I've been going through a big James Brown phase recently. I've had the 20 GREATEST HITS CD for years, and while I always liked it, it hasn't really hit me until now. My roomate bought a James Brown rhythm section score book and it's been awesome playing some of those basslines. I don't think this one CD set is enough, gotta put the STAR TIME box on my Xmas list....and yes, i see the irony, James Brown died on Xmas. I'll get a nice family gathering that day, and we'll listen to lots of James Brown in between our Charlie Chaplin and W.C. Fields marathon.
As for Weird Al, I saw him put on a free concert in the mid 90's, and after "Smells Like Nirvana," he actually took a shotgun and pretended to blow his brains out.