World of Weird Al Yankovic

I don't like Mission Statement. It's too boring.

Sports Song.. it just isn't my thing.

Mission Statement is a bit boring but musically I love it. I think Jackson Park Express is far more boring, but still funny. I was expecting some more adventure from it, along the lines of Biggest Ball of Twine In Minnesota and Albuquerque. Again, musically Its awesome, and I laugh every time but its too slow to end the album with and the chorus would have been cooler with more adventurous verses and sounds. All in all though, love this album just like all the others!

I like Mission Statement.It's like BOB,where the lyrics themselves are not exactly hilarious,but hearing Al take on a classic artist's style with something completely nonsensical is funny enough in it's own right.

SharriSCOTS wrote:I don't like Mission Statement. It's too boring.

I've become sort of the resident Mission Statement defender here, so maybe my spiel will at least convince you to think about the song differently:

This isn't a joke-filled song like most of the others. It's more of a conceptual thing, and I get that some people aren't into that. First, it's important that it's a style parody of Crosby, Stills & Nash, who were known for their anti-establishment politics and extremely pointed protest songs ("Chicago" and "Ohio" with Neil Young in particular.) Just the fact that the lyrics are nothing but corporate buzzwords set to the tune of one of the most anti-corporate bands ever is humorous in itself, but it goes even deeper than that.

The people who used to protest along with CSN and sing along with their songs are now all middle-age or older adults, and a large percentage of them are now (or have been) in meetings spewing this nonsensical jargon on a daily basis. Some of them are even responsible for its existence in the first place. I see this song as Al showing them where they came from and where they ended up at the same time. And the two are so disparate, it's hilarious.

Anyway, that's my time. I'll see myself out.

Yeah,that's a real good analysis of it,Skippy!

Skippy wrote:

Wizzerkat wrote:For me it's going to be Mission Statement. Musically it's very good, but the lyrics just aren't funny to me. I wish he had picked a better subject matter.

The lyrics aren't supposed to be riotously funny on their own (although I do think there's humor in them.) The main humor in the song is from the juxtaposition of the target (anti-establishment CSN) and the subject matter (strings of corporate buzzwords.) The underlying message is that the fans who once sang along with CSN in protest of rampant capitalism and the military industrial complex are now, for the most part, entrenched in that exact same world. It's subtle, but pretty biting.

But also consider that unlike "Bob," which is just a collection of barely related palindromes (and yes, I know there's a point to that too), "Mission Statement" is structured more like a traditional song, with repeated words and phrases like "synergy" and "monetize our assets." Al has essentially taken the most cliche-ridden office meeting and transformed it into an anthem for a sit-in.

It's a much subtler kind of humor than, say, a fart noise in the polka, but to me it's infinitely funnier, and I gladly accept my new role as Guy Who Defends Mission Statement.

I'll be the other guy who defends mission statement. Honestly I don't even really pay close attention to the lyrics when I listen it. I listen to on repeat because its just a well crafted song.

Sports Song is musically good but man, it's just not that funny to me. I get the joke, but it's just...very underwhelming. Easily skipped by me.

Grom wrote:Sports Song is musically good but man, it's just not that funny to me. I get the joke, but it's just...very underwhelming. Easily skipped by me.

It's great, and you suck!

anthontherun wrote:

Grom wrote:Sports Song is musically good but man, it's just not that funny to me. I get the joke, but it's just...very underwhelming. Easily skipped by me.

It's great, and you suck!