File Under: TV, Hit Song Parody of the "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats
Music Video: No
Best lyric: "I've been nice, I've been good, please don't do this to me/ Turn it off, turn it off, I don't want to have to see/ The Brady Bunch"
This song is a "cheese-ception". It's a cheesy TV Show, a cheesy original song, and an even cheesier parody. But, Al makes it decent due to his exasperated delivery and his ability to turn nothing into something.
Best Lyrics:
Ain't gonna work in de field no more, no, no
Gonna be Amway distributor
Ja
(Ja, ja, ja, life is so very hard)
I need a, Ja
(Ja, ja, ja jacuzzi in me back yard)
This was never a favorite of mine in the past, but I realized the subtle humor of it recently. The rastaman stereotype is turned on it's head, and instead of the people that wanted to drop out and live the laid-back lifestyle, this guy just wants to become a suburbanite. The lyrical part I chose is also a little interlude that's the most interesting instrumental passage of the song as well. This song is incredibly dated though, and that hurts its appeal quite a bit.
That's right Al--you lost!
And let me tell what you didn't win: a twenty-volume set of the Encyclopedia International
A case of Turtle Wax, and a year's supply of Rice-a-Roni
The San Francisco treat
But that's not all! You also made yourself look like a jerk in front of millions of people!
And you brought shame and disgrace on your family name for generations to come!
You don't get to come back tomorrow!
You don't even get a lousy copy of our home game!
You're a complete loser!!
Best Part in Video: One of the questions says, "This German Baroness could suck the chrome off a fender."
Believe it or not, this was the only other single from the album besides the monumental "Eat It", which is pretty funny. Not only because we're talking about the Greg Kihn Band vs. Michael Jackson, but also because the subject matter was dated for the time. Jeopardy actually hadn't been on TV since 1975, but the lyrics fit the song, so of course Al would write the song anyway. It's actually a great song musically (I've got a single of the original song actually) and the video is great. According to wikipedia, it even may have had something to do with the show being revived a year later in 1984, but their are no primary sources on that.
"Jocko Homo" by Devo
"Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple
"Sex (I'm A...)" by Berlin
"Hey Jude" by The Beatles
"L.A. Woman" by The Doors
"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly
"Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix
"Burning Down The House" by Talking Heads
"Hot Blooded" by Foreigner
"Bubbles In The Wine" by Lawrence Welk
"Every Breath You Take" by The Police
"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" by The Clash
"Jumping Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones
"My Generation" by The Who
Music Video: No
Best lyric: "I'm a little girl, when we make love together."
Oh boy, the polkas. Every Al fan knows that the polkas are where it's at. It's the most fun to listen to with all of the wacky sound effects the seemless creativity of mashing all of these things into one song and making it work. It's really impressive if you break down what all goes in making one of these tracks, and if you can't enjoy Al's polkas, then he's probably not the artist for you. Anyways, this one is amazing from the start. Although most of the songs in this medley were hits, Al starts it off with freaking "Jocko Homo" by Devo. Not a hit, not even a song that most people had probably heard, but it's such a great one. That honestly makes this an A+ righ there, but it gets even better with Berlin, Lawrence Welk, and The Doors all getting the polka treatment. SO much fun!
Song Rating: A+
For reference, here's kind of what Al was parodying as well, these bizarre "Stars on 45" records that made artist medleys.
File Under: TV, Original Song, Style Parody of The B52s
Music Video: no
Best lyric: "I wanna Krazy-Glue my head to the bottom of a big steel girder!"
Alright, this is one I've been looking forward to. For me, besides the polkas, Al is at his best when he clearly picked out a band that he admires for a style parody. I don't want to give up too much, but with "Dare to Be Stupid" some people remarked that he out-Devoed Devo. Mark Mothersbaugh even remarked that, "I was in shock. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. He sort of re-sculpted that song into something else and... I hate him for it, basically."
I think Al knocks it out of the park on this song. The stupid novelty products of Ron Popeil make a logical lyrical theme for a style paordy of the kitschy B52s, and the song is The B52s sound distilled down to it's essence. Yes I'm going to rate it higher than "Eat It".
Oh, and he somehow got Ron Popeil's daughter to sing backup vocals on this song? Which is just an extra layer of absurdity.
File Under: Hit song parody of "King of Pain" by The Police
Music Video: no
Best lyric: "You can try on our suede underwear if you choose."
I don't have much to say on this one. The subject matter is underwhelming, but the instrumental is actually really good, and it takes the original and adds some new elements to it with a string section. Later in his catalog I think Al has a better song inspired by The Police anyway.
Best lyric:
"Picking teams, he would always be last
He couldn't run very far, he couldn't think very fast
If he was on your side, you'd always lose
That guy had a problem, even tying his shoes"
A song about a dude who's a complete loser, but everyone likes him, because he can dance. It's a fun little song, but it's ultimately not very memorable.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Every Al fan knows that the polkas are where it's at. It's the most fun to listen to with all of the wacky sound effects the seemless creativity of mashing all of these things into one song and making it work. It's really impressive if you break down what all goes in making one of these tracks, and if you can't enjoy Al's polkas, then he's probably not the artist for you. Anyways, this one is amazing from the start. Although most of the songs in this medley were hits, Al starts it off with freaking "Jocko Homo" by Devo. Not a hit, not even a song that most people had probably heard, but it's such a great one. That honestly makes this an A+ righ there, but it gets even better with Berlin, Lawrence Welk, and The Doors all getting the polka treatment. SO much fun!
