posted
...is out! Weird Al's latest opus, in the stores today. Naturally, I picked up my copy. A quick, but probably for most people, far too detailed review:
The album comes in a "Dual Disc" format. Not two discs, but one disc with two sides: side one contains the album (12 tracks) in CD audio format; the other side is in DVD format, and contains the 12 tracks in 5.1 audio and in insturmental versions, as well as six(!) music videos and a "Weird Al in the Studio" short. The music videos, it should be noted, do not include the one for White and Nerdy which was released via the net last week to such acclaim; they are all animated, except one which primarily uses old black-and-white stock footage. I would class them all as "mildly amusing" but not particularly hilarious. I would expect to see them all on the net shortly -- at least one has already turned up on YouTube (and another, for "Don't Download This Song," was released officially a few weeks back).
Now, for the songs themselves....
White & Nerdy -- a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" This will probably be the "hit song" of the CD, and deservedly so. Clever lyrics and great appeal to nerds of all colors. The video just makes it better, so see it if you haven't.
Pancreas -- a tribute to an oft-unappreciated organ, done in a style reminiscent of Brian Wilson's Smile. (The studio video on the DVD gives a hint of what a pain making this sort of thing can be.) Enjoyable for students of physiology and physics alike:
My pancreas attracts every other pancreas in the universe With a force proportional to the product of their masses And inversely proportional to the distance between them Woo woo woo woo...
Canadian Idiot -- a parody of Green Day's "American Idiot," naturally. A bouncy little tune reciting all the standard, basically inoffensive but for some reason endlessly amusing stereotypes about Canadians -- beer, hockey, donuts, "aboot", lack of firearms, etc.
Sure, they've got their national healthcare Cheaper meds, low crime rates and clean air Then again, well, they've got Celine Dion...
I'll Sue Ya -- a tribute to the frivolous lawsuit, done in the style of...um...you know, that band, uh, dammit. Well, it's a recongizable style.
Polkarama! The standard Weird Al medley of more-or-less contemporary popular hits, done in polka style. This one starts out promisingly enough with the Chicken Dance, but then kind of peters out into a bunch of songs I mostly don't know, so I didn't find it as amusing as many of the earlier versions. Others may differ; it may also grow on me, as some past ones have.
Virus Alert A Weird Al original, not imitating anyone's style I'm aware of, and by far my favorite song on the CD. In a wonderful peppy arrangement, Al warns us of the dire consequences of the STINKY CHEESE virus, and -- of course -- urges us to forward the warning to everybody.
It will translate your documents into Swahili Make your TV record "Gigli" Neuter your pets and give your laundry static cling It's gonna make your computer screen freeze Erase the Easter eggs off your DVDs Erase your hard drive and your back-ups too And the hard drive of anyone related to you...
Like "Hardware Store" off his last album, I love the style and performance, but this one also has asbusrdity and familiarity going for it. Five stars! Or something.
Confessions Part III -- a parody of "Confessions Part II" by Usher, naturally. In case you're not familiar with that series of songs, in "Confessions Part I" the singer owns up to having an affair; in Part II, he admits the girl he's been having the affair with is pregnant. Now, in part III, Al lets us in on even more dirty secrets:
Like remember when I told you that I knew Pauly Shore, Pauly Shore? That's a lie, I don't know what I said that for I borrowed your ChapStick from you...without asking Oh, and I tried out your nose-hair trimmer too And by the way, your diamond ring is cubic zirconium I killed your goldfish accidentally, just replaced it with another one...
And so on, and so on. One of the better tracks.
Weasel Stomping Day A ridiculously cheery choral tribute to that holiday when all Americans put on their boots and...well, stomp weasels. There seems to already be a debate as to whether this one is funny or sick, but the over-the-top cheeriness (it reminds me somewhat of the Whoville "Trim Up the Tree" song in How the Grinch Stole Christmas) makes it hard not to be amused.
Close But No Cigar The first of two "love songs," describing three women who were, well, almost perfect:
Yeah, she was perfect in every way Except she was always using the word "infer" When she obviously meant "imply" And I know some guys would put up with that kind of thing But frankly, I can't imagine why...
