Everybody, Polkamon

Krabby, Snubbull, Venonat
Mankey, Chansey and Zubat
Slowking, Ditto, Butterfree
Lugia and Caterpie

Oddish, Poliwag, Goldeen
Elekid and Nidoqueen
Victreebel and Magneton
Everybody Polkamon!
-- "Polkamon", "Weird Al" Yankovic

Before I leave off of the theme of "interpretative soundtracks", I'd like to mention a curiosity from one of them, specifically the song that I have quoted above as something more jolly compared to the song from two days ago. It's on the one for the second feature film, titled in English as Pokémon 2000: The Power of One. It too appears in its ending credits with a small snippet, which also then led me to the full song.

"Weird Al" Yankovic, by account of his nickname, is a bit of an oddball musician. Those in the know about polka music will recognize him as a popular artist of this genre of music. Meanwhile, those who are well-versed in modern music might recognize him for making parodies of certain songs. The song above would certainly fit as the former, seeing how it is a piece of the genre. However, Pokémon is a modern thing, and this would then be considered modern, though not a parody. In any case, it could be described as a blend of two sensibilities.

The song itself consists of three verses with a bridge between the second and the third. The verses consist mostly of Pokémon names (of the first and second generations) strung together with other expressions, which then end with the words as quoted above and in the title of this post; the bridge is a simple invitation to dance the polka, perhaps with a Pokémon partner or two. In that respect, this song is spiritually and partially a PokéRap, though it doesn't come close to all 251 species names at the time this song came out; only about one-fifth of that is mentioned.

This does lead to some considerations about its place in the "interpretative soundtrack". On one hand, it is fully related to Pokémon by its structure as above. On the other hand, it doesn't allude to any particular theme (barring the general theme of Pokémon) of the feature film, despite being placed in the soundtrack. It seems acceptable to consider it generally linked to Pokémon, in addition to being placed in the film's soundtrack to complement it. It is thus a good Pokémon song.

Certainly, it does seem like this song is a curious thing. It's polka, and it's Pokémon, for which both have their fans. It's in a specific soundtrack, but it has a more overarching general relationship to Pokémon. Whether it's one or the other, what really matters more is that this song can be enjoyed in relation to the film or just as a Pokémon song. I say either are perfectly fine, just as fine as inviting one's closest friends and Pokémon to do the polka together.

One year ago: Action or Strategy?
Two years ago: Thank Heaven for Little Boys