Let's Use This For Something Useful

Howdy all,

Have finally figured out something for which this blog can actually be used - to review a new CD!

The CD on review today is Straight Outta Lynwood, by Weird Al' Yankovic. Picked it up this morning as a bit of a treat for myself (i have a job now, so can afford to buy something for once!) and, after two full listenings (and a third which is taking place as i write this) i (finally) feel qualified to write my review of this CD.



Coming three years after his last (phenomenal, in my opinion) album, Poodle Hat, this CD sees Weird Al (just Al from now on) do 5 direct parodies, the obligatory Polka medley of various famous songs and 6 originals. First off, let's go through each track.

1. 'White and Nerdy'
Apparently this is a parody of a famous RnB song by some guy called Chamillionaire (what a wanky name), but i have never heard the original. As such, this track is through-and-through in the RnB-style, which upon a first listening is incredibly annoying (for anybody who dislikes RnB, that is, which i assume to be 99% of the population). However, after a few listens the fantastic lyrics of this song, about a 'White and Nerdy' guy who just wants to 'roll with the homies', really come out and make you forget that it is an RnB-ish song (which, i have discovered, sound great on my stereo).
To get the most from this song, you really need to have seen the film clip for it. This being the 'single' track from the album, Al has made another of his brilliant film clips which, thanks to the recent innovations of sites such as YouTube and Google Video, is avaliable on the net for easy viewing! Check it out here.

Many of the lyrics i connect with (no, not the bubble wrap, you sicko!), and it is a fantastic parody which really ridicules the 'Gangsta' stereotype. Is good!

2. Pancreas
An Al original, this song is, to be perfectly honest, really stupid...which is great! In true form, Al has written an ode to his favourite bodily organ. Its ridiculous, silly and highly catchy. It's something you really just have to hear.

3. Canadian Idiot
As you might have guessed, this is a parody of Green Day's recent and highly popular hit, American Idiot. Same tune (like, exactly the same. Al has a really good band.), lyrics tailored to make fun of all the Canadian stereotypes - hockey, maple syrup, mooses, Celine Dion, curling and their use of Celsius! Al also makes some more subtle remarks about his own country (the US of A) - Canadians don't even bring their guns to the mall, how ridiculous! Ends in Al mockingly calling for a pre-emptive strike on his northern neighbour, because things are too good there.

Not the best song on the album (it relies too heavily on the already-catchy American Idiot tune, instead of clever lyrics), but definitely not the worst.

4.I'll Sue Ya
An original, but with a 'Hard Rock Headbanging Linkin Park Fred Durst rock-rap' sound (not good at all, i assure you) all about ridiculous things people sue each other over. Could have been much better - the lyrics are too bland, and the music itself is horrible. I'll be skipping this one.

5. Polkarama!
The ever-popular Al Polka Parody track, included on all his recent albums. Take c.10 recent, famous songs, choose just their well-known lyrics, and sing them in a ridiculous way, all set to Polka music. Far too much fun for one song! This time round, it features snippets of Take Me Out (Franz Ferdinand), Let's Get It Started (The Black Eyed Peas), Don't Cha (The Pussycat Dolls) and Candy Shop (50 Cent), among many others. One of the best songs on this album (they always are!), if only for the fact that it makes the lyrics of so many popular songs sound really really stupid.

6.Virus Alert
A song for nerds or anybody else who constantly gets emails warning them of the latest mega-computer virus which is threating mankind. This particular virus will do many horrible things to you, my favourite being 'make you physically attracted to Sheep'. A wonderful song, very 'Al' in style. It won't get much attention, but i really like it :). Just be sure not to open any email with the title 'Stinky Cheese' - you have been warned!

7. Confessions Part III
Apparently Usher has released two songs detailing his confessions to some woman, Confessions Part I and Confessions Part II. I just read an interview (see, i do research! Its found here) in which Al said that, upon hearing both of Usher's songs, he couldn't help but feel as if Usher had been leaving out some stuff from his 'confessions'... so he decided to write a part three! Vomiting on the woman's dog, not changing his underwear for 27 days, peeing in her sink and fantasising about a midget when kissing her, its a wonder this unknown woman has put up with him this far! A very funny song, again in the RnB style.

