Terrorizing popstars with an accordion

By Cory Doctorow at 2:22 am Tuesday, Jun 24

Joey DeVilla roams the world with an accordion strapped to his back, deconstructing popular music with it (he led a procession of newly millionaired Slashdot founders down Broadway one night, playing Fatboy Slim on the accordion). He's had the good (?) fortune to run into various pop-stars on the way, and he confronts them with his squeeze-box, faking out rendiitons of their hit singles and singing along with great enthusiasm. Here're four anaecdotes about four popstars' reactions to this practice:

"Joey! It's Chris from Sloan!"

Once again, Sloan may not be familiar to people outside Canada, but they were -- at least until their current album, which ain't so hot -- a band with a knack for really good songwriting.

"Play some Sloan! Do you know any Sloan? Play some Sloan!" she screamed.

I started playing their first big single, the grunge anthem of unrequited university love, Underwhelmed:

She was underwhelmed if that's a word I know it's not 'cause I looked it up It's one of those things I learned in my school...

Chris' face first showed curiosity. Then it showed recognition. Followed by shock. And then we didn't see his face at all.

"He's...he's running away!" said Meryle, who burst out laughing.

"Come back, you coward!" I yelled. "Even Alanis would've faced me!"

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