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Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 8:24 am
by Good Enough For Now
Imagine a very backwards world in which the film Jurassic Park was a failure and there was no good music to parody between 1992 and 1994. Imagine if Al sat on Alapalooza until he found just the right song, a song that undeniably took the world by storm with a single letter: "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". Imagine if Alapalooza looked a little something like this:

01. Jurassic Park
02. Young, Dumb & Ugly
03. Headline News
04. Frank's 2000" TV
05. Achy Breaky Song
06. Traffic Jam
07. Talk Soup
08. LIvin' in the Fridge
09. She Never Told Me She Was a Mime
10. Bedrock Anthem
11. Harvey the Wonder Hamster
12. Waffle King
13. Bohemian Polka

All I did was add "Headline News" and move "Bedrock Anthem" (this fixes the "Stubble/Rubble" repeat and puts another parody in the back half of the album). It actually flows very well from song to song and I don't think "Headline News" sounds out of place at all. You could even toss one of the less worthy originals if you were so inclined, but I wanted to keep all the original tracks. Try it! Or don't.

Re: Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 9:33 am
by TMBJon
Why is Jurassic Park still on the album if the movie was a flop??

Re: Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 3:18 pm
by Kevbo1987
I agree with Jon. If Jurassic Park were a failure, there's no way Al would have based a lead parody on it.

Re: Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:36 pm
by Good Enough For Now
I knew someone was gonna say that...hey, he had to pay to record it. :P Okay, imagine a very backwards world in which Jurassic Park was a moderate box office flop, or it came out 6 months later and he wasn't compelled to rush-release the album.

Re: Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:48 pm
by Bruce the Duck
I don't think you'd have to imagine a flop in any way. "Jurassic Park" could have just been placed later in the album anyway. I would rework it like this:

1. Headline News
2. Young, Dumb, and Ugly
3. Achy Breaky Song
4. She Never Told Me She Was a Mime
5. Bohemian Polka
6. Traffic Jam
7. Bedrock Anthem
8. Talk Soup
9. Livin in the Fridge
10. Waffle King
11. Jurassic Park
12. Frank's 2000" TV

Moved "Frank" to the end since it's the best original on the album, and moved the polka to more typical polka position. Also removed "Harvey" altogether. It really was a major filler song anyway.

Re: Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:58 pm
by TMBJon
Nope, the album is still a dud with or without Headline News. Though Bruce's track listing is better than the real one. :birthday:

Re: Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 6:19 pm
by Bruce the Duck
TMBJon wrote: :birthday:
Thanks!

And I agree. There wasn't much helping that album. The originals really bring it down. It just goes to show that it's not all about the parodies with Al. The absence of strong originals can damage an album despite having some strong parodies.

But one thing I will say in defense of "Jurassic Park." It was a damn clever idea to combine that song with the topic. The theatrical style of the original - especially during the instrumental section - just seemed like it was made to be parodied in exactly that way. Aside from things like SLN and Rocky XIII, I don't think there's ever been another parody where the style original went with the subject of the parody so well.

It was a horrible choice for the lead single, though, especially as a follow up to "Off the Deep End." It should have definitely been a track 9 or 11 song. It was almost as big of a fumble as calling an album "Polka Party!'"

Re: Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 4:43 am
by Good Enough For Now
Happy birthday, unless that's some private joke! :)

I wasn't sure if "Headline News" would make a good lead track - I put it third because it's also third on the Crash Test Dummies album. I really like the slight modification I made (already listened to the album a few times that way!) but I'll try yours out too.

I'm actually really starting to like his originals on this album. :unsure: "Young, Dumb & Ugly" gets funnier every time I hear it.

Re: Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 4:47 am
by Skippy
The correct answer is: It couldn't make it any worse.

Re: Could "Headline News" improve Alapalooza?

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 5:11 am
by Bruce the Duck
Good Enough For Now wrote: I'm actually really starting to like his originals on this album. :unsure: "Young, Dumb & Ugly" gets funnier every time I hear it.
Yes, I think "Young, Dumb, and Ugly" is excellent, as is "Frank's 2000" TV." I find "Traffic Jam" and "Mime" to be pretty good, and the others to be kind of lame.
Skippy wrote:The correct answer is: It couldn't make it any worse.
Oh, I can make it worse. All you have to do is take any of those songs out and add in a Soul Asylum parody and make it about songs that end with a long E.