#253
April 26 1983
“Weird Al” Yankovic
“Weird Al” Yankovic
3.75 out of 5
Highlights:
Ricky
I Love Rocky Road
Happy Birthday
Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung
At first I thought I wouldn’t include Al. But, then I realized, he’s written one of my favorite songs of the era, “One More Minute” and he’s sort of important to the whole 80s narrative. Plus I ran into him at an Ikea once.
I love the very idea of “Ricky”. You all know that “Mickey” is a cover of a Racey song (written by China & Chapman) called “Kitty”, right? It’s already a goofball tune so it’s so perfect to me that he would turn it into a cheeseball parody of a cheeseball tv show.
Can we talk about the production for a second? Rick Derringer may have put out one of the shittiest records ever, “If I Weren’t So Romantic…I’d Shoot You” but holy cow does he know how to turn Al into a radio friendly sound that crackles with urgency, like Al knows they gotta get out of there before the novelty wears off and their stay is unwelcome.
Happy Birthday could be recorded by The Dickies or some other punk pop band, because that’s what it is in its soul, dressed up in an accordion.
After so much music that takes itself sooooooo seriously, Weird Al is a welcome respite.
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