Weird Al Yankovic released his latest album, Mandatory Fun on July 15. As promotion for the album, he’s releasing eight music videos over eight days. The onslaught began on Monday with his parody of Pharell’s “Happy,” dubbed “Tacky.”
Talking to NPR, Yankovic revealed “Mandatory Fun” could be his last traditional album. “I think that digital distribution is more the way for me to go: putting out a single at a time, possibly two or three tracks or an EP. I don’t know that putting out 12 songs at once in this day and age is the best way for me to get my music out there, because if I’m waiting that long, chances are a lot of the material is going to be somewhat dated by the time it comes out.”
From what we’ve seen so far, Yankovic’s parodies are right on point.
We’ll continue updating this post as Yankovic adds more videos.
Video 8: ‘Mission Statement’ emulates ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’
Weird Al concluded his eight video extravaganza with “Mission Statement,” a song done in the style of “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” by Crosby, Stills & Nash, which mocks corporate America. The song is full of meaningless corporate buzzwords and phrases like “operationalize our strategies” and “leverage our core competencies.”
(Video isn’t yet viewable off of the WSJ site. Here’s the link to watch it there.)
Video 7: ‘Lame Claim to Fame’ mocks ‘Camel Walk’
Weird Al shamed name-droppers in his take on Southern Culture on the Skids’ song “Camel Walk,” which he calls “Lame Claim to Fame.” Here’s looking at you, YouTube commenters and celebrity stalkers!
Video 6: ‘First World Problems’ mimics The Pixies
In this video, Weird Al takes on the style of The Pixies as he discusses the exact kind of problem most of you reading DT probably have. It was directed by Liam Lynch and we think Al looks suitably douchey in that wig.
Video 5: ‘Sports Song’ original
In honor of Friday, Weird Al released an original track called “Sports Song.” In the video, Al struts his stuff as a baton-twirling marching band leader who really, really wants you to know that your team sucks. Mostly, he just mocks sports fans. We’re not huge fans of this song. What do you think?
Video 4: ‘Handy’ parodies ‘Fancy’
In his fourth video, Weird Al tackled Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” with a parody called “Handy,” about a very tacky handyman who enjoys fixing your plumbing and gyrating his hips. Yankovic stars as the denim-clad contractor, wearing a blonde wig and matching mustache.
Video 3: ‘Foil’ parodies ‘Royals’
Weird Al’s third video targets one of the most prolific songs in recent memory, “Royals” by Lorde, with his parody called “Foil.” The video starts off innocently enough with Yankovic shooting what looks like an infomercial for aluminum foil, but then things get a little … well, weird. “Oh by the way I’ve cracked the code,” he sings before launching into a conspiracy nut’s rant about the Illuminati, mass surveillance, and aliens.
Video 2: ‘Word Crimes’ parodies ‘Blurred Lines’
Yankovic released his second video, a parody of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” called “Word Crimes,” on Tuesday. The song pokes fun at millennials’ terrible grammar and spelling on the Internet. Word nerds will surely be overjoyed. Just don’t show it to any offenders — it might bring back traumatic memories of grade school spelling tests.
Video 1: ‘Tacky’ parodies ‘Happy’
Yankovic’s song pokes fun at the, well, tackiest among us: name-droppers, over-Instagrammers, and many more. Lyrics include “I would live-tweet a funeral, take selfies with the deceased” and “Got my resume, it’s printed in Comic Sans!”
The music video, done in one take at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles, showcases a star-studded lineup, which include the likes of Aisha Tyler, Margaret Cho, Eric Stonestreet, Jack Black, and Kristen Schaal.
Originally published 07-14-2014.
