Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch

[ThewEiRdOne27]

Al was probably less enthused about the song. It's usually not like him to detract from a song, but maybe he figured fans wouldn't really care one way or another.

Only Al knows for sure.

[scottidog]

I'm not sure that I agree with your premise.

1) Lyrically and comedy-wise, it's just not as clever, funny, or imaginative as most of his stuff. 

Al has his hits and misses. I actually think some of the stuff in this song is very funny. She eats like she's got a hole in her neck? Come on, that's funny!

2) Musically, it sounded more like something that would have been on his debut album, with the musical hands and so on. 

To quote our boy "Come on, I could only change the words."

3) Vocally, not only did he not attempt to duplicate Lauper's singing (which, granted, is very unique and difficult to imitate), but he sang in that really obnoxious, annoying voice.

Al didn't try to imitate Madonna's voice. Or Avril's either for that matter. Generally speaking, Al avoids doing songs made popular by female artists for the obvious reason that he can't imitate their sound. He has said so in interviews and in the Ask Al archives.

As for that obnoxious voice? Well, in the early years he did that a lot. Thankfully he's gained more skill and more confidence in his voice that we rarely hear that voice out of him anymore.

So here's my question:  Did Al intentionally make the song so weak as a way of sticking it to the record company?  Was the song done poorly out of spite?  What do you guys think?

Again, even Al has hits and misses. He may not have wanted to do the song, and he has said that's the last time he allowed himself to be forced into doing something he didn't want to do on an album, but I really think he gave it his best effort. His heart may not have been in it 100%, but I think once he agreed to do it he didn't slack. It's more likely that the reason he really didn't want to do it in the first place is that he knew it wouldn't support a great parody. He's got a pretty good feel for these things. Too bad Scotti Bros. didn't trust him.

Mama Bear

[weirdallie27]

I'm not sure that I agree with your premise.

1) Lyrically and comedy-wise, it's just not as clever, funny, or imaginative as most of his stuff. 

Al has his hits and misses. I actually think some of the stuff in this song is very funny. She eats like she's got a hole in her neck? Come on, that's funny!

Yea- I agree. That's a great line!

~Allison

[Cinnamon]

quote >So here's my question: Did Al intentionally make the song so weak as a way of sticking it to the record company? Was the song done poorly out of spite? What do you guys think?<

Is that the kind of person Al is?

No.

>3) Vocally, not only did he not attempt to duplicate Lauper's singing (which, granted, is very unique and difficult to imitate), but he sang in that really obnoxious, annoying voice.<

Many people thought *her* voice was obnoxious and annoying.

>2) Musically, it sounded more like something that would have been on his debut album, with the musical hands and so on. <

How could that be bad? His debut album is great!

>1) Lyrically and comedy-wise, it's just not as clever, funny, or imaginative as most of his stuff. <

To me it was and is extremely funny. Timelessly funny. (Last time I checked many female peoples were still in the habit of eating lunch)

>We know the story about GJWHL. Al didn't want to do a Cyndi Lauper parody, but the record company demanded it because of her enormous popularity, so Al did it. <

It made me sad to read about that years and years later. I had no idea he was forced into it, so I suppose he could have harbored some resentment.

Passengers in my car at the time had to listen to the song...over and over - hehe I always liked it. And still do. It never sounded inferior in any way to me.

[anthontherun]

I think that even if Al didn't want to do a song, he would still give 110% for the fans.

[scottidog]

Well at least 100% anyway. But yeah, I think so too. Because like it or not, his name is still attached to it. And his fans are still going to shell out cash for it. He's not going to slack.

[weirdallie27]

I think that even if Al didn't want to do a song, he would still give 110% for the fans.

No he wouldn't! Hehehehe- It's not possible to give more than 100%, remember?

~Allison

[anthontherun]

I wrote that because I thought someone would say that line from the Simpsons baseball episode

[stupidsurgeon27]

I like the song, it's not my favorite, but I like it still. Afterall, some of those phrases my family would say they describe me.

-CindyBob

[Bruce the Duck]

Scottidog, you don't need to get defensive over it (Mama Bear?). I'm not critisizing Al for it. In fact, if he DID deliberately create a song below his ability level, I wouldn't blame him. In all of the other songs on DTBS, he did them to the best of his ability and most of them became instant classics because of it. However, GJWHL has always seemed out of place on that album because it is so inferior to the others.

Yes, there are a few decent jokes in the song, but nothing in comparison to the quality of LAS, IWAND, or the originals on the album. Even Yoda, which was written long before the album came out was much better than GJWHL.

As far as the "I can't change the music too" defense, I don't think there was anything wrong with the original music. However, just like the vocals, Al did not perform it to the standards of the rest of the parodies on the album. The song sounds very cheap and just thrown together at the last minute. And by comparing the music to the sound of the debut album, I am not critisizing the debut album. It is great for its unique, different sound. However, it was a time before Al really defined his sound and style. From In 3-D on, he strived to create parodies that SOUNDed as much like the originals as possible, but GJWHL was extremely weak in this area.

So, the question remains: Was the reason that he recorded the song this way related to the fact that he was forced to do it. Personally, I think it's a safe bet.

I suppose a follow up question could be "Was Al also pressured into doing a Soul Asylum parody?