Sunday, October 08, 2006
Al-A-Rama
- Straight Dope On "Straight Outta Lynwood"
Al's new album, Straight Outta Lynwood is, I have to admit, hit and miss. Some of it is very funny, some of it isn't all that. That's the way it is with most comedy albums, though. The original tracks on this album are, to be honest, some of Al's weakest. If you're gonna just buy certain tracks from iTunes or whatever, I'd recommend the Usher parody, "Confessions Part III" and the R. Kelly inspired "Trapped In The Drive-Thru". And, of course, this album's polka medley ("Polkarama!") is very funny. The polka medley's are always funny, but hearing Al singing bits from The Pussycat Dolls' "Don't Cha" and 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" is not to be missed. - Frequently Asked Al
The FAQ at Al's official site is pretty informative. It verifies that those suspect so-called Weird Al parodies that pop up all over the internet (songs like "Windows 95 Sucks" and "Living La Vida Yoda", etc), aren't actual Al parodies. Basically, if it's labeled "Weird Al" but it sucks, it's not funny and it's not safe to play around Grandma, you can safely assume that it ain't Al. - Al And Other Artists
Most artists are pretty enthusiastic when Al parodies their songs. That includes Chamillipede (or whatever his name is), who is thrilled about "White And Nerdy" and thinks that Al is a great rapper in his own right. Not all artists are as graceful about Al's parodies. The famous Coolio controversy is detailed at the FAQ. Prince has also refused every request Al has made to parody his music. James Blunt backed out of allowing Al to parody "You're Beautiful" on the new album … after Al had already recorded the parody. So Al threw the parody out there for free on the internet. It's very funny, and you can download it from a number of sources, like here, here, here, here, here, here, here, or here, or here or here, or here, or here. Those sources are all listed at the bottom of the front page of Al's official website. - Al TV and Eminem
When Al has a new album to promote he'll often do a couple of hours of VJing on MTV, playing funny videos and stuff. He'll also take celebrity interviews and chop them up into fake interviews that are often very funny. His mediated interview with Justin and Britney, for example, was great… but the one below is my new favorite. Here's the deal: Eminem gave Al permission to do a parody of his song "Loose Yourself," but only on the condition that Al not do a video. For some weird reason. So, instead, Al chopped up an Eminem interview and fashioned the wonderful clip below: - Odd Tracks
Most of the faux-Al songs on the net are, like I said earlier, not Al. but, now and then, something that really is Al will turn up and surprise people who thought they'd heard all of his stuff because they have all his albums. I'm not suggesting that you go looking around the net trying to download copies of Al's songs, of course. That would just be wrong… but now and then you might be surprised to stumble across stuff like his song from the Pokemon movie soundtrack and some old radio promos, UHF clips, etc.
Permalink -- Posted by Darrell at 20:06 
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I almost always watch the Simpsons, but such is the power of Weird Al that I have spent the last hour or so watching and listening to someone I never saw on the Simpsons in the first place.
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