Customer Reviews

Poodle Hat

5 star:		(224)
4 star:		(93)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Not much to be said about Al's latest release. It's certainly not one of his best efforts. Sure, it's hilarious and has many sparks of genius, but having waiting eagerly for three years for a new Weird Album, it's hard not to be disappointed by this rather predictable repeat of ideas he already played with many times before. Maybe my expectations were too high because his latest album, 'Running with Scissors', was so brilliant and inspired, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that the album is not accompanied by a video - and Al's videos are always hilarious (Man, I really wanted to see him do an Eminem video... Apparently Eminem approved of Al doing a parody of 'Lose Yourself', but not of a video clip). Maybe it's because I hate most of the music that's on the radio nowadays and that's exactly the music Al parodies. Al stoops pretty low to get laughs on 'Party at the Leper Colony', 'Trash Day' and 'Complicated Song'. Not that they aren't funny - but the whole thing seems to be too much of an effort, and the TV jokes are really getting kinda old. Whatever it is, Poodle Hat wasn't half as enjoyable as 'Running With Scissors' or 1996's 'Bad Hair Day'.

Still... I couldn't give it any less than four stars, because it's still Al, and it still has some brilliant moments. Two tracks, in fact, I think are at least as sophisticated and intelligent as anything he's done before: 'Bob' is a very clever tribute to Bob Dylan. The lyrics sound like Dylan lyrics, but they have no apparent meaning - listen very carefully though, with the lyrics in front of you, and try to figure out exactly what Al was doing there. It's brilliant. Al's Dylan impression is also excellent. The other song I love is 'Genius In France' - a tribute to the one and only, Frank Zappa, obviously a major influence on Al, and guest starring Dweezil Zappa, the master's son. The lyrics are pretty basic Weird Al humor, but the delivery and arrangement are totally Zappa. For Zappa fans, it's hilarious. It's also great if you just hate French people.

Other notable tracks - Couch Potato, the Eminem parody, is obviously funny, and the impression is terrific, but enough with the TV jokes already! 'Cable TV', 'I Can't Watch This', 'Syndicated Inc.'... These are all the same bloody joke! A good, funny parody video would have made this song more justifiable. I loved 'Ode to a Superhero' - partly because I love Spider-Man, and partly because it's the only song on the album that parodies a good song. It has very funny lyrics, and Al's delivery is great, but of course it's the exact same joke as 'The Saga Begins' from 'Running With Scissors' and 'Jurassic Park' (parody of McArthur Park) several years before. 'Wanna B
Ur Lover' isn't that funny really, but it's a funny - thinly disguised - parody of Prince's singing style. 'Why Does This Always Happen To Me' is classic Al, harmlessly and nastily funny. Finally, 'Angry White Boy Polka' - because he just has to do that polka bit on every album. Unfortunately, I've never heard almost any of the songs he performs here! The ones I did know were of course very funny, especially the 'Real Slim Shady' polka (still, two Eminem parodies on one album? That's pushing it...)

Unfortunately, 'Hardware Store' is pointless and just a repeat of old songs of his, both musically and lyrically, and just isn't funny. 'Trash Day' and 'E-Bay' are parodies of songs that are so obnoxious, I just can't stand listening to them. 'Complicated Song' has good lyrics, but it's nothing to write home about. If you're a Weird Al fan, there's no reason you shouldn't buy this album, but don't set you hopes too high.

In my opinion, "Poodle Hat" is the best CD that Al has released to date! All of its songs are really funny, the parodies, the traditional polka meldy, and the origanals. When I first got this CD, I was in the hospital, and I listend to it at least twice per day. It includes parodies of Eminem ("Couch Potato"), Nelly ("Trash Day"), Avril Lavenge ("A Complicated Song"), Billy Joel ('Ode to a Superhero"), and The Backsteet Boys ("eBay). The origanls are also extreamly good. If you like Palindromes, then you'll love "Bob", a style-parody of Bob Dylan where every line is a palindrome. The other style-parody is on Frank Zappa, intitled, "Genius in France". And "Wanna B Ur Lovr" is one of, if not the, best songs Al has ever written. If you have to chose which "Weird Al" CD to buy, you should deffinatly buy this one!

People aren't giving this album enough credit where, I promise, credit IS due. This is a fantastic album, with great parodies, hilarious originals, and spot-on musicality all around. Let's start at the beginning.

