Societal parody, for fans of Frank Zappa, Jello Biafra, Negativland. Its pretty easy to dismiss parodies and spoofs with a cynical “pah”, especially when its someone in the spotlight, media friendly like one “Weird Al”. But the bottom line in the realm of KZSU, music lovers, is that he really has the shit. Great musicianship, really smart song choices, deliveries, right along the lines of Warner Bros cartoons or The Simpsons, Futurama, fun for the “the whole family” but subversive as hell for those of us chuckling behind the kids’ backs, beer in hand. This release is just a continuation of what he does best: lampoon the music biz, society, our shallowness, the shittiness of grammy award winning crap. Weird Al is god, like Groening, like all those who draw a mustache on the mouth that feeds. All brilliant stuff.

1) spoof “Ridin”, fast-fire hip hop MC’ing, talk of D’n’D, speaking Klingon and ridin’ a Segway, brilliant
2) Beach Boys’esque harmonies, song structure, an ode to the internal organ, something called a “Pancreas”
3) spoof of Green Day song, “Canadian” Idiot: Yankovic spoofs the country up north in light of all its idealization during this dark era of Bush and Vietnam v.2.0,
4) hilarious “rap-metal”, an original song kicking the ass of Lawyers and frivolous law-suits
5) obligatory polka medley of popular songs, as only Weird Al does, due to his Slavic roots and twisted sense of humor, gotta love it.
Coldplay, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Black Eyed Peas, Modest Mouse, Snoop Dog
6) original, good stuff
7) parody of Usher, bad “r&b hip hop”, silly stuff, but good parody
8) Christmas feeling theme (play): weasel stomping!
9) original, funny stuff showing what a great songwriter Al is, hilarious
10) parody of someone named Taylor Hicks (? Must really suck), hilarious, perverted, stalking, near sick felonious subject matter
11) I’ve never heard the original R. Kelly song, but I’m told that Al nails this: its just a bad “r&b” delivery where he goes on and on dictating the mundanities of modern life, married life, just trying to decide on what to get for dinner, going out for dinner, getting ketchup, fucking so hilarious, spot on, brilliant…”did I mention the drive thru?”
12) an amazing ode to uptight assholes who make downloading illegal, it’s a thinly veiled spoof of the terrible 80’s song “We Are the World” but the liner notes don’t credit it (huh? That’s GREAT!)