Chamillionaire. Green Day. Usher. Cake. R. Kelly. These artists, varied though they are, have just received what might be the highest acclamation the music industry can offer. These artists are parodied on the new "Weird Al" Yankovic album.
Two decades since releasing his first album, and with three Grammys and five platinum records under his belt, Yankovic is not only still around but still hilarious. His new release, Straight Outta Lynwood, is heavy on rap and rock parodies, so listeners should recognize many chart-toppers from the past two years with a touch of Yankovic's trademark humor.
If you've heard any track from the album already, it would be "White & Nerdy," widely circulated through YouTube. Al's take on Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" describes his desire to "roll with the gangstas" which is hampered by his action-figure collecting, Wikipedia-editing, Klingon-speaking ways. Amazingly, Yankovic's rapping is impressive, especially the rapid-fire lines, "I memorized Holy Grail really well / I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL."
Most of the style parodies are dead on. "I'll Sue Ya," a Metallica-style metal piece about petty lawsuits, and "Pancreas," a tribute to the enzyme secreting organ in the style of former Beach Boys songwriter Brian Wilson, are both excellent. "Close But No Cigar," a play on the sound of alt-rock band Cake, is a near miss without the robotic vocals of lead singer John McCrea but otherwise hits the mark.
The parodies of R&B singers Usher and R. Kelly get some laughs as well. "Confessions Part III" has Yankovic recalling a stream of bizarre confessions, such as falsely claiming to know Pauly Shore and blowing his nose on a cat. "Trapped in the Drive-Thru," clocking in at a whopping 10:51, is a painstakingly detailed account of a trip to get a burger, and the combination of inanity and blow-by-blow narration is hilarious. Listen for the Led Zepplin tease.
Easily, the best track on the album is the trademark "Weird Al" polka, this time bringing together Franz Ferdinand, Gorillaz, The Killers and Kayne West, among others. Weezer's "Beverly Hills" gets a banjo countermelody, Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" sounds like a hoe-down and Yankovic's version of "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent loses all its vulgarity when accompanied by a clarinet. Whether you love or hate the individual songs, the result is another highly entertaining medley.
Despite Yankovic's brilliant parodies, it would be tough to encourage a college audience to spend their hard earned cash on what is essentially a novelty album. Fortunately, Straight Outta Lynwood has some added bang for the collegiate buck -- the album is a DualDisc format, with a CD side and a DVD side. The DVD contains the album in 5.1 surround sound, animated videos for six tracks, a making-of featurette and (bizarrely) a karaoke mix. That should be enough to convince fans and the Al-curious to follow the last track's exhortation, "Don't Download This Song."
"Weird Al" has once again proved he's no less relevant now than he was when he was parodying Michael Jackson in the 1980s. While you might have grown up, Yankovic's takes on the hits of today are still worth a good laugh and many listens. If nothing else, buy it for your kid brother... then borrow it.
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