Mix Tape of the Day: April 29, 2015 - The Best of Weird Al: The Pastiches

When I was younger, I was a fan of the parodies and polkas, and I figured the original Weird Al songs were just that, originals.  I had my favorites of course, but I never saw them as being more clever than the first two types.  Then I discovered that people noticed similarities between his original songs and other works.  I thought they were mistaken because the parodies were clearly marked in the liner notes, but I learned that Al was more talented than I gave him credit for.

These are the pastiches.  Also known as "style parodies," these are the songs that emulate the style and sound of a specific band or artist, often sounding similar to a majority of riffs or melodies from that band's library.

I've featured a lot of these on various band mixes ("CNR" (The White Stripes), "Stuck in a Closet with Vanna White" (Van Halen), "One More Minute" (Elvis Presley), and "Close but No Cigar" (Cake)) and I'll continue to do so, I'm sure.  But the following are my favorites because these make me the most pleased to imagine the imitated band covering these strange topics.  Be careful, a lot of these are long...

1. Dare to Be Stupid - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1985) If I had to pick one representative for Al's style parodies, I'll go with his most well known.  This Devo-inspired piece of absurdity was hailed as "the perfect Devo song" by Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh.

2. Buy Me a Condo - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1984) These are my favorite type of style parodies because of how it clashes with the original artist's philosophies.  Taking Bob Marley's laid-back Rastafarian lifestyle and replanting him in suburban America as a yuppie is just a bizarre concept that works so well.  "Gonna get me the t-shirt with the alligator on."  As a kid, I had no idea what the purpose of this song was but now it all makes sense.

3. Trigger Happy - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1992) This '60s surf rock song inspired by Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys pairs their happy-go-lucky attitude with a gun-fanatic, highlighting the absurdities of gun owners.  But apparently, some of them became fans of this song without a sense of irony.  Uh-oh.

4. Pancreas - "Weird Al" Yankovic (2006) This is an odd one to explain.  Continuing with our Beach Boys motif, Al focused on Brian Wilson's songs for this pastiche.  And if you know your Beach Boys history, you know that they spent years developing what was supposed to be the biggest and best album ever, Smile.  It never came to fruition and ultimately failed (but Wilson tried to save face and released a hodge-podge recording in 2004), but I like to imagine an alternate universe he spent those 40 years making his true magnum opus: an ode to his pancreas.

5. Everything You Know Is Wrong - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1996) I like this one because, like "Dare to Be Stupid," it could just easily fit within the original artist's library and you'd be none the wiser.  It's the They Might Be Giants song that never was.  It doesn't quite match up to any specific song, but the lyrics, tone, and melody are all distinctly TMBG.

6. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me - "Weird Al" Yankovic (2011) We're getting into the long epic songs now.  These are the ones that Al likes to close his albums with.  First up, a Jim-Steinman-esque song.  He's the producer behind songs such as Meatloaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)," Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," and Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All," so you know this will be big.  It's a silly subject (annoying emailers), but just imagine Meatloaf or Tyler belting out the line, "Your 'quotes from George Carlin' aren't really George Carlin!"

7. Genius in France - "Weird Al" Yankovic (2003) Al just made a straight-up Frank Zappa song.  He even got Zappa's son to play guitar on it.  It's all over the place musically, but that's Zappa's style.  It's a very long song, but it manages to keep things interesting the whole time.  It just mesmerizes me.

8. The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1989) This was Al's first "epic" song.  Taking the meandering "storytelling" folk song like Harry Chapin's "30,000 Pounds of Bananas," Al creates a character who is just so happy to take his family to kitschy tourist traps all over the country.  The moment when he stares at that biggest ball of twine and starts openly weeping is magnificent.

9. Albuquerque - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1999) Speaking of long story songs... Al took the obscure song "Dick's Automotive" by the Rugburns and told his own silly story over the music.  I just heard the original today, and I was surprised at how well both versions work.  Still, I prefer Al's.  It's so wonderfully quotable