What if God Smoked Cannabis? (Weird Al Yankovic in general)

Member Name: rob_writer

Product:	Weird Al Yankovic in general
Date:	25/05/01 (407 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny

Disadvantages: May offend some

Is it just me, am I the only person who knew nothing of this genius. To think I have been on this planet for 18 years and never heard the work of one great guy, Weird Al Yankovic.

As it turns out he has made a whole collection of albums of which I have heard only a small selection. They are:

Weird Al Yankovic (1983)
In 3-D (1984)
Dare to be Stupid (1985)
Polka Party (1986)
Even Worse (1988)
Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (1989)
Off the Deep End (1992)
Alapalooza (1993)
Food Album (1993)
Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (1994)
TV Album (1995)
Bad Hair Day (1996)
Running with Scissors (1999)

Although this seems like a lot there aren't as many different tracks as you would imagine, as a lot are repeated on various albums, and a lot of the albums are compilations anyway.

For those who haven't heard of Weid Al what he does is quite simple. He takes well known songs and adds new words (and the odd sample) to them. If you've ever heard any of Chris Moyle's altered songs you will understand what I mean. Chris Moyle's songs are good, but generally Weird Al Yankovic is better and his much more professional.

I'll be honest and admit that the vast majority of the songs I've heard by Weird Al Yankovic are ones I have downloaded from Napster or Audiogalaxy. But this is one case in which I must say that Napster has come out looking good, because the next time I venture in to HMV (which happens to be 40 miles away) the first things on my shopping list will be some of Weird Al Yankovic's albums.

The reason why? Quite frankly he is hilarious. Very hilarious. His song lyrics are great and even though they often aren't about anything much, they are still great. Look at a few of the tiles, even they are funny.........

What if God Smoked Cannabis (What if God Was One of Us)
Pretty Fly for A Rabbi (Pretty Fly for a White Guy)
Amish Paradise (Ga
ngsters Paradise)
Oops, I Farted Again (Oops, I did it again)

Even better than the titles though, are the lyrics themselves...........

'Like a Surgeon, I'm cutting for the very fist time' (To Maddona’s 'Like a Virgin', renamed 'Like a Surgeon')

'Gump sat alone on a bench in the park, my name is Forest he casually remarked' (To Presidents of the USA 'Lump', renamed 'Gump')

'What is this song all about, can't figure any lyrics out' (To Nirvana's 'Smells like Teen Spirit', renamed 'Smells like Nirvana)

'This song gets on your nerves, this song gets on your nerves, I know I'm lucky cos I got more fame than I deserve, and that’s the message that I try to deliver to little kids, you can be famous and never know what talent is' (To Eminem's 'The Real Slim Shady', renamed 'Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up')

You would be forgiven for thinking that all Weird Al does is rip it out of other popular artists, but he does have some classic songs in his own right. Yes, they may be ripped off other people, but they are SOOO good that they deserve recognition in their own right.

'Cat's In The Kettle' is a short (1m36s) masterpiece. I don't know the song it is sung to, but I have heard the tune before. Basically it just plays on the old myth (or is it) that Chinese restaurants use cats in their food. The song takes itself 100% seriously which is one of the reasons it's so good. It's just so funny the first time you hear it, dare I say you should download just to hear it?

'The Saga Begins' is a blatant rip off of American Pie, but it is a very competent rip off. It tells the story of Star Wars: Episode One in full detail. More than funny this song is seriously good, especially for all Star Wars fans. If you haven't seen Star Wars then it will g
o totally over her head. Dare I say that this one is even better than 'Cat's In The Kettle'.

'Amish Paradise' is a great and very funny track, as long as you aren't of the Amish religion!! Of course it isn't big or clever to laugh at other religions, but hey, when it's this good who can complain. To the tune of Coolio's 'Gangsters Paradise'.

You may think that these type of songs are ones which you listen to only once and then never again, but surprisingly I found myself putting them on just a little too often. It's rather funny when you get to know the words, but then hear the original song again, as you start to sing Weird Al's version!!

I don't know of anyone else of his kind. Other people have done one off skits like this, but no one has released so many albums of pure comedy music.

So now you know, remember the name Weird Al Yankovic. Next time you're in HMV with a spare £10 (or on Napster with a spare 10 minutes) you know what to buy (or download).

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