Do I Creep You Out -- a parody of "Do I Make You Proud" by Taylor Hicks. Al has done "stalker" songs before (see "Melanie" on Even Worse, for instance) but this is probably the most up-close and personal one. So-so.
Trapped in the Drive-Thru -- a parody of "Trapped in the Closet" by R. Kelly (but with no Tom Cruise references!). I haven't heard R. Kelly's song, but this one is over ten minutes describing in minute detail a couple's debate over what to to for dinner and trip to the drive-thru. I found the beginning the most amusing, as the couple each tries to get the other to suggest what to do -- a pretty common situation around my house -- but it goes downhill a bit from there, revived somewhat by a spirited rendition of "Black Dog" when the narrator turns on the radio for a bit. Sill, funny in that interminable way Al has been perfecting for a few albums -- but not as good as "Albuquerque" or "Genius in France" (both originals rather than parodies, though the latter is a Frank Zappa tribute).
And finally, Don't Download This Song, Al's plea on behalf of the RIAA, urging people to buy the CD rather than downloading the song for free (You can download the song for free here). Rather reminscient in style of "We Are the World" and similar rock anthems. I'm kind of a sucker for that kind of thing, I have to confess, so I enjoyed this one quite a bit. (The references to Lars Ulrich and Tommy Chong helped.)
Over-all, I would say, a pretty good effort from Weird Al. As a dedicated fan, I'd rate it above his last one (Poodle Hat) but below the two before (Running With Scissors and Bad Hair Day). That's just a snap judgement, though; often his albums grow or fade on me with time, so I don't know where this one's permanent slot will be. But a couple of the tracks are definitely candidates for any reasonable "best of" collection.
Besides, I have all the other ones, so I'll probably keep buying them indefinitely, unless they really start to suck....
posted
Some of my postings are long, as you may be aware, so no complaints from me about your well-written and detailed review.
I have also posted various comments in the last day or two about Weird Al, youtube videos, music in general, and similar items. Thank you for posting a long one so that I'm not always the only long-winded one! Of course, I see that yours is a review rather than a verbose opinion, rant, or reminiscence, but nevertheless, good to see it!
I've been a Weird Al fan for a long time. His songs and videos are frequently better than the hits they parody, which are usually disposable pop, anyway. Some are real classics, but even so, his parodies can compete with the originals.
His "Smells Like Nirvana" is a classic by any standard, and I understand that Nirvana loved it! But, even his early accordian performance, in the 70s, "Another One Rides the Bus," was sign of his immense talent and better things to come!
I even bought a DVD of "UHF" just to watch him once in a while, acting in a silly movie, as well as the video therein parodying Dire Straights' (featuring Sting) "I Want My MTV."
-------------------- Only when we remake ourselves can we remake the world. - Outer Limits (2001) Posts: 559 | From: Santa Cruz, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Echinodermata Q. Taft: I'll Sue Ya -- a tribute to the frivolous lawsuit, done in the style of...um...you know, that band, uh, dammit. Well, it's a recongizable style.
I thought it was kind of Rage Against the Machine-ish.
quote:Originally posted by Echinodermata Q. Taft: Weasel Stomping Day A ridiculously cheery choral tribute to that holiday when all Americans put on their boots and...well, stomp weasels. There seems to already be a debate as to whether this one is funny or sick
I wasn't sure at first either, but I think the line "It's tradition, that makes it okay" placed it firmly into the category of social satire.
I was surprised by the number of songs I actually did recognize in the polka, but not really enough. Those are always best when you know the originals. But some of it was unquestionably hysterical.
-------------------- Come on, come on - spin a little tighter Come on, come on - and the world's a little brighter Posts: 5595 | From: Columbus, OH : The Soccer Capital of America | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
I may get flamed for this, or maybe even called blasphemous, but Straight Outta Lynwood is hands down much better than Poodle Hat. Even Running with Scissors was better than Poodle Hat.
Thank you for the review. I've had a chance to sample the cd from a few friends who bought it. I'm just waiting for my copy from Al's website.
-------------------- Tom, we're flying a giant robot into space! "Safe" isn't the first word that springs to mind! - Colleen, Last Hope, Vol.2 Posts: 2710 | From: Meet me in St. Louis | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Wild.Otaku: I may get flamed for this, or maybe even called blasphemous, but Straight Outta Lynwood is hands down much better than Poodle Hat. Even Running with Scissors was better than Poodle Hat.