1. Couch Potato--Somehow, Al always manages to make hip-hop sound not as craptacular as it really is...probably because he uses REAL instruments to create it. The lyrics in this are perfect. Parodic masterpiece. 'But I only watched Will and Grace one time, one day! Wish I hadn't, 'cause TIVo now thinks I'm gay.' A

2. Hardware Store--One of my favorite originals I've heard yet. This, for me, is ranking up there with Harvey the Wonder Hamster or the Night Santa Went Crazy. Once again, Al displays his articulate nature and lyrical prowess, especially in the bridge section, where he just starts spitting them out rapidfire. A+

3. Trash Day--Now, this was a stupid, ridiculous, shouldn't-have-ever-been-written song in the first place, and Al tears it to shreds. Well done...not the best song on the album, but hey...there's been a LOT of crap worse than this in the past 4 years since Running W/ Scissors. B+

4. Party at the Leper Colony--Classic Bo Diddley-style licks with fun lyrics. One took me a while, but gets me every time, now. A

5. Angry White Boy Polka--Need I say more? A+

6. I Wanna B Ur Lovr--Okay, now, this one just floored me completely when I first listened to it. Al is not only creating a style parody, or even a very specific artist style parody, but a double whammy...This is perfect emulation of Beck during his Midnite Vultures phase...parodying Beck who was parodying (in his own Beck-ish way) Prince. A++++

7. A Complicated Song--iffy subject matter, but just hilarious, when you come right down to it. A+

8. Why Does This Always Happen to Me--Holy returned favours, Batman! Ben Folds guests on this track. Contains the line 'So I turned around/ And stabbed him in the face.' How can you go wrong? A++

9. Ode to a Superhero--Picked a great song to parody, big movie...I didn't like the movie, but that's just me...great song, though. Piano man/Spider Man...it's a natural segue. A

10. Bob. A+. That's all I have to say.

11. eBay--Poking fun at Satan is FUN!!!! Taking out the Backstreet Boys while your at it gets you a (no pun intended) A++

12. Genius in France--Dweezil Zappa joins Al to pay tribute to his old man (Dweezil's, that is). It sticks it to the French, too. People have, unfortunately, labeled this song as an 'Albuquerque' wannabe, but it's completely autonomous. It's another homage...and well played, too. A+

My family has all of Al's records and CDs and went to one of his concerts a year ago, so how does this new CD stack up?

1. Couch Potato- parodies "Lose Yourself" by Eminem and mentions every TV show from Spongebob to Will and Grace. Excellent syncing, but what's up with the missing sounds in the chorus? B+

2. Hardware Store- rivals "Nature Trail to Hell" as the best non-parody song by Al ever. Excellent, especially when he lists all the tools really fast. A

3. Trash Day- parody of "Hot in Herre" by Nelly. Doesn't trump "Couch Potato" but good nonetheless. B

4. Party at the Leper Colony- Ultra-generic sounding tropical shindig song. Uses every leper joke in the book. B-

5. Angry White Boy Polka- A stupendous medley of songs by Papa Roach, System of a Down, the Vines, the Hives, White Stripes, Strokes, Disturbed, Rage Against the Machine, POD, Limp Bizkit, Staind and Eminem. Once again, stupendous! A

6. Wanna B Ur Luvr- Disturbingly seductive and funky. B

7. A Complicated Song- parody of "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne. Expect constipation and decaptitation jokes. B+

8. Why Does This Always Happen to Me- the typical exaggerated, Weird Al-type lament. B

9. Ode to a Superhero- parody of Piano Man by Billy Joel. Sling us a web/you're the spider man, all about Spiderman the Movie. Uplifting. B+

10. Bob- Sounds like Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan, as I'm told. Nothing but palindromes here. B

11. Ebay- parody of "I Want it That Way" by Backstreet Boys. The Backstreet version didn't have many lines to parody, so Al milked all he could out. B

12. Genius in France- I heard Dweezil Zappa helped Al with this. Perfect if you hate France. Uses many stupidity jokes. B+

Perfection!
I luved every bit of it. I am a huge system of a down fan so I almost died laughing at angry white boy polka. couch potata is also very funny. I rated this as my favorite because I'm only 13 and I don't know half of the songs on the other CD's. Although I do Know nirvana I also luved the song smells like nirvana on off the deep end. wierd al u rok keep making parodies I love them I recomend this to anyone!

