World of Weird Al Yankovic

Wow, that's the first time I've seen the polka ranked in last place. Not a fan, mashitandsmashit? By the way, what does your username mean?!?

It was interesting for me to go into this album not knowing any of the parodied songs (with the exception of the hooks in both Royals, and Radioactive). I was kind of going into these songs with the mindset of someone hearing the actual song for the first time ("Brian Posehn - Weird Al," anyone?). So after listening to the album a few times. Here's my rankings:

1. Tacky - Maybe because to me, THIS is the lead single. I had never even heard Happy until I heard Tacky first. I love the music, and the lyrics are funny as well. I'm wondering if there's a little intended irony here though, as "tacky" is kind of a bit of a "tacky" idea of a cover to me. Thus far, it's my favorite song on the album. But this will most likely change within a month or so.

2. Lame Claim to Fame - Surprised I'm putting an original so high up. I usually don't feel this way regarding style parodies, but with his last couple albums, I've noticed this changing (see: Skipper Dan) - despite my unfamiliarity with the style parody artists on this album. It's about time we (society) recognize that having a toaster burn an image of Tiny Tim into a piece of toast ONE TIME, does not make you famous.

3. Inactive - My anthem - I'm lazy, I love to eat, and I'm sweating just typing this. Though I'm not as heavy as I should be, given this information.

4. Foil - Always thought Royals was a catchy song. Really loved that idea of "Spoiled" back in the speculation thread where he ruins all these movies I'll probably never see anyway. Think the parody idea of Foil is kind of lame. But somehow ... Al makes it work.

5. NOW! That's what I call polka - Love the polkas on every album. Most of the 80s songs I know today are because I first heard them in the polkas of way back when. This polka uses larger chunks of full songs (Wrecking Ball, for example), though I'm aware songs such as Closing Time were used just as much. However, I agree with some of the posts I've seen saying that it feels like a minute of music is missing.

6. Handy - The original song is terrible. I was surprised Al went for it. But he made it excellent. It's funny not only to hear him parody the song, but parody the abysmal vocal style of that Iggy Woman.

7. Jackson Park Express - Awesome idea. Love the long songs by Al. I think Trapped in the Drive-Thru, though a direct parody, was genius. This song is excellent. And should probably be further up on the list. But it's not.

8. Word Crimes - Just don't like the original, which definitely affected my bias going in. Another song where I feel Al really nailed the vocal parody.

9. First World Problems - I really feel Al on some of these issues here. I place this original with songs like I'll Sue Ya - ones I listen to when it comes up on shuffle, but not one that I actively search for.

10. My Own Eyes - I'm only putting this here, because it's the only song I've listened to only one time. I remember thinking awesome job capturing Foo Fighters musical style. I can't remember for the life of me what it's about. But I've typed too much to turn back now.

11. Mission Statement - Like the music, dislike the lyrics. It reminds me of Carlin's routine on business talk (the name escapes me).

12. Sports Song - Hate everything about this. Kind of feel let down on that whole "Superbowl" talk thing. Obviously, this song could not be played anywhere. And it will not catch on. It's like the Harvey the Wonder Hamster of this album.

REALLY QUICK MUSIC VIDEO RANK
1. Foil - Hilarious in every way. Even made more sense out of that second verse. First time I heard it, I thought I skipped a verse.
2. Tacky - Biased because I like the song. Can't separate the song from the video. Every time I hear the last chorus, I picture that Jack Black strut. It's hilarious.
3. Mission Statement - Love the artwork.
4. Lame Claim to Fame - I see you Steve Jay. You as well Dr. Demento.
5. Handy - Funny, but kind of tacky (see what I did there?)
6. First World Problems - Video was pretty cool. I can't think of anything else to say. My boss just entered the room, and made me lose my train of thought.
7. Sports Song - Song: Not for me. Video: Funny, in an ironic way. But I'm all set with it.
8. Word Crimes - Excellent concept, excellent work ... but I don't feel like reading the dictionary today.

Well, Well, Well wrote:read it and weep joseyklein.

LOL

Sent from my PantechP9070 using Tapatalk 2

1. Foil
2. Tacky
3. First World Problems
4. NOW That's What I Call Polka!
5. Word Crimes
6. My Own Eyes
7. Lame Claim To Fame
8. Inactive
9. Sports Song
10. Handy
11. Mission Statement
12. Jackson Park Express

This one was tough

So is there much difference between this topic and the review topic?

TMBJon wrote:Wow, that's the first time I've seen the polka ranked in last place. Not a fan, mashitandsmashit? By the way, what does your username mean?!?

You want to know the truth?