Having listened to Poodle Hat again today, I think in retrospect I'd disagree, but not very strongly. They're more-or-less of comparable quality. I would agree, however that Running With Scissors was better than either one.
Straight Outta Lynwood has a couple of very high points, a lot of "pretty good/ok", and nothing that I would say is just bad (though "I'll Sue Ya" isn't that great). Poodle Hat has at least one cut I think is just plain bad ("Party at the Leper Colony") and a lot of "pretty good/ok" but only "Hardware Store" stands out as really awesome -- and, oddly enough, it's not really funny; just very mildly absurd. (Hmmm -- well, maybe I'd put "Genius in France" in the "great" category, depending on my mood). Running With Scissors had at least four standouts, I think: "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi," "Germs," "Your Horoscope for Today," and "It's All About the Pentiums," as well as "The Weird Al Show Theme" and one of his better Polka medleys -- and nothing I'd rate as bad. It was definitely one of his best.
posted
I really dug I'll Sue Ya, but that's because he did Rage Against the Machine flawlessly. Yea, Rage is kind of old news, but the song is a great reworking of "Killing in the Name".
Since the songs have been so well summed up, has anyone else watched the videos on the DVD side of the dual disc? It was quite an ecclectic collection. I was really surprised the John Kricfalusi video was put there. I know Weird Al is a huge fan, but that was far more adult than his normal material...though completely in line with Kricfalusi. My favorite, biasedly so, was the Robot Chicken crew's Weasel Stomping Day video. However, the guy who did I'll Sue Ya did a similarly excellent take on combining Weird Al with Rage.
I'm interested in seeing what JibJab is going to do later. I'm going to guess they're doing Canadian Idiot, since that seems closest to the material they have.
-------------------- "One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings." -- Diogenes
"Vote Republican! We won't burn you at the stake for your religious beliefs or slaughter your family and steal your land." -- Ramblin' Dave Posts: 3555 | From: Florida | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:Originally posted by IlGreven degrees Celsius: Hey...I now have dueling Pancreas songs to play back-to-back!
Grev (Heywood Banks, if you must google...)
I was just going to say... I wonder if Weird Al was inspired by Heywood's touching tribute.
--Zamboni "Hey pancreas, have a nice day!" Rodeo
-------------------- Where's the challenge in wassailing at Christmas? The place is lousy with wassail! Posts: 232 | From: Raleigh, NC | Registered: Jul 2006
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posted
I'm so excited about this album. I've been needing some new Weird Al for awhile now.
Just FYI- Close But No Cigar is a style parody of Cake. I'm still trying to place Virus Alert in a style. If anybody has any ideas I'd like to hear them.
I agree about White and Nerdy being fantastic. It's really the stand-out.
Posts: 4 | From: New Jersey | Registered: Sep 2006
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-------------------- If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales? Posts: 13275 | From: Kindergarten World, Massachusetts | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I bought the new album on Thursday. At first I was only liking a few songs on it (mainly White N Nerdy, Don't Download This Song, Canadian Idiot and the Polka), which is unusual because I'm a big fan of Weird Al and like most of his songs. However, after listening to them a couple of times many of the songs grew on me. Now I like most of them, but I still liked his last two albums better. I haven't yet explored all the features of the Dualdisc- I'm still looking for my DVD player remote, blah. However I did watch the video for "Close But No Cigar" and disliked it. I've also seen the videos which are on Al's Myspace page and I saw "Weasel Stomping Day" on Robot Chicken a while ago.
Oh yeah I also got a question in the "Ask Al" thingie on Weird Al's Myspace (I assume on his website too although the newest questions weren't there when I checked) which is kinda cool!
I hope he tours soon. I want to see him in concert again.
-------------------- Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. Posts: 2110 | From: Chicago, IL | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
Hm, I like Canadian Idiot. But the video was disappointing. Voltron?
