"Weird Al" Yankovic's brand new album Straight Outta Lynwood debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard albums chart this past week. About 74,000 people picked up his CD and got geek-gangsta (or gangsta-geek) with his new ditty "White and Nerdy."
This is the best album debut in his entire career, yet I would bet a large portion of the public was not even aware of the new album. At the very least, most people probably didn't care. Why is it so irrelevant and yet able to sell so many copies?
The reason for his overall success is simple — we love to hear popular songs ridiculed. The recognizable melodies are enjoyable enough and then — what is this? — new, comical lyrics!?! How weird. In fact, we should call this guy "weird."
Weird Al has done a phenomenal job making his presence known for more than two decades. He has had a knack for changing his image and sound with the times, mainly because he must for parody purposes. I would almost compare him to Madonna, only funnier, less whorish, and he has only starred in one box-office flop. (On a side note, I love everything about "UHF," even "Conan the Librarian" and "Wheel of Fish.") The point is, his greatest accomplishments arise from experimenting with new approaches while using innovative songs and overlying musical and cultural trends.
Weird Al has also been an expert at choosing a wide variety of genres to touch on everyone's musical tastes. In 1983, Weird Al struck pay dirt with his send-up of the Michael Jackson hit "Beat It." His version was simply, yet cleverly, titled "Eat It." This works. It's simple, it's funny and Jackson was a huge pop superstar at the time, ripe for satire.
In the '90s, Weird Al gained considerable exposure with both "Smells Like Nirvana" and "Amish Paradise." "Smells Like Teen Spirit" kicked off the grunge revolution and "Gangsta's Paradise" helped cram gangsta rap even further into suburban America, although it was more than a little corny in retrospect. His most notable successes are when he makes fun of songs and artists that are a part of our culture in more ways than just as a disposable piece of music. Everyone is familiar with these artists because they changed music in some way, made headlines and won awards.
Now, in the new millennium, Weird Al has failed to do anything significant. That is to say, he has yet to parody anything of significance. He attempted to on Poodle Hat, but Eminem and company halted production on the "Couch Potato" music video (a parody of "Lose Yourself"), basically ruining any chance of publicity. Plus, a powerful Eminem rap turned into a song about television probably wasn't the right move. Weird Al remains successful, but he has yet to properly read the cultural pulse since 1996. However, I don't think it is entirely his fault. I partly blame the music industry.
Most music nowadays is essentially on the same level. Nearly everything is manufactured and commercialized. Even artists that appear to be anti-establishment go through the same basic process as JoJo or Hilary Duff. This leaves much of modern music watered down and a mainstream version of its true potential. It won't necessarily break any ground, but it will sell copies.
The same concept can be applied to Weird Al. When he parodies this type of song, no matter how hard he may try, he isn't exactly doing anything unexpected, but he is able to reach an awfully wide audience. This accounts for higher album sales with little substance.
Sure, "White and Nerdy" is a humorous alteration of words, but the original song it parodies is inconsequential. Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" is neither really good, nor really bad. It is catchy, but it isn't unlike most rap and hip-hop songs out there today. It just kind of exists. This mediocrity gets transferred into the parody. It's there, it's funny, but who cares?
The most entertaining, most memorable and most relevant song on the entire album is not a parody of any song in particular, but a Weird Al original dubbed, "Don't Download This Song." Ironically, Weird Al has this song free to download on his site, www.weirdal.com. I recommend downloading it rather than heeding its advice.
Maybe I am way off. Maybe Weird Al has done something with Straight Outta Lynwood that I just don't see. Maybe 73,999 people are outraged right now.
Nonetheless, I do believe that Weird Al still has talent and will one day overcome his recent unremarkable work. All it takes is one breakthrough song. Not his own, but from what he desperately needs to work with — musicians. Give him a break.