The answer to your first question is: I like ALL of Al's songs, and the polka medleys are certainly no exception...I just think some of his songs are better than others, and I tend to rank them based on which ones have the most unique concepts, and which ones he executes the best...This medley, while having its fair share of songs I was looking forward to being in the polka, just didn't sound that fun or interesting compared to previous ones...Which is a shame, because I had a bit of a bias against the last one just because it was loaded with songs that nobody really cared about...But at least it had a fun sound to it! This...not quite...Does it mean I hate it? Hell no! To date, the song of his I consider the weakest (at least after his career took off) is "Girls Just Want to Have Lunch", but even with that song, he did what he could to craft the right lyrics and make it amusing, which is enough to earn 3/5 stars from me...So yeah, to me, there's no such thing as a bad Weird Al song...Just some that aren't as good as others...

The answer to your second question is: I've used this username every chance I got ever since I signed up for Yahoo about a decade ago, because I couldn't think of any other username that wasn't already taken, and I just let my imagination go wild...You might say it's a variation of slice and dice...

I hope I answered everything to your satisfaction...

I'm feeling very satisfied right now after reading your post!

1. Word Crimes
2. Jackson Park Express
3. Lame Claim to Fame
4. Foil
5. Tacky
6. NOW That's What I Call Polka!
7. First World Problems
8. My Own Eyes
9. Sports Song
10. Mission Statement
11. Handy
12. Inactive

Akrovak wrote:I've only been able to listen to the album a couple times so far, and a few of the songs have not had a chance to "sink" in yet ... but as of right now, my song rankings would be ...

1 First World Problems - it was one of the few songs that I actually found myself laughing at upon first listen ... and I think it had more to do with the Pixie "sound" (which was nailed) than anything else.
2 NOW That's What I Call Polka! - the polkas are always enjoyable and sexy ... LADY!
3 Word Crimes - will probably become one of my favorite parodies ever (he took it in a really creative direction).
4 Handy -enjoyable.
5 Tacky - not bad at all.
6 Sports Song - found the "We're Great!" "You Suck!" part pretty funny (and pumped that section up as I was listening to it while driving home from Best Buy)
7 Lame Claim to Fame

The below songs didn't really stand out to me at all upon just a couple listens ... didn't enjoy them, didn't really care about them at all ... as I said, this will probably change after a few more listens ...
t-11 My Own Eyes
t-11 Jackson Park Express
t-11 Foil
t-11 Mission Statement

12 Inactive - I didn't find anything enjoyable at all about this song, and I don't think repeat listens will change that ... and it's kinda weird, because I actually like the source song quite a bit. This just seemed lazy and non inspired and the sound was horrible.

Looking forward to giving the album quite a few more listens.

And after a few more listens, my rankings are a little different ...

1. First World Problems - everything I said above is still true ... now that it has the video to go along with it, it's honestly one of my favorite songs ever (I mean ... like out of all the songs in the WORLD, not just from Al).
2. Word Crimes - right up there with his best parodies ... very creative and awesome.
3. Foil - the video really helped this song, and I enjoy listening to it quite a bit even without the video.
4. NOW That's What I Call Polka! - all of the polkas are great ... I wish this one was a little longer and varied, though.
5. Sports Song - I laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME when I hear the "We're Great" / "You Suck!" section ... and, I enjoyed the video (which didn't seem to have a lot of fans) ... I guess being in a marching band in high school helps with that.
6. Lame Claim to Fame - the video (awesome!) helped me appreciate this song more.
7. Tacky - it's got a good beat and you can dance to it ... gotta order a shirt.
8. Handy - some pretty funny parts, and I would like to see this in concert with parts of Hardware Store.
9. Jackson Park Expressway - probably my least favorite of the "epic" songs, but still pretty enjoyable.
10. My Own Eyes - it's kind of annoying, and really isn't all that funny ... just a list of random stuff ... the music itself is good, though.
11. Mission Statement - blah. Makes me feel like I'm at work when I hear it, and I don't need that.

Overall, it is one of my favorite ALbums.

1. Tacky
2. Inactive
3. Foil
4. Word Crimes
5. NOW That's What I Call Polka!
6. My Own Eyes
7. Handy
8. Mission Statement
9. Sports Song
10. Jackson Park Express
11. Lame Claim to Fame
12. First World Problems

Overall the parodies really are the shining star of this album. It's his best since Running With Scissors (imo).

"My Own Eyes" is genuinely catchy and could have been a hit for Foo Fighters (with more 'non-weird' lyrics).

The polka is truly awesome, almost ranked it higher.

First world problems is boring both musically and lyrically.