Weird Al Yankovic
Running With Scissors
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Weird Al Yankovic
Running With Scissors
BMG, 1999
RiYL: Al's masterpiece of film, 'UHF' |
As he did in the legendary 1985 classic "Yoda," the king of rock parody kicks off his new album Running With Scissors in the Star Wars galaxy. "The Saga Begins" is a step-by-step recap of the plot of "The Phantom Menace" set to the hallowed sounds of "American Pie" (and the accompanying video is apparently an unplugged performance on Tatooine.) And figure this: the album comes out roughly one month after "Menace," prompting one to believe that Weird Al is either the speediest lyricist on the planet or has spent some time poking around on the Internet for plot points.
The rest of the album is vintage Yankovic, following the album template he's been using since "Eat It": a collection of hit-song parodies, some varied originals and a polka medley. And it hits more than it misses -- Scissors is -- and how can I express this with a straight face? -- the most consistent and enjoyable Al record in years.
As usual, the parodies are dead-on. The Offspring takeoff "Pretty Fly For A Rabbi" is an instant classic, featuring some of Al's funniest lyrics since the days of "Fat." Puff Daddy gets reworked in "It's All About the Pentiums," a note-for-note replication of the "It's All About The Benjamins" rock mix, right down to the useless background screaming. And Al uses the chunky-guy lyrics he couldn't fit into "Fat" for "Grapefruit Diet," set to the Cherry Poppin' Daddies "Zoot Suit Riot."
Weird Al-bums are often padded out with relatively lame originals, but many of Scissors offerings are every bit as clever as the parodies -- and also prove a pretty comprehensive knowledge of '90s music.
"My Baby's In Love With Eddie Vedder," perhaps the saddest hard-luck tale ever set to accordion, gets in a couple good shots at the Pearl Jam frontman: "She says the way he grinds his molars is really sexy / She thinks he's so darn dysfunctional and Generation X-y," Al sings, before lamenting that his troubles began when he started hanging out at Ticketmaster. For "Germs," Al adopts Trent Reznor's breathy growl and the music from NIN's "Terrible Lie." And the requisite polka medley proves, among other things, that Al really does sound a lot like the guy from Harvey Danger and that Marilyn Manson's "The Dope Show" needed accordions all along.
The most surprising thing about Scissors is Al's new, slightly edgy mood. Almost all of his previous work has been entirely family-friendly, but Scissors has a few bad words and more grown-up themes than food and TV characters. This is actually a welcome evolution for Al, who seems to be rolling quite nicely along with the times he's skewering.
JEFF VRABEL | Jeff Vrabel may look like your average, strapping Midwestern-type, but lurking inside him is a passion for all things Springsteen, "Weird" Al, and regrettably, the Chicago Cubs. He's touched Britney Spears. He knows Slash's phone number. Obey him at all costs.