Monday, June 10, 2019

The 1985 Listening Post - "Weird Al" Yankovic - Dare to Be Stupid

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Dare to Be Stupid


#219/871 (The second number is the running total of this FB project)
June 18 1985
“Weird Al” Yankovic
Dare to Be Stupid
Genre: Comedy Rock
3.25 out of 5


Highlights:
Dare to Be Stupid
One More Minute
Yoda

And now we’ve reached the inverse polarity of Weird Al. 
For the first time his original songs are more interesting than his parodies. I felt that “Like a Surgeon” and “I Want a New Duck” were attempts at being funny without offending the creating artists (the less said about “Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch, the better), while “Yoda” seemed like an easy grab it also played nicely into 20 year old fanboys preoccupation with the saga, mocking the source while paying devotional homage. 
All that’s fine. But, what’s really gemlike on this first side is the title cut. It’s a perfect rendering of a Devo song. In essence it pays homage while also pulling the curtain off Mothersbaugh and Casale. Does it take out the piss? Kind of. But mark has the last laugh, obviously, with his countlessly fantastic movie themes. 
Now, for someone going through a VICIOUS divorce, it’s fortuitous that my first experience with this record came 11 years later because “One More Minute” became the theme for my life. Fortunately I got therapy to help with that. Natch. 
If you listen to “Slime Creatures from Outer Space” can you also hear one of the tracks from Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Like, note for note. 
But “Hooked on Polkas” is a masterstroke. 



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