-------------------- It's like they took a bunch of movies, put them in a blender and turned it on really fast!-Mystery Science Theater 3000 Posts: 2603 | From: Magna, Utah | Registered: Aug 2004
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-------------------- It's like they took a bunch of movies, put them in a blender and turned it on really fast!-Mystery Science Theater 3000 Posts: 2603 | From: Magna, Utah | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
I really like the album. I love the weird melody for "Virus Alert". I'm more of a fan of the original songs than the parodies this time around. I do like "White and Nerdy" quite a bit, but that is due in large part to the video (I wish that had been included on the disc). Also, I think the album really could have used "You're Pitiful", though much of that same ground is covered in "White and Nerdy".
posted
Argh! My 'Straight Outta Lynwood' disc no longer works in my computer!
I upgraded Windows Media Player to version 10 in order to use it with my new MP3 player to make playlists (it didn't work correctly in the version I had--of course, it STILL doesn't quite work right), but and now the Weird Al disc will not work at all in my computer! Not just with WMP but with my other audio software as well (PowerDVD)! Anyone know how to fix this? WMP says something about a codec, but PowerDVD just acts like it's playing the disc, you hear the first few notes of White N Nerdy and then nothing. I really want to put the songs on my new mp3 player, as well as listen on the computer!
-------------------- Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. Posts: 2110 | From: Chicago, IL | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
I couldn't get it to play on my computer at all. I wanted to rip it to mp3 so I could put it on my player, but no dice. Fortunately a friend of mine also bought the cd and WAS able to manage it through some feat of techno wizardry that is beyond my liberal arts background. At any rate, I have it on CD and on MP3 now. Yay!
Mack da "and listening to the CD in my 5.1 surroundsound DVD system is awesome!" Knife
posted
Hmmm -- I had no problem with playing and ripping the CD side of the disc in my computer, or watching the videos on the DVD side. I haven't been able to get the lyrics to display on the insturmental "karaoke" versions, though.
posted
Zero problem here ripping the CD and transferring it to my iPod.
-------------------- Come on, come on - spin a little tighter Come on, come on - and the world's a little brighter Posts: 5595 | From: Columbus, OH : The Soccer Capital of America | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Macheath: Also, I think the album really could have used "You're Pitiful", though much of that same ground is covered in "White and Nerdy".
I solve this one easily enough -- when I burned a copy of the CD to listen to in my truck (I always prefer to keep the originals at home, in case of damage or theft), I inserted "You're Pitiful" between "Weasel Stomping Day" and "Close But No Cigar." Works fairly well.
I have thought about emailing Al and asking where the track would have gone on the album, and if another track might have been omitted (his last five albums have all had exactly 12 tracks, though earlier ones have ranged from 10 to 13). But I haven't actually done so yet.
ETA: From reading some of the Q&A on his website, I get the impression it was originally supposed to be the "lead parody" and I kind of infer that "White & Nerdy" was the replacement track. If so, I have to thank Atlantic Records for stepping in: while "You're Pitiful" is funny, "White & Nerdy" (and particularly the video) is much better. And since Al released the former via download anyway, we get both! (Though it seems to have delayed the release of the CD by two or three months.)
EATA: Apparently the CD managed to debut at number 10 on the Billboard charts -- Al's first top ten album ever! And "White & Nerdy" put Al in the top 30 of the singles chart for the first time since "Eat It." And, the video debuted at number 5 in VH1's Top 20 countdown. As Al told his fans on his blog, "You guys sure know how to stuff a ballot box, don't you?"
posted
I just got it for my birthday and I like it a little more than "Poodle hat". I think it took me a few times to get into "Poodle Hat". With this one I liked the songs off the bat.
-------------------- It's like they took a bunch of movies, put them in a blender and turned it on really fast!-Mystery Science Theater 3000 Posts: 2603 | From: Magna, Utah | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
I saw on iTunes yesterday that "White and Nerdy" was their number 4 single.
I agree that "You're Pitiful" should have been on the disc, but not at the loss of "White and Nerdy". Simple solution for me, though - I've tagged "You're Pitiful" as being on the disc in iTunes.
I have to say I'm disappointed with "Trapped in the Drive-Thru". It's funny to listen to once, but it doesn't hold up after that.
