I Can't Watch This
| "I Can't Watch This" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 "I Can't Watch This" cover | |||||||
| Promotional single by "Weird Al" Yankovic from the album Off the Deep End | |||||||
| Released | January 1993 | ||||||
| Format | CD single | ||||||
| Recorded | December 3, 1990 | ||||||
| Genre | Comedy rap, pop rap | ||||||
| Length | 3:31 | ||||||
| Label | Scotti Brothers | ||||||
| Producer | "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||||
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"I Can't Watch This" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer. The lyrics indicate the singer is watching an exceptionally bad TV program. This song and "The White Stuff" were originally pressed to be made into singles for public distribution, but they were never released. "I Can't Watch This" was one of the eight songs recorded for Off the Deep End in 1990; the others were "The Plumbing Song", "The White Stuff", "When I Was Your Age", "You Don't Love Me Anymore", "Trigger Happy", "Airline Amy", and "Waffle King", which was released on the "Smells Like Nirvana" single.
The song mentions many TV shows and networks, such as America's Funniest Home Videos, Twin Peaks, and HBO. Overdubbed over the bridge is a "commercial medley". This section contains re-recorded bits of various famous commercials. Several of the notable commercials featured include the Energizer Bunny's "they keep going and going", "I've fallen and I can't get up!", "This is your brain on drugs," and Excedrin's "when you've got a headache this big!"
The tempo of the song is slower than Hammer's original version, due to Al not being an accomplished rapper at the time. Later hip-hop tracks covered by Al (including "White And Nerdy") and other original songs (specifically "Hardware Store") would show that Al had mastered rapid locution.
Track listing
The following tracks are on the promo single:
- "I Can't Watch This" – 3:31
Release
According to the "Ask Al"[1] feature on Yankovic's official website, "I Can't Watch This" was originally going to be made into a commercially released single, but the record company decided against the idea, and they deleted the single, even after they had made several cartons of promo CDs. According to the site's Q&R Al and fellow band member Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz managed to acquire a few copies before they were discarded. Reportedly, copies of "I Can't Watch This" are harder to find than copies of "The White Stuff".
Cultural references in the song
TV programs
- America's Funniest Home Videos
- The Arsenio Hall Show
- The Cosby Show
- The Jerry Springer Show
- Late Night with David Letterman (specifically Stupid Pet Tricks)
- The People's Court
- Roseanne
- Sally Jesse Raphael
- Siskel & Ebert
- Thirtysomething
- Twin Peaks