It's that time of our lives again. The parody composer Weird Al Yankovic has released his latest album "Mandatory Fun." Upon listening to it, I was left with one feeling: Why are people obsessed with this guy? He did a lot of good songs, but there's a lot of untapped material that I am unaware of. For the next two weeks, I will be listening and reviewing each day Weird Al's discography from "'Weird Al' Yankovic" to "Mandatory Fun" with thoughts on the highs and lows and answer the eternal question: Do I LOVE Weird Al Yet?
Album: "Mandatory Fun"
Release Date: July 15, 2014
Record Label: RCA
Preconceived Notions: This is the album that started the whole plight to figure out if I LOVED Weird Al. You want to know why? Upon initial listen, I was very unimpressed. At best, the music seemed goofy and met the predictable novelty concept that I had understood Weird Al to be. While he is an entertaining fellow on podcasts and during interviews, I had issues finding much to like about "Mandatory Fun" to the point that I decided to figure out if this was relative to one album or an entire career that I had overlooked. As shown by the past two weeks, it is kind of in the middle of both.
Tracks:
Tracks:
- Handy
- Lame Claim to Fame
- Foil
- Sports Song
- Word Crimes
- My Own Eyes
- Now That's What I Call Polka!
- Mission Statement
- Inactive
- First World Problems
- Tacky
- Jackson Park Express
Best Song: "Word Crimes"
The only definable hit on this album is a song that I feel encapsulates what Weird Al parodies SHOULD be striving for. They don't exist solely to parody food or TV, but an aspect of society that is in need of professional criticism. Nothing is more apropos of this than this song, which is a language lecture set to music in ways that are inspired. Of every song in which Weird Al tackles modern culture, this one is easily the best for its sheer creativity and dedication to doing something creative.
Worst Song: "Inactive"
I am just putting this out there: I really hated this song. If you have been paying attention to my criticisms of Weird Al over the past two weeks, you will find that I am not favorable to his food songs. This is technically the next step up from that and is in many ways a more cynical version of "Fat." As the song suggests, it is chronicling the day of someone who doesn't do anything with their lives. From the opening line "I'm waking up in Cheetos dust," there is a sense of desperation to this song that is basically insulting obesity without doing anything clever with it. "Foil" by comparison is saintly. Along with it just being set to a non-complimentary Imagine Dragons song "Radioactive," there isn't much here to like nor keep from wanting to take back every nice thing that I have said about him recently.
Was That a Parody?: "First World Problems"
The song is supposedly a parody of The Pixies. In truth, it is my fault for not being familiar with the band and thus not having much of a basis for the song. It is done in a very strange way that ends up recalling the early 90's songs of Weird Al. The song itself is grating and reflects a more tolerable version of what this album is: insulting egotists. Where Weird Al being self-effacing has some charm, him just insulting the audience with his menial problems just does very little. Yes, it is a tragic reflection of the era, but it is all so brutal and cynical that I cannot find the essential nature of it.
Strangest Song: "Jackson Park Express"
Continuing in the vein of "Albuquerque" or "Genius in France," Weird Al ends the album with an epic strange song that is meant to substitute laughs for absurd phrasings and conceptual challenges. It is a romantic ditty that recalls in some ways "I Wanna B Ur Lovr," if it actually had innovation. The song itself is fine and meets all of the right cues. However, it does push the limits of Weird Al's romantic side while also doing sort of creepy things that would likely get him bumped off in most situations. It is a silly song with a lot of great moments, but it doesn't feel quite as essential as "Albuquerque."
Great Notes: Maybe not great, but this is reported to be his last album, thus ending a record contract with his label of 32 years. Who knows what he will do next.
Final Thoughts: I will admit that I liked it better the second time around. Having become familiar with his approach to parodying songs, I know what to look for and what to admire. Maybe I feel that this album's downfall is essentially that it is a little desperate to be loved. He comes out of the gate with goofy lines ("Tacky"), and it doesn't have the same zeal it once did. Even then, "Handy" and "Word Crimes" enter interesting territory as he skewers modern culture. However, it also features some sincere clunkers like "Inactive" and "Mission Statement" that are immediately regrettable. It is a mixed bag and doesn't do justice to a profound career. Maybe it is reflective that some of the material's dated feel comes from the record label having disputes with content releases, but still this is a strange thing going on. I like that it isn't as dated as it could have been with pop culture references, but at the same time, his targets are a little less interesting than they normally are. He almost seems like a bully in some of them, asking you to laugh at blatant statements.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Do I LOVE Weird Al Yet?: I think so, though the latter day Weird Al sort of pales in comparison even to his work a few years ago. He's still a great guy with a lot to offer, but he's definitely run the novelty album dry by this point.
Polka Ranking (All Albums)
1. "Polka Power!" (from "Running with Scissors" - 1999)
2. "Polkarama!" (from "Straight Outta Lynwood" - 2006)
3. "Now That's What I Call Polka!" (from "Mandatory Fun" - 2014)
4. "Polka Your Eyes Out" (from "Off the Deep End" - 1992)
5. "Polka Face" (from "Alpocalypse" - 2011)
6. "Polkas on 45" (from "'Weird Al' Yankovic in 3-D" - 1984)
7. "Angry White Boy Polka" (from "Poodle Hat" - 2003)
8. "The Alternative Polka" (from "Bad Hair Day" - 1996)
9. "The Hot Rocks Polka" (from "UHF" - 1989)
10. "Bohemian Polka" (from "Alpalooza" - 1993)
11. "Polka Party!" (from "Polka Party! - 1986)
2. "Polkarama!" (from "Straight Outta Lynwood" - 2006)
3. "Now That's What I Call Polka!" (from "Mandatory Fun" - 2014)
4. "Polka Your Eyes Out" (from "Off the Deep End" - 1992)
5. "Polka Face" (from "Alpocalypse" - 2011)
6. "Polkas on 45" (from "'Weird Al' Yankovic in 3-D" - 1984)
7. "Angry White Boy Polka" (from "Poodle Hat" - 2003)
8. "The Alternative Polka" (from "Bad Hair Day" - 1996)
9. "The Hot Rocks Polka" (from "UHF" - 1989)
10. "Bohemian Polka" (from "Alpalooza" - 1993)
11. "Polka Party!" (from "Polka Party! - 1986)
12. "Hooked on Polkas" (from "Dare to Be Stupid" - 1985)
Ranking (All Albums)
1. Running with Scissors (1999)
2. Straight Outta Lynwood (2006)
3. Dare to Be Stupid (1985)
4. Off the Deep End (1992)
5. Bad Hair Day (1996)
6. "Weird Al" Yankovic (1983)
7. Alapalooza (1993)
8. Even Worse (1988)
2. Straight Outta Lynwood (2006)
3. Dare to Be Stupid (1985)
4. Off the Deep End (1992)
5. Bad Hair Day (1996)
6. "Weird Al" Yankovic (1983)
7. Alapalooza (1993)
8. Even Worse (1988)
9. Alpocalypse (2011)
10. Mandatory Fun (2014)
11. UHF (1989)
12. "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (1984)
13. Polka Party! (1986)
14. Poodle Hat (2003)
15. Peter and the Wolf (1988)
UP NEXT: The Retrospective
10. Mandatory Fun (2014)
11. UHF (1989)
12. "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (1984)
13. Polka Party! (1986)
14. Poodle Hat (2003)
15. Peter and the Wolf (1988)
UP NEXT: The Retrospective
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