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I was in the car with a friend of mine earlier this year, and, for whatever reason, she brought up the subject of Weird Al Yankovic.

While she was talking about him, I mentioned to her that I was a fan of his, and she remarked that there was finally someone that appreciated him as much as she does. Being a Weird Al fan is definitely an acquired taste, but in my opinion, if he makes a parody of your song, that means you have definitely made it in the music industry. That should be something that every rock musician or band should strive to achieve.

For those who aren’t familiar with Yankovic’s work, he has been famous, or infamous, depending on your perspective, for writing and performing parodies of famous pop songs since the early 1980s. An early example of this was his send-up of the Joan Jett and The Blackhearts song, “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” titled “I Love Rocky Road.”

One of Yankovic’s early hits resulted from the success of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” one of the most popular albums of all time. The popularity of Jackson’s song “Beat It” led to the creation of Yankovic’s song, “Eat It,” from his album, “In 3-D.” That song remains one of Yankovic’s defining works.

Another part of Yankovic’s appeal is that on almost each of his albums, a polka medley appears that incorporates lyrics from popular songs into that medley. Hearing Yankovic singing some of those lyrics against a polka music background is quite a treat, as it makes me recognize how little sense a lot of those popular songs make.

My favorite Yankovic song is “Smells Like Nirvana,” Yankovic’s take on the famous Nirvana grunge-rock song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Yankovic does a great job of lampooning the original song’s lyrics, which, to be kind, are difficult to comprehend. The video for “Smells Like Nirvana” also does a great job of parodying the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video.

The fact that Yankovic has remained popular for more than a quarter-century is a tribute to his work. As far as I’m concerned, whoever is responsible for selecting members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should pick Yankovic for the Hall, if only to prove they have a sense of humor.

As I mentioned earlier, artists should consider it an honor to have Weird Al poke fun at one of their songs. Apparently, Prince does not believe that. Reportedly, Prince, if that’s what he’s calling himself these days, has refused several requests by Yankovic to parody one of his songs.

My response: Lighten up, pal. For crying out loud, you can’t even make up your mind what you want to call yourself. First it’s Prince, then Prince and the Revolution, then Prince and the New Power Generation, then The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (I don’t know how to type that weird-looking symbol of his).

Talk about a man with an identity crisis. It’s not going to ruin your career, what’s left of it, if Weird Al makes fun of you in one of his songs.

In my opinion, the rock music industry often takes itself too seriously. It needs a court jester to poke fun at it every so often. Yankovic has served a valuable purpose to the music world by filling that role.