Number 57: Straight Outta Lynwood by "Weird Al" Yankovic
Release: September 26th, 2006
Genre: Comedy
Favorite Tracks: Trapped In the Drive-Thru, White & Nerdy, Pancreas
Where I heard it:
Did anybody else have an uncontrollably passionate Weird Al obsession as a kid? I could not get enough of this guy when I was ten years old. During YouTube's initial boom in early 2006, I would exclusively use the service to look up videos from Weird Al. I most often found myself looking up this animated video of the epic Weird Al anthem Albuquerque, along with crudely made lyric videos of songs like Ebay and Your Horoscope For Today created in Windows Movie Maker. Early YouTube was certainly a treasure. I instantly fell in love with the music of Weird Al, even seeking out my own songs to change lyrics to a la Yankovic. I must have been insufferable with my adoration toward Al, showing my classmates the music videos or repeatedly listening to his songs at home. This infatuation all came to a head with the announcement and eventual release of Straight Outta Lynwood, headlined by its breakout single White & Nerdy. Al's perfect comedic pacing and unrivaled wit really landed with my juvenile sense of humor, and still manages to find new ways to make me laugh as an adult. That's just the magic of Weird Al at work that has kept him a beloved public icon for generations.
And I say to him, "Hey Eugene,
could I get some ketchup for my fries?"
Well he looks at me
And I look at him
And he looks at me
And I look at him
And he looks at me
And I look at him
And he says, "I'm sorry, what did you want again?"
~ Trapped In the Drive-Thru
What to expect:
If you aren't familiar with Weird Al's particular brand of humor, he brings an absurdist perspective to mundane or trivial aspects of life. Most famously, Al expresses these ideas through parodies of popular songs at the times of his albums' releases. Mind you, Weird Al Yankovic has been a professional in the industry for fifty years going strong. Weird Al has a treasure trove of silly songs and concepts from music legends of all kinds: Michael Jackson, Madonna, Queen, Nirvana...and every act in between. Cult fans of Al know that he's no one trick pony, though. There are plenty of hit original songs that parody the style of other bands, such as the DEVO-inspired Dare to Be Stupid. Given all of this success, it's surprising that Al never had a top-10 hit on the charts until the release of White & Nerdy as a promotional single for Straight Outta Lynwood. Weird Al's research and attention to detail in his song concepts are the key in unlocking the comedic genius of a song like White & Nerdy, which catalogs the habits of a stereotypical dweeb with pocket protectors and name sewn on his underwear. The combination of parody and wit just seem to hit perfectly on every song from Straight Outta Lynwood, whether it's the Beach Boys biology lesson of Pancreas or the ridiculously litigious I'll Sue Ya in the style of Rage Against the Machine. Of course, a Weird Al album is incomplete without a polka medley of popular songs featuring Al on his trademark accordion. Polkarama! includes snippets of songs like Somebody Told Me by the Killers, Let's Get it Started by the Black Eyed Peas, and Candy Shop by 50 Cent, serving as a sort of time capsule for mid-2000s pop culture. Truly, Straight Outta Lynwood in its entirety reflects the styles and tropes of what was popular at the time, all through the perspective of Weird Al's mind of madness. His hilarious songwriting has been a delight through the decades, and this album helped Al earn the public recognition he deserves for it.
~ White & Nerdy
Why it's my favorite:
Weird Al exhibits a form of comedy that straddles the line between family-friendly and and R-rated. Some of the themes can get dark and twisted at times, but the lyrics are hardly ever explicit. Al has refined the formula for comedic songwriting, able to extract the punchline of an idea repeatedly without relying on the same joke or being overly crass in its delivery. It's incredible that this level of humor can be sustained while simultaneously making music that is enjoyable to listen to. Granted, many of his songs are based on the works of other artists, but the performance of Al's backing band keeps parodies sounding as true to the original as possible. The range of genres spans from the R&B beats of Confessions, Pt. III and Trapped in the Drive-Thru to the pop ballads of Do I Creep You Out and Don't Download This Song with impressive talent. I've found my appreciation for Weird Al's musical flexibility has only grown as an adult, as I understand more references and subtle jokes than I did when I was younger. In fact, Al's wide scope of song styles very likely helped form my tastes early on in childhood, inspiring the vast knowledge of music I've developed since then. Weird Al is an absolute treasure to both music and comedy, and Straight Outta Lynwood will always be the go-to album I associate him with.
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