's wrong. Congratulations.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thank you. I'm still waiting. Now you got the new tour. Here we go. These are all the. You won't be able to see this, but these are all the tour dates. This is a massive tour.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Let me read them all to you. There you go.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes. From Hollywood, Florida, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wisconsin. Bigger and weirder 2026. What are weird Al fans gonna get with this one?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Well, if they saw the tour earlier this year, it's the same tour, but for the people that aren't familiar. I've done a couple smaller tours. I did the ridiculously self indulgent ill advised Vanity tour, which is a very scaled down version of the show. This is the big tent, big show, big production, playing the hits, all that costume changes, costume changes, film clips, props, the whole bit. And we doubled the size of the band. I'm still playing with the same guys I played with in the early 80s and they've been with me the whole time. But we wanted to make this bigger. Well, yeah, that's amazing. We wanted to make this bigger. So we added four new people and I wasn't sure, like, you know, I'd hired them based on referrals and through YouTube videos. And I thought, yeah, these guys will work out. But I never really knew if they were going to fit in, you know, because you have to have a certain kind of temperament to be part of the show. But not only are they all like world class musicians and multi instrumentalists. Well, there's one guy, Probing Gregory, who played with Brian Wilson for like decades. And I'm like, wow, this is really cool. He's in the band. There's one song. Would you mind, like, for this one song, just dressing up like a janitor and mopping the stage for three minutes? He's like, sure, I'd love to. So they have the right state of mind.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, Al's lovely to see you again. Thanks so much for being here. Tickets to his bigger and weirder 2026 tour are available right now. Thank you for listening to the Late Show Pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Give the Gift of Language. The holidays are coming up and there is nothing more meaningful than learning something new. Whether you want to reconnect with family roots, prep for an upcoming trip, or give someone a gift that actually lasts, Rosetta Stone is the perfect way to start something special. Rosetta Stone has been the trusted leader in language learning for over 30 years. Their immersive, intuitive method helps you truly pick up your new language naturally. No memorizing random vocabulary lists. No feeling lost. As trusted language experts with 30 years of experience, millions of users and 25 languages to choose from, including Spanish, French, German, Japanese and more, Rosetta Stone is the go to tool for real language growth. Don't wait. Unlock your language learning potential. Now listeners can grab Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life. Visit RosettaStone.com RS10 to get started and claim your 50% off today. Give a gift that keeps giving. Go to Rosetta Stone.com RS10 and start learning today.

[Stephen Colbert]

Hey Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of shop. 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. Yeah, give it a [e-mail] switch upfront.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speed slow 135 gigabytes of network busy taxes and fees extra. C mint mobile.com.