Weird Al Yankovic's latest album (five years in the making) is a tremendous achievement of comedy and style. Whereas most comedy music acts need to use some level of shock to add humor to their prose, Yankovic is able to carry an entire album on ideas that easily make the PG label. Whereas the group Lonely Island sings songs about sexual acts or lyrics about being on a boat that receives a good deal of its comedy from gratuitous profanity, Weird Al can transform Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" into "TMZ" and craft a clever bit of lyrics that will keep its value as long as TMZ does. That's not to say that other styles of comedy music aren't funny... it's just to say that Weird Al remains in another stratosphere because of his self-handicapping (which in turn makes his music less dated).
So here's a quick rundown of each song on the album:
1. "Perform This Way" (Parody of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way") - While the song is supposed to be the major hit on the album, the quality of the upcoming video for the song will really be what determines how far this one goes. The lyrics aren't up to par with "White and Nerdy," but to be fair, there just aren't enough lyrics in the original song to give Yankovic a chance to change things enough. It's an interesting choice for his big single, but if the video is excellent (and there's plenty of subject material) then it'll be golden.
2. "CNR" - CNR is one of the weaker songs in this latest offering. It essentially takes the Chuck Norris joke idea to melody and suffers Walker Texas Ranger for Charles Neslon Riley. It might be funnier if the Chuck Norris jokes on the web weren't already (mostly) funnier than what is in the song. The other problem is that "CNR" is such a niche celebrity that many listeners won't be familiar with the subject of the song, thus making it much less funny. As a send up of Riley, the song is nice.
3. "TMZ" - Here is an excellent bit of lyrics, showing that when Al has a bevy of words to work with, he can do wonders. Everything here is crisp and catchy, with a wonderful two-sided mocking of both TMZ and celebrities that switches late song. The song is one of the best on the album.
4. "Skipper Dan" - A major departure for Yankovic, this little diddy is extremely subtle in its humor. Chances are it won't be a major hit by any means, but I came away feeling it's the best song on the album. If you've ever felt you weren't acheiving your potential and/or you've been on the Jungle Cruise ride in a Disney Park, you'll come away from this song appreciating that Weird Al knows how to be funny without being in yoru face. It's a superb mocking of anybody who has to be repetitious in their job... melancholy comedy at its best. Is it possible for a song about Adventureland to be border-line emo?
5. "Polka Face" - A polka medley of recent hits by various artists. It's another nice polka from Weird Al, with several songs being particularly funny in this format ("I Kissed a Girl" and "Blame It").
6. "Craigslist" - Never has Yankovic ever done a style parody this well. In a total send-up of The Doors, Al mimmicks Jimmy Henderson with great flair, even getting The Doors' keyboardist to join in on the recording. The material here isn't nearly as funny as Al can be, but in an odd twist, the skill in replicating the original band makes the track pass with flying colors.
7. "Party in the CIA" (Parody of "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus) - The weakest of the parodies on the album, the song takes a different turn for Al by being very slightly political. It's catchy, it's funny, and on most albums it would be considered excellent. The problem is this is from the Prince of Parody... so it simply can't hold its own against other great additions on this collection.
8. "Ringtone" - It's in the style of Queen. It sucks. I'm sorry, this song just isn't very good at all. The lyrics aren't funny, the music is somewhat grating, and that's all there is to it. In every good album, there's gotta be one stinker.
9. "Another Tattoo" (Parody of "Nothing on You" by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars) - The best parody on the album is the ninth track on the disc. It's tremendous. Al is at his best when he takes a song with few lyrics and can turn it into something totally different that could be a comedy song all on its own, even if it wasn't a parody. This one matches the criteria. The song mocks those with a mass-tattoo fetish, and it does so marvelously. There are so many little jokes in this song that the average person may miss on the first listen.
10. "If That Isn't Love" - One of Al's very best original songs ever. I'd tell you more about it, but you need to listen to it without any spoilers. The first few lines are the worst of the song, and that means it's only going to get better and better... and that's a sign of a great, great comedy song.
11. "Whatever You Like" (Parody of "Whatever You Like" by T.I.) - It's okay. An average parody that doesn't feature the crisp lyrics Al is known for. It's decent enough, but again, the potential for the video means it may really work well on YouTube.
12. "Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me" - The last song is a wonderful crescendo. Honestly, it's just a beautiful, beautiful piece of humor that really shows that Weird Al Yankovic is the best in the genre he practically created. It begins like a wedding song arrangement and just keeps getting better and better and better. Tremendous.
And there's my review that went much longer and much more in-depth than I had intended.
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