I really hope this is not Weird Al's last album, because it has just left me hungry for more. Every single parody is hilarious. "Couch Potato" and "Trash Day" are very funny, even more so because I hate rap, and anything that successfully makes fun of it is gold. "A Complicated Song" is probably the best parody on the album, mostly because it's so random and rediculous. "Ode to a Superhero" is great, not because it's a parody, but because it pokes fun at the slightly unfeasible characters in Spiderman. "EBay", although maybe the least "funny" parody, still makes me chuckle, especially at the very end, where he drags out the last note. The original songs, while, of course, are not quite as hilarious, are still fun to listen to. "Hardware Store" is cool, especially at the part with the extremely fast list of rather random stuff. I think more could have been done with "Party At the Leper Colony", but it was amusing anyway. "Wanna B UR Lovr" is funny because of the totally silly things he says in it to attract some random girl. "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?" makes fun of the mind-set of many people who are constantly thinking only of themselves, and is funny in doing so. "Genius in France" is one of my favorite Weird Al tracks of all time, because it's long, random, funny, and really does a good job of making fun of France. Enough said. And finally, every Weird Al album needs a polka medley. "Angry White Boy Polka" is just what it's name says; the angry and/or resentful lyrics from the songs of many bands that include one or more white males. I actually like a couple of the bands he makes fun of, namely Rage Against the Machine and P.O.D. But there's nothing wrong with laughing at yourself every now and then, right? By the way, after seeing the title of the polka, I was very surprised to discover not a lyric in it from the band Linkin Park, another one that I like a lot, despite its fitting perfectly in with the title. If you are familiar with their music, you'll know what I'm talking about.
So, what I'm really trying to say is: If you have ever been a Weird Al fan, or just want a refreshing laugh at the expense of other musicians' credibility and reputations, this CD is for you.

This album has almost nothing but parodies and homages. But that's good! Genious In France is an homage to Frank Zappa w/ Dweezil Zappa playing the guitar at the beginning. Bob Is an homage to Bob Dylan. Remember, it's palindromes! So don't say it doesn't make sense. and Why Does This Always Happen To Me is an homage to Ben Folds Five, with Ben Folds with piano.

The last track on this CD, "Genius in France" is an 8 minute tribute to Frank Zappa. I also think that the title and cover of the CD are a tribute to Zappa and his allusions to poodles.

Zappa was a pioneering rock musician whose first major album, Freak Out (with the Mothers of Invention) came out in 1966. He was on the leading edge of many movements in rock music. He did retro-rock before anyone else. His Rueben and the Jets came out a decade before Elton John's Benny and the Jets. He experimented in different styles (like mixing rock and jazz) before anyone else. Zappa died in 1993. Zappa was big into humor and that is probably why Yankovic pays tribute to him.

In Genius in France, Yankovic copies the many different styles Zappa played in. It is a nice tribute and fairly humorous. But, it comes off as a fairly choppy mess as he jumps from style to the next (although Zappa would do that at times also). Frank Zappa's son, Dweevil, plays on the track.

The rest of the album is exactly what you would expect from Yankovic: parodies of the latest hits and some old classics, plus a few new songs that generally parody rock. This time he takes on Nelly, Backstreet Boys, Avra Lavigne and Billy Joel. It is all mildly amusing, just as his past albums were. 10 year olds love it.

realy good!! couch potato 4\5 lists drew cary,j lo simon cowel etc. hardware store 3\5 kinda anoying trash day 5\5 HE PARODED HOT IN HERE! party at the leper colany 3\5 okay the rest gets 4\5 except ode to a superhero which gets 2\5.BUY IT!!:):):)

"Couch Potato"- I think that Al transformed the song very well from the original version

"Hardware Store"- If you don't like this song, your insane

"Trash Day"- takes some time to like, but after listening to it for a month it's pretty good

"Party at the Leper Colony" and "Ode to a Superhero" are good songs, but they get a little boring after listing to the CD for 2 months

"Angry White Boy Polka"- (see comment for "hardware store")

"Wanna B ur lover"- At first listen it seems rather boring, but after paying attention to what he is saying,it's actually funny

Both "A Complicated Song" and Why does this only happen to me?" are great songs, just over shadowed by the prior songs

"E-Bay"- A prime example of how Al can take a song from a really cruddy group and turn it into a classic.

Most people probably don't like "Bob" or "Genius in France" due to the fact; they don't know who he's poking fun at. If you have ever listened to Frank Zappa and Bob Dillion, and then heard these two songs, the songs become hilarious.
Also, Weird Al is 2 for 2 at making a great song at lengths of over 8 minuets