You Don't Love Me Anymore ("Weird Al" Yankovic song)

"You Don't Love Me Anymore" is a song by American recording artist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released as the second single from his seventh studio album Off the Deep End on June 19, 1992. While much of his musical output consists of parodies of other artists' material, "You Don't Love Me Anymore" is an original composition written and produced by Yankovic. A soft acoustic ballad[1][2] in a style parody of James Taylor, the song features darkly humorous lyrics about a relationship between Yankovic and an unnamed woman that has faltered to the point that she repeatedly attempts to kill him, which he has only just begun to notice.

"You Don't Love Me Anymore"
Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Off the Deep End
B-side"I Was Only Kidding"
ReleasedJune 19, 1992 (1992-06-19)
RecordedJune 7, 1990
GenreAcoustic, soft rock
Length4:00
14:07 (with "Bite Me")
LabelScotti Brothers
Songwriter(s)"Weird Al" Yankovic
Producer(s)"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology
"Smells Like Nirvana"
(1992)
"You Don't Love Me Anymore"
(1992)
"Taco Grande"
(1992)

Yankovic requested his record label Scotti Brothers to release the song as the second single from Off the Deep End. As the label would only release the single if its music video was a parody, Yankovic modeled the video for "You Don't Love Me Anymore" after the video for the song "More Than Words" by American rock band Extreme. Directed by Jay Levey, the video features a cameo appearance by American-Canadian singer Robert Goulet. To Yankovic's surprise, "You Don't Love Me Anymore" garnered moderate amounts of radio airplay and peaked at number 26 on the Canadian singles chart.

The song was parodied in German lyrics by the heavy metal band JBO.

Release

Following the success of Off the Deep End's lead single "Smells Like Nirvana", Yankovic desired to release "You Don't Love Me Anymore" as the album's second single.[3] Yankovic's record label Scotti Brothers reluctantly adhered to the request, on the condition that the song's music video be a parody.[3] Released on June 19, 1992,[4] the single received moderate amounts of radio airplay and peaked at number 26 on the singles chart of Canadian magazine The Record.[5] Its airplay levels surprised Yankovic, who had observed that radio stations "usually just go for the parodies."[6] "You Don't Love Me Anymore" was also issued as a 12-inch single in the Philippines by Mobile Disco Records – the release featured a dance music remix of the song, the only authorized extended mix of a Yankovic track not to be issued by his label.[7]

Music video

The music video for "You Don't Love Me Anymore" was directed by Yankovic's long-time collaborator and manager Jay Levey.[8] Filmed at the Charlie Chaplin Studios in Los Angeles, it is a parody of the music video for "More Than Words" by American rock band Extreme and a follow up on the video of "Smells Like Nirvana".[8] Yankovic's record label Scotti Brothers had informed him that "You Don't Love Me Anymore" – an original composition – would be released as a single under the condition that an accompanying parody music video be produced.[3] As many had erroneously believed the song was a parody of "More Than Words" upon release, he decided to spoof its video.[9]

The "You Don't Love Me Anymore" video features Yankovic and his guitarist Jim West performing the song, with the latter basing his appearance on Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt.[3] Bassist Steve Jay is also seen biting into a large piece of ham; he chipped his tooth while filming the scene and is seen wincing in pain as he does this in the video.[6] One notable gag involves Yankovic picking up another guitar and tuning it, only to put it away without actually playing it, instead beginning to sing the second verse. American singer and actor Robert Goulet makes a cameo appearance as a piano player who suffers various bodily injuries.[10] Rudy Larosa (who portrayed the janitor in the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Smells Like Nirvana" videos) takes on the role of a cellist in janitor garb who accidentally flings his bow into Goulet's eye. Towards the end of the video, Yankovic smashes West's Ovation guitar.[3] He later recounted: "Most of the guitars I had broken at that point were cheap guitars, and this one did not smash, but I knew I had one take, so you'll see me whack the thing like 20 times, like, 'You’ve gotta break! This is the only take! I’m gonna smash this thing if it takes me all day!'"[3]

Formats and track listings

  • Cassette single (Canada and United States)[11]
  1. "You Don't Love Me Anymore" – 4:00
  2. "I Was Only Kidding" – 3:31
  • 12-inch single (Philippines)[7]
  1. "You Don't Love Me Anymore" – 4:00
  2. "You Don't Love Me Anymore" (Dance Mix) – 5:00

Charts

Chart (1992) Peak
position
Canadian Singles Chart (The Record)[5] 26

Personnel

Credits adapted from Off the Deep End liner notes.[12]

References

  1. "8 Songs That Prove Weird Al Yankovic is a Genius (As If We Don't Already Know)". ph.news.yahoo.com.
  2. Johnston, Maura (February 6, 2015). "Extreme's 'More Than Words': The Oral History".
  3. Rabin, Nathan (June 29, 2011). "Set List: 'Weird Al' Yankovic". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  4. "You Don't Love Me Anymore – "Weird Al" Yankovic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  5. Lwin, Nanda (1999). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Research. ISBN 978-1896594132.
  6. Permanent Record: Al in the Box (liner notes). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1994. 72392 75451-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. "You Don't Love Me Anymore: 1992, Mobile Disco (12")". "Weird Al" Yankovic. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  8. "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Videos (liner notes). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Image Entertainment. 1998. ID4105AADVD.CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. Harrington, Richard (June 26, 1992). "Weird Al in Parody Paradise; He's Hit a Nirvana With His Latest and He's Bringing It Here". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 8, 2001. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  10. "Robert Goulet Dies at 73". Vulture. October 31, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  11. You Don't Love Me Anymore (Media notes). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1992. 72392 75329-4.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. Off the Deep End (liner notes). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1992. 512 506-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
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