Straight Outta Lynwood (W/Dvd)

 

 

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The master of musical parody strikes again on his twelfth album of fractured popular music hits. No musical style is safe from Weird Al, who turns "Gangsta" into "Wanksta" in "White and Nerdy", a hilarious spoof of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire.

Other laugh-out-loud tracks are "Canadian Idiot" (which used to be "American Idiot" by Green Day); "Do I Creep You Out?"(Sorry Taylor Hicks, but it's funny) and "Confessions Part III" (the ones Usher forgot). I also like the original songs "I'll Sue Ya"; "Close But No Cigar" and "Virus Alert", but the "Hands Down Greatest Track" award goes to "Polkarama!" This song parodies fourteen songs (including "The Chicken Dance") in just over fourteen minutes, blending The Black Eyed Peas, The Pussycat Dolls, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Rihanna with Kanye West, Coldplay, Gorillaz, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, Velvet Revolver and Weezer.

I'm still indifferent to "Pancreas" but almost fell asleep during the three part mock opera "Trapped in the Drive Thru", which wins the "R. Kelly Swollen Ego" award for pointless rambling. (Though it's worth a laugh if you've been following the R. Kelly mini-series "Trapped in the Closet")

"Don't Download This Song" is a funny rant about sharing music files on-line, set to a "We Are the World" tribute-type song, and the "Most Likely To Offend Animal Lovers" prize goes to the holiday classic "Weasel Stomping Day", complete with crunchy sound effects.

This album proves that Weird Al hasn't lost his funny bone, and we hope he never does. Recommended for anybody who needs a laugh.

Amanda Richards

I think it's a great CD, and I think it's going to be more known than Poodle Hat was. White & Nerdy is fantastic. I can't stop listening to it or watching the video. Admittedly, I had never heard the Chamillionaire song, so I looked it up and watched his Ridin' video, and now Weird Al's video is even funnier.

I was a little confused by reviews online mentioning a PCM stereo mix, a 5.1 surrond mix, and karaoke on the DVD that comes with the CD. Even this amazon.ca listing states that as part of it, but I could only seem to access videos on the DVD. Then I figured out, the US got a Dual Diac flipper with CD on one side, and DVD on the other, which includes the videso, plus the aforementioned surround and karaoke mixes. Someone from Australia wrote a review at amazon.com saying that there they have the 2 separate disc version, and the DVD doesn't have the enhanced mixes.

So I guess here in Canada, we have the same 2 separate discs, and no enhanced audio. Which is too bad, since the separate DVD would have the space on it to include the extra audio.

I'm inclined then to point out then that amazon.ca's listing is wrong, but maybe if you order here you do get the Dual-Disc flipper if they're imporing from the US. I bought mine locally, and it does say Made in Canada on the back.

I picked up this CD because "Weird Al" Yankovic was coming to town and I had tickets to go with my daughters (we had seats in the front row, just left of center so I can hear with my one good ear). When I was a kid most of the records I had were Smothers Brothers records, I had a teacher who played Spike Jones songs for us, my father taped several Allan Sherman albums for us, and in college I discovered Dr. Demento and Tom Lehrer (not necessarily in that order). So I am a big fan of musical parodies and there can be no doubt that Yankovic is the Shakespeare of that peculiar little niche of the music business. I consider "The Saga Begins" to be his magnum opus and in looking at his body of work what is impressive is not only his longevity but the way his work has improved from those early days when it was just him on accordion and Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz banging on the accordion case.

It turns out that "Straight Outta Lynwood" is Yankovic's most successful album of all time and his most successful single with "White & Nerdy" making it all the way to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Eat It" was his previous top single which made it to #12). I still think "Running With Scissors" is his best album, but I am definitely heartened to know Yankovic is going strong. With albums coming out every three or four years he appears to have found his stride. There is the obligatory polka medley and several new style parodies, with "Pancreas" (Brian Wilson), "I'll Sue Ya" (Rage Against the Machine), "Virus Alert" (Sparks), "Close But No Cigar" (Cake), and "Don't Download This Song" (fundraiser songs). The surprise is that I liked the style parodies more than I did the parodies of particular songs, which is obviously turning my "Weird Al" universe upside down.

My only problem with this album is clearly my personal problem because with the exception of "Canadian Idiot" I had to look at the liner notes to find out which songs were parodies and which were originals. The fact that I had not heard (or perhaps only not remembered) "White & Nerdy" is a parody of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire (featuring Krayzie Bone) was received with jaw-dropping astonishment by my daughters. I am down to recognizing only three songs out of 14 in the album's pokla medley, "Polkarama!" ("Let's Get it Started," "Don't Cha," and "Pon de Replay"). I had forgotten that Taylor Hicks had done "Do I Make You Proud," but I do not think I am alone in that regard. But I had no idea "Trapped in the Drive-Thru" is based on a R. Kelly song, although I did recognize Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" when it popped up.

Flip over the CD and you get to the DVD, which has animated videos for all of the original songs, namely: "Don't Download This Song," "I'll Sue Ya," "Virus Alert," "Close But No Cigar," "Pancreas" and "Weasel Stomping Day." The videos for "White & Nerdy," "Do I Creep Your Out," "Canadian Idiot," and "Trapped in the Drive-Thru" are all for parodies and for some reason that justified exclusion (insert pout here). The videos are followed by a short documentary that simply shows Yankovic and his band recording some of the songs and paying testament to his attention to detail. You can also listen to the entire album with the lyrics as subtitles, each song accompanied by a photograph of Yankovic from infancy to young adulthood (his parents liked the triple image option). Finally, you can do the karaoke function and get the music and the lyrics so you can sing the songs yourself. Consequently, there are enough extras here to justify rounding up on the disc overall.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Straight Outta Lynwood
It's Weird Al, come one people! If Don't "Download This Song" and "You're Pitiful" is any indication then it is once again going to be a GREAT album, another Grammy as well. Read more

Published on Sep 7 2006 by Christopher Mulvena

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