It’s hard trying to review a Weird Al album. Musically, they’re well played, pitch perfect send up of anything and everything that song is about. The albums are funny and sharp, well put together. There’s not much to complain about, except that it just isn’t like that first time you heard him when you were a kid, and if your interest in pop music has waned any, it’s even more difficult to find anything to like on his more recent outings.
Even Weird Al’s twitter jokes that most reviews of his newly released CD Alpocalypse run along the lines of: “It's really good, but not nearly as great as (whichever Weird Al record I listened to when I was 12)”. Which is pretty much spot on; but in a world where the internet and it’s myriad of parody artist can take any situation and make a song out of it, the powers of Weird Al might seem to be old timey wizardry of legend.
While this may be the case, and I definitely had my strongest Weird Al love in my early teens, nothing can quite escape that almost HALF this album was released as Internet Leaks a couple of years back. In fact, the strongest tracks are those same tracks. Perhaps a lot of my “feh” towards this album is more due to the disinterest in the music being parodied. Since I’m unfamiliar with Miley Cyrus’ catalog the parody “Party in the C.I.A.” is still pretty funny and catchy, there’s just no connection to the song as a whole. The obligatory Polka medley (Polka Face) is always a welcome addition to any Weird Al album. Oddly, there’s no major rapping on this album, something I enjoyed from Straight Outta Lynwood.
Another quandary is that maybe the parodies aren’t so hot because pop music itself isn’t really worth a damn right now. If there’s anything to mine it’s here and gone in a blink of an eye. Unless you want to sound like a vocal-modulated robot whore with nineteen drum beats going off around you, there’s not much talent or good songwriting in Pop Music right now.
Outside of the few parody songs, is the “style” parodies that pad out the album. I think this is Weird Al’s strongest suit in these 21st century days. I think that just an album of style parodies with his comedic sensibilities would go a lot further than some of his parody songs that seem so dated by the time they hit store shelves.
Weird Al’s also addressed some of this with the aforementioned Internet Leaks ostensibly being singles released digitally. In the future I think he should just do that, then collect them from time to time and release a physical album, much like he’s done now, but better.
I can’t honestly say that Weird Al fan’s should buy Alpocalypse. It’s not his best work, and most of the good stuff was already released years ago. Mostly, it just feels dated, and in the world of parody, that’s just too late.
Final Verdict: Pass
You evidently are not really much of an actual Al fan at all. How you can seriously say this album is not his best or close to his best work ever really amazes me.
ReplyDeleteAl is at the top of his game right now and if you are more addicted to the nostalgic buzz you got listening to his older, and in my opinion, less accomplished work, it makes me wonder whether you are really listening without prejudice.
The recording, singing & instrumentation of Al's more recent albums is of far and away a higher quality that the early work. His lyricism is infinitely better now. Granted there are fewer sniggering schoolboy jokes about boogers, but he is a grown up now and his humour is that of a more mature person. I suppose it is understandable if it is less appealing to those who are still hung up on being twelve, and look to be in someway rejuvenated to revisit that early sense of excitement and delight. It seems like an unfair expectation to me.
Internet Leaks was always going to be pretty much 50% of this album. It was well publicized at the time and I think it was a good idea. We have had new material halfway between the albums to tide us over, and you yourself say
" In the future I think he should just do that, then collect them from time to time and release a physical album, much like he’s done now".. That IS what he has done, and yet you seem to have a problem with it. It can't be both ways.
It seriously doesn't matter that Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, T.I and B.o.B are trashy throw away pop idols. Al takes the music from them and crafts brand new, and genius lyrics, creating something entirely new, and entirely him, forever turning the proverbial sow's ear into silk purses for those with the wit to actually listen