In 1983 an unknown novelty singer released his self-titled debut album on the small record label. No one expected that almost three decades later he’d be releasing his 13th album. This then unknown artist was Al Yankovic or Weird Al to his friends and family. Everyone expected Weird Al to be one and done but with 6 Gold records, 7 Platinum and 1 Double Platinum record and multiple Grammy nominations and wins Weird Al has proven his staying power time and time again. He has slowly become the idol for every person in this world who has been told they won’t “make it”. Furthermore, he’s a just a nice guy.
With his 13th album he takes jabs at some of pop music’s biggest stars, mocks the idea of celebrity and of course it wouldn’t be a weird al album without at least one song about food and a polka melody. Al has always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture so even the name is a topical in our Harold Camp end of days society.
The Album kicks off with the Lady Gaga parody Perform this Way. It’s one of the rare Al Parodies where he actually sings about the artist he’s parodying with such lyrics as “My Mama told me when I was hatched act like a superstar/Save your allowance, buy a bubble dress and someday you will go far” but explains to the listener that he’s “not crazy” he just “performs this way”
While Al has always been known for his parodies, personally I find his originals far more satisfying. CNR is a White Stripes style parody mocking the “Chuck Norris” style joke rumors but instead of applying it to a badass like Norris or Mr. T instead describes HooDoo himself Charles Nelson Reilly. Skipper Dan, which I believe is written in the musical style of Weezer, describes the sad life of a struggling actor who instead of acting in films is stuck working as a tour guide on the Disneyland Jungle Cruise ride. Craigslist is my least favorite song on the album. It’s performed in the style of The Doors and is about, you guessed it, Craigslist. Perhaps the problem is the concept is basically the same as his 1999 Backstreet boys parody eBay or maybe it’s because I’m not a Doors fan.He also does a weird style parody of Hanson with If That Isn’t Love.
As far as his Style Parodies/Originals go the masterpieces on this album are a toss up between Ringtone (in the style of Queen) and Stop Forwarding that Crap to me (in the style of Meat Loaf) which is the perfect closing track to this entire album.
Parody-wise it’s not Al’s greatest work but that may have a lot more to do with the lack of quality music out there. Regardless he uses his parodies to really jab at celebrity worship. I already went over his Lady Gaga parody, also on the album is a Taylor Swift TMZ (You Belong To Me) that covers similar themes our celebrity obsessed media. The highlight parodies are his Miley Cyrus spoof Party in the CIA and his B.o.B. parody Another Tattoo. Another Tattoo specifically shows Al’s ear for detail as he nails B.o.B.’s unique rapping style perfectly.
As is the case with most “Weird Al” albums the polka track is the standout highlight of the album. In Polkaface Weird Al does his polka melody around some of those Auto-tune favorites like Right Round (Flo-Rida), Baby (Justin Bieber) and Replay (Iyaz) to name a few. What always struck me as amazing about Al’s polka melodies are the moments where the songs almost sound more beautiful than the original song. It happened on Straight outta Lynwood’s polka melody when he plays Float On by Modest Mouse and it happens again this time when he performs Fireflies by Owl City.
I’m glad that Al has managed to remain fresh and relevant all these many years and hope in my heart that he will continue releasing records.