-------------------- Come on, come on - spin a little tighter Come on, come on - and the world's a little brighter Posts: 5595 | From: Columbus, OH : The Soccer Capital of America | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Macheath: Also, I think the album really could have used "You're Pitiful"
I seriously disagree. You're Pitiful is a very weak song. The album is stronger without it.
I probably like it because I'm at least familiar with the original song. I don't listen to much hip hop or rap (or any of the zillion offshoots out there), so while I appreciate the jokes in the song "White & Nerdy", I don't appreciate the actual parody on the level I otherwise would.
I should also add that "You're Beautiful" isn't a song I typically listen to either, but I'm more likely to hear that on one of the radio stations I tune into once in a while than any hip hop or rap.
On a related note, in a recent interview Al mentioned it is getting harder and harder to choose songs to parody because there are fewer crossover hits. His goal is to not only make funny music but also to parody songs that have the widest audience, and these days music is so compartmentalized that it is a challenge to find songs, particularly early in their release cycle, that reach multiple audiences.
quote:On a related note, in a recent interview Al mentioned it is getting harder and harder to choose songs to parody because there are fewer crossover hits. His goal is to not only make funny music but also to parody songs that have the widest audience, and these days music is so compartmentalized that it is a challenge to find songs, particularly early in their release cycle, that reach multiple audiences.
I can see how that is. He wants to appeal to kids as well as adults. Sop he can't really do something by Tim Mcgraw or Celine Dion.
-------------------- It's like they took a bunch of movies, put them in a blender and turned it on really fast!-Mystery Science Theater 3000 Posts: 2603 | From: Magna, Utah | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
It's not so much kids and adults, as it is that music is so segmented that people in te same age group can be completely unaware of hits in other genres. It is very easy to load your music collection with rap and never know who Kelly Clarkson is. Vice versa - I know a lot of pop music, but I had to google "Ridin'". It's not a lack of cultural awareness, it's an issue of there simply being more culture to absorb than there has been in the past.
-------------------- "One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings." -- Diogenes
"Vote Republican! We won't burn you at the stake for your religious beliefs or slaughter your family and steal your land." -- Ramblin' Dave Posts: 3555 | From: Florida | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Macheath: I probably like it because I'm at least familiar with the original song.
I'm more familiar with it, too - I was familiar enough with You're Beautiful to generally know what You're Pitiful would sound like before I heard it, whereas I'd never heard of Ridin' or Chamillionaire until looking for the source of White and Nerdy. But I still think White and Nerdy is the stronger of the two songs.
It's just that You're Beautiful, and thus You're Pitiful are just so horrifically insipid, musically, that the lyrics can't save it from being more annoying than entertaining.
posted
I love "Virus Alert". I always makes me smile.
-------------------- It's like they took a bunch of movies, put them in a blender and turned it on really fast!-Mystery Science Theater 3000 Posts: 2603 | From: Magna, Utah | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
First, "white And Nerdy" is probably the best parody that Al has made since "Smells Like Nirvana." Who knew that he had such mad skills on the mike? On the dual disc format: Hate it. It does not conform to the redbook (cd) standard, and does not play well with all cd players, or even all dvd players.
-------------------- "We take evil really seriously" Posts: 175 | From: Tokyo, Japan | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
First, "white And Nerdy" is probably the best parody that Al has made since "Smells Like Nirvana." Who knew that he had such mad skills on the mike? On the dual disc format: Hate it. It does not conform to the redbook (cd) standard, and does not play well with all cd players, or even all dvd players.
-------------------- "We take evil really seriously" Posts: 175 | From: Tokyo, Japan | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
This is the first video I used to test out my new iPod video. The irony of watching it on the nerdy little portable screen enhances the experience. I think a PDA would have to be the optimal viewing experience. iTunes doesn't have a great selection of his music videos either, so this requires the additionally nerdy step of acquiring it in mpg and knowing how to convert that to mp4.
Posts: 2018 | From: Santa Barbara, California | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Okay, I'm at a loss here. What band is Al parodying for I'll Sue Ya?
-------------------- Tom, we're flying a giant robot into space! "Safe" isn't the first word that springs to mind! - Colleen, Last Hope, Vol.2 Posts: 2710 | From: Meet me in St. Louis | Registered: Mar 2004
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