Post subject: Reviewing Every Weird Al album Song by Song
This is it. This is the way.
"Ricky"
From the album "Weird Al" Yankovic
File Under: TV Parody, Hit Song Parody
Music Video: Yes
Best lyric: "I'm sick of Fred and Ethel always coming over here/ Cause Fred eats all our pretzel sticks and then he spills his beer"
The first song on Weird Al's first album, but not one of the songs that first made him famous. (Those come a little later) It always seemed strange to me that they didn't lead with "Another One Rides The Bus" or "My Bologna", since those were the songs that people had already heard on Dr. Demento's radio show. Maybe they thought they were overplayed? A parody of Toni Basil's earwormy hit "Mickey", it finds Al at his most simple. Pick something that most everybody knows and make a song about it. The lyrics are second to the instrumental on this track, because the comedy comes more from Tress Macneille's spot on Lucy impression coupled with Al's accordion version of the song. It's not partricularly funny, but it's serviceable in poking a bit of fun at a track that is as annoying as it is catch. Kind of like Lucy herself. The music video is also a first for Al, and I'll let him tell you about the production process.
That (music video) was done in 1983. It was when my first album came out, which was right after MTV debuted. The thing about MTV was it was a 24-hour music-video channel that started back when people weren’t making music videos, so they needed product to fill the pipeline. So it was relatively easy to get played on MTV because they would play anything that wasn’t overtly horrible. The ‘Ricky’ video had very low production value. We made it for a couple thousand dollars. We shot it in somebody’s house in the San Fernando Valley. It really was lacking in not only production but in proper preparation. At one point I was supposed to be shaking maracas, and nobody had remembered to bring maracas, so I grabbed the closest thing that resembled maracas, which was a bowling pin [laughs]. So at one point in the video you see me shaking a bowling pin as fast as I can, hoping that nobody would realize.
Best lyric: "Man, get that boogie out of my face."
This song is about a man that has a booger stuck on his finger. At age 10 I thought it was just about one of the funniest damn things that I had ever heard. And now that I'm 24, it's still pretty damn funny. The disco jam is pretty killer, and Al's accordion playing is on point.
Now this is a fun, and unique thread idea! I'm enjoying it already and sure I will more as we get into the more famous parts of his catalog.
Thanks! I figured it be better for me to do this here instead of just making a word document. Al's the man, and I actually credit his music by making me want to listen to more music, which I'll get to a little later.
"I Love Rocky Road"
From the album "Weird Al" Yankovic
File Under: Food, Hit Song Parody
Music Video: Yes
Best lyric: "And if I get fat and lose my teeth that's fine with me"
Moreso than the first hit song parody by Toni Basil, this silly song, about being obsessed with one particular flavor of ice cream, is a better mockery of the "trying really hard to be badass" Joan Jett song. The music video shows Al growing as well. Two great parts are when the kid bites his leg, and the other is when he yells "oh make it talk" before his blistering accordion solo. An improvement, but still not among his best. Oh, and the handfart guy is amazing
Best lyric: "Aw, bein' heir to the throne, well/ It must be awful hard"
First off, no one is going to tell you that this is their favorite Weird Al song. Even some hardcore Al fans wouldn't know this one, but it's actually pretty clever. Singing about the British monarchy as if their posh lifestyle was blues song worthy is a funny idea. It's not exactly greatly executed, but the premise is sound. It's also pretty funny to here the classic "da na na na na" on the accordion.
File Under: Original Song, Style Parody of Tonio K
Music Video: No
Best lyric: "I guess you know the Earth is gonna crash into the sun, But that's no reason why we shouldn't have a little fun!"
Now Al is starting to get to his real bizarre sense of humor on this Nihilistic birthday song. In the guise of a fun and fast-paced rendition of the traditional birthday song, Al slips into talking about nuclear warfare, poverty, violence, pollution, and corrupt politicians. But, you shouldn't let any of that get you down, because it's your birthday today! A birthday song that would be more appropriate today than ever. The band also cooks on this song, just listen to that bassline! Now, your probably wondering who the hell "Tonio K" is. If you're not an Al fan, you may not realize the obscure artists he decides to do a style parody of on occasion. I would have never found this guy if it weren't for this song. And, if you listen to some of his music, then this totally makes sense. He was power pop/ punky kind of guy with same kind of sense of humor as Al. He often had highly political lyrics, but with a cheery sounding instrumental to go along with it; a style that Al would continue to replicate in future albums.
File Under: Hit Song Parody "Stop Draggin My Heart Around" by Steve Nicks & Tom Petty
Music Video: No
Best lyric: "Guess it's time to trade my old car in/ For twenty dollars and my '64 Plymouth/ Maybe I could get a second-hand Schwinn"
Musically, this is probably the most spot on production on this album. They blended the accordion playing with the actual instrumental really well. But, the story and the lyrics are pretty damn boring, so it's not ever something that gets repeat listens from me.
File Under: Food, Hit Song Parody "My Sharona" by The Knack
Music Video: Kind Of
Best lyric: The impeccably timed burp
The song that started it all was a fun little ditty about a lunchmeat. Al first recorded it in the bathroom of his college Cal Tech. It shows how humble his beginnings were before he was thrust into the spotlight. Doug Fieger, the frontman for The Knack, was actually instrumental in getting the record produced as a single, which shows that even from early on, most musicians found Al's accordion covers to be endearing. Anyways, it's not the funniest song by any means, but it's kind of incredible that Al can seemingly play any riff on an accordion, and he started out with one that's even tricky for guitar players let alone an accordion. There is an early video of Al that was not official that was recorded at his college as well, but I won't give it a rating as it's just him sitting on a stool, but he's playing his hardest dammit!
Would be interested in learning more about his Dr. Demento days. I just heard he got his start there, but nothing more. Maybe he was just a guest once, so end of story, but dunno.
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