Mandatory Fun (Album 14) Speculation :3

[Killingsworth]

Something to keep an eye on: Next week, Drake is releasing a new album. There's a pretty huge act that Al has yet to touch. Also, Justin Timberlake has yet another album dropping in a couple of weeks...

Al will parody Drake and JT whenever he gets around to it. Personally, I think JT has a higher chance of being parodied on this upcoming album than Drake because he's been an established music act for quite some time and he's been increasing his output lately with two albums in the span of a year.

I think Drake is one of those acts where the general public knows the singer and his image better than his songs themselves. Al may be waiting to see if Drake releases any songs that turn out to be such big mainstream top 40 hits that they really grab a hold of the public consciousness more than songs like "Headlines" and "Started From The Bottom" have.

He might have been doing this with Timberlake for quite some time now (he did pass on doing "HairyBack" in '06 after all) but "Suit and Tie" and "Mirrors" have become substantial earworms in recent months, so now could be the right time for a JT parody. It depends on what ideas Al has just as much as it does the songs.

Al will parody Drake and JT when just the right song comes along that he can pair with a really strong concept. Maybe Drake will have to sustain his own career for a little while longer before Al uses one of his songs. If it happens, it will happen at just the right time.

At this point, I think an inclusion in the polka medley might be more likely for both artists. Those probably come easier to Al than some parodies do.

[TMBJon]

Al will parody Drake and JT when just the right song comes along that he can pair with a really strong concept.

Oh I see. You're saying he'll do what he's always done with every act throughout his career. Very astute, Casey!

[RyanHippFTW]

Al will parody Drake and JT whenever he gets around to it.

that literally makes no sense

[TMBJon]

As a blanket statement, any A-list act who releases an album sometime in the next six months or so is at least likely to be considered for a parody, especially if that act has never been parodied by Al before. That was my point with Drake, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Jay-Z...

[Killingsworth]

As a blanket statement, any A-list act who releases an album sometime in the next six months or so is at least likely to be considered for a parody, especially if that act has never been parodied by Al before. That was my point with Drake, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Jay-Z...

Yeah, I was just trying to expand on that. I was just saying Al will be more likely to consider them if he has a strong parody concept that fits with one of their recent hits and not just because they have a new release out. If he has the right idea, that act will stick out more in his mind when it comes to writing the parodies. If not, he could always wait until his next album cycle and come back to those acts to see if those acts have anything that coincides nicely with his ideas.

It's more likely that Al's next album will take longer than six months from now to come out, so those acts will more likely be in the polka medley than be parodied. The polkas tend to be the most dated parts of the album anyway as most of those songs are about two years old when the album comes out.

[anthontherun]

I dunno, if you look at the songs parodied on Alpocalypse (besides lead single "Perform This Way" and "Whatever You Like," which was released almost three years before the album), the most recent one was "Nothin' On You," which came out more than a year earlier. The Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus songs were from 2009.

In other words, if he has a great parody idea for, say, "Blurred Lines," there's no reason to believe he wouldn't go for it, assuming he gets permission of course. There isn't really much disparity between when an album's polka'd songs are released vs. the album's parodied songs.

[JohnnyLurg]

The polkas tend to be the most dated parts of the album anyway as most of those songs are about two years old when the album comes out.

Agreed. I was always surprised that he chose "Poker Face" for the polka (despite the fact that "Polka Face" is an irresistible pun) instead of, say, "Bad Romance."

[Killingsworth]

I dunno, if you look at the songs parodied on Alpocalypse (besides lead single "Perform This Way" and "Whatever You Like," which was released almost three years before the album), the most recent one was "Nothin' On You," which came out more than a year earlier. The Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus songs were from 2009.

I kinda noticed that SOL followed the same pattern. The most recent parodies were "White and Nerdy" and "Do I Creep You Out". Both of their originals (Ridin' and Do I Make You Proud) came out in 2006. "Trapped In The Closet" and "You're Beautiful" came out in 2005, but the latter is better remembered as a massive rotation hit until early 2006. "American Idiot" and "Confessions Part II" each came out in 2004.

In other words, if he has a great parody idea for, say, "Blurred Lines," there's no reason to believe he wouldn't go for it, assuming he gets permission of course. There isn't really much disparity between when an album's polka'd songs are released vs. the album's parodied songs.

I kinda see your point there. I was gonna say that a good rule of thumb was that Al never uses any songs that were more than three years old at the time of his albums' scheduled releases but then I remembered how songs like "eBay", "Ode To A Superhero", "The Saga Begins" and "Jurassic Park" among others can easily be exceptions to that rule.

[RyanHippFTW]

I think Bieber will be around for a while. The kid does have talent.

[Killingsworth]

...anyway, this tweet from Al seems to suggest he is considering using "Blurred Lines" somewhere on the album, most likely in the polka medley at this stage. He had similar tweets about Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" and that one ended up being used in "Polka Face".