Top Ten Songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic

Not many people are true Weird Al fans and a lot of people don't even know who he is. For those who don't know, "Weird Al" Yankovic is a comedy songwriter/performers who parodies popular music of the current time. He currently has a new album entitled "Straight Outta Lynwood" due out at the end of the month. Before you go out and spend money on that, here is a small list of songs you should listen to before you decide if he is for you. Since he has ten albums out, I will try to pick a song from each album, to give you a feel for what he has parodied over the ages.

10. From Weird Al Yankovic (Debut Album) - Ricky/My Bologna
It is hard for me to decide the best song from this album, since it was released when I was learning to crawl. But, if I had to decide, it would be either Ricky or My Bologna. Ricky is a parody of Mickey by Toni Basil. The song's basis is on the TV series I Love Lucy. That song, along with My Bologna (which parodies the Knacks song My Sharona) launched the idea of Weird Al into mainstream. The idea of someone parodying songs with the artists approval was a new form of flattery back in the day.

9. From In 3-D - Eat It
One of the well-known songs by Weird Al is his first Michael Jackson parody, Eat It. The song parodies Beat It and is the start of Weird Al's obsession with the topic of food. The song is basically a picky eaters anthem, telling people that it doesn't matter what is put in front of you, you should eat it.

8. From Dare To Be Stupid - One More Minute
This song actually isn't a parody, but since Weird Al isn't all about parodies, it still needs to be heard. It's a song about breaking up (another topic that Weird Al is good at singing about). It lists the many different things this person would rather do that be with the person they just broke up with. If you can get through the painful things he describes, (like diving into a swimming pool filled with double-edged razor blades) you'll be laughing possibly about someone you know.

7. From Even Worse - Fat
Even Worse was actually the fifth album from Weird Al, but I never owned Polka Party, which isn't a good album to begin with. However, Bad from this album is the only time Weird Al has parodied the same artist twice. The artist being Michael Jackson. This song is one of the songs that makes Weird Al who he is. Fat parodies Bad and is about a really Fat guy and his enormous diet. A funny song all around.

6. From UHF - Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies
This album is actually a soundtrack for the movie of the same name. Weird Al's first and only feature film, UHF, was a cult classic for Weird Al fans. It's about a guy who inherit's a small UHF station and starts competing against the bigger networks with weird shows, but starts succeeding. The main character (played by Weird Al) has a very active imagination. One of the scenes see him daydreaming about him being in a parody of the Dire Straits video for Money for Nothing. The parody is in the same 3D style as the video, but the topic of the song being about the Beverly Hillbillies. It's a very good song and included the actual bassist from Dire Straits.

5. From Off the Deep End - Smells Like Nirvana
Most of the songs I have selected have been mainstream videos on MTV and VH1. This song parodies Nirvana's hit, Smells Like Teen Spirit. The song takes light at the fact that during the song you are unable to understand the lyrics of the songs by Nirvana. It is a very song and you will be laughing when you hear it.

4. From Alapalooza - Jurassic Park/Bedrock Anthem
Both of my song choices from this album are both on the same kind of theme. Jurassic Park parodies MacArthur's Park, a very unknown song to many. It's takes the movie of Jurassic Park and makes fun of the fact that the dinosaurs started eating everyone. The other song, Bedrock Anthem, parodies the Red Hot Chili Peppers and plays through the eyes of Fred Flintstone from the Flintstones. Very good songs.

3. From Bad Hair Day - Amish Paradise
This song almost got Al into trouble, but it a really funny song. It parodies Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise and is a song about the Amish community. Due to the laws, Al doesn't have to get permission from the artists to parody their songs, but does anyway to get on the artist's good side. While many really see it as flattery, Coolio wasn't one. He initially told him no, but Al never heard that from him. He recorded it and it was a big hit for Al. They did recently make up about the incident.

2. From Running With Scissors - The Saga Begins
This songs finally made me want to buy all the Weird Al albums. This songs parodies American Pie by Don McLean and summarizes the movie Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The song does a very good job at summarizing the movie, which a comedy twist. Very funny song.

1. From Poodle Hat - Ode to a Superhero
This album really didn't make it to the mainstream and I really don't know why. There was only one video for the album and it wasn't a parody. This song, however, is. It parodies Billy Joel's Piano Man and does to Spiderman was Saga Begins did to Star Wars. The song is a summary of Spiderman in a very, very funny way. I actually was laughing so hard when I first heard this song and I'm sure you will too.