Mandatory Fun (Album 14) Speculation :3

[mrmeadows]

Gargoyles? DJ Chris Moyles?

Hmmm....if Al hadn't already done the "moyl" joke in Pretty Fly for a Rabbi, maybe that could have been a possibility.

[yankochick38]

Style parodies are also a thing - what if there's a Justin Timberlake or Beyonce or whoever style parody, that could be cool
The combo parodies like Bedrock Anthem are kind of between regular parodies and style parodies, in a way, so a style parody could probably work for someone like JT who has a bunch of songs
Idk
Style parodies exist

[TMBJon]

Justin Timberlake style parody is definitely an interesting concept. Typically, Al has stuck to rock bands for style parodies, but I'd be interested to see what a JT one would be like. The truth is though, he may feel that other acts like The Lonely Island have already done it. (I've always wanted to see Al try to do a style parody of a rap artist, personally.) I wouldn't think of JT's recent work as likely for a direct parody. Suit & Tie is certainly a polka candidate, at least.

[Killingsworth]

Maybe Al is just of the opinion that most mainstream Top 40 music (like J. Timberlake, Beyonce et al) of the past 10 or so years has become so derivative of itself that doing a style parody of it rather than a direct lyrical parody might be absolutely pointless.

[anthontherun]

There are still tics and trademarks certain artists have that he can capitalize on--JT's shifts into falsetto for example.

[OneWAY]

In Jim's Slack Key newsletter, he mentioned going back into the studio with Al soon... !!!

[CharlesNelson]

Another good target for a double-parody I thought of the other day is Maroon 5. They have a bunch of recognizable singles that came out the last 2 years, though none that screams "Parody me and me alone." Also, I would promote the idea of Al doing a Maroon 5 style parody, but I think that may or may not have been beaten into the ground covered already.

[CharlesNelson]

Football fans know what I'm talking about when I say "mock draft." Here's my mock polka 1.0:

"Timber" by Pitbull feat. Ke$ha
"Talk Dirty" by Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz
"Get Lucky" by Daft Punk feat. Pharrell
"Clarity" by Zedd feat. Foxes
"My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up)" by Fall Out Boy
"Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line feat. Nelly
"Boys 'Round Here" by Blake Shelton feat. Pistol Annies
"Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicket feat. TI and Pharrell
"Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen
"Gangnam Style" by PSY
"I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons
"Ho Hey" by The Lumineers
"Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men
"Love Somebody" by Maroon 5
"Story of My Life" by One Direction

I chose "Clarity" over "Wake Me Up" because it's been pointed out that "Wake Me Up" has more parody potential. This is a work in progress, of course.

I have a random question and I hope one of you has a not-as-random answer: Does Al keep each song of his polka medleys in their original keys, or does he manipulate their keys how he wants them?

[Moneybags]

I have a random question and I hope one of you has a not-as-random answer: Does Al keep each song of his polka medleys in their original keys, or does he manipulate their keys how he wants them?

From what I've noticed, there's generally a mixture of the two. For instance, in "Polka Power", "Flagpole Sitta" and "Tubthumping" are in the same key as the original, whereas "Ghetto Superstar" is changed from G (I think) to C and "MMMBop" is transposed from A to D. I imagine Al does this in the interest of making each medley flow more smoothly from one song to the next.

[mrmeadows]

Good polka draft, CN. I still say "Brave" will make the polka, as will something by Macklemore/Lewis (most likely "Thrift Shop", mainly since Al singing the chorus will allow for another fun "censored" sound effect for "this is smurfin' awesome".)