8. Weasel Stomping Day
Definitely not a song for the animal lovers out there, this track details the joys of Weasel Stomping Day, where you 'spread the mayonnaise on the lawn', 'put on your Viking helmet' and 'stomp a weasel's gut's right out' - basically, a weasely version of Whacking Day (think Simpsons). I'm not a fan of animal cruelty, but this is an amusing song. Sounding like a Christmas carol this song is sure to get many people fired up. Maybe Weasels are a problem pest in the states, like Cane Toads are down here?

9. Close But No Cigar
The song for any man who is just never happy with the woman he is with, constantly finding silly faults with a person who seems to be perfect. Take Janet, a woman with 'a body hotter than a habanero', 'lips like a ripe pomegranite' and 'a smile so incredibly radiant you had to watch it through a piece of smoked glass', yet who just isn't good enough, as she owned a copy of Joe Dirt on DVD. Or Julie, a 'world famous billionaire bikini supermodel astrophysicist' who made Charlize Theron look like a 'big fat slobberin' pig' who had one earlobe slightly larger than the other. Close, but no cigar. Very funky and catchy, funny to listen to, one of the best songs on this album. Oh, and don't worry A, i'm not going anywhere!

10. Do I Creep You Out?
A ballad (which, in true boy-band style, reaches a climactic, harmonic peak, being a parody of 'Do I Make You Proud' by Taylor Hicks) about what i assume to be every girl's nightmare - a guy madly in love with a woman he hardly knows, collecting her discarded gum, feeling the warm spots on her chair, wanting to suck her fingers, carve her name into his leg and sniff the pit stains on her blouse. Very funny.

11. Trapped in the Drive-Thru
This is the epic song found on every Al album (think Albuquerque on Running with Scissors, or Bob on Poodle Hat), and, to be honest, it sucks. This song parodies 'Trapped in the Closet' by R. Kelly, and while i haven't heard that song, from what i hear it is a wierd song to begin with. As such, Al tries to make his version the exact opposite, and the end result is an 11-minute description of a married couple's trip to the drive-thru of a famous fast food chain. While it does have the usual story-like feel to it, most famously seen in Albuquerque, the deliberate mundaneness of the story makes it painful to listen to, as does the damned annoying RnB 'beat' (read: drone) in the background. Reading the lyrics is worthwhile (they take 3 pages!), but listening to the song more than once is not advised. Just listen to Albuquerque instead, it is far more enjoyable :)

12. Don't Download This Song
A fantastic way to end the album, this track is (mockingly) all about why not to steal music from the 'net. This one im not going to comment too much on as, in a further parody of the topic Al is singing about, the song is avaliable for free download! http://www.dontdownloadthissong.com/ (click the picture). I like it :)

That's it for the tracks which are on the album. However, there is one track which has failed to make it to the album which deserves mention - You're Pitiful, a parody of James Blunt's 'You're Beautiful'. Blunt's record company asked Al not to include the track on the album, as they felt it would damage Blunt's image, so Al complied...and instead released it to an even wider audience by making it avaliable for free on the 'net (one host being here). Be sure to download it and (after you have bought Straight Outta Lynwood) add it to the album when you burn your to-be-played copy (which you should be doing to save your originals from being scratched!), as it really does belong in the mix.

All up, i have enjoyed this CD. Yes, it has a couple of tracks which i will be skipping from now on, but the vast majority of the album is enjoyable. Oh, and i haven't mentioned it yet, but it comes with 2 discs, the secong being a DVD with 6 film clips and a behind-the-scenes documentary. The cover and booklet art is also brilliant, really mocking the 'gangsta' culture. If you have liked Al at all in the past, you should find some enjoyment in owning this album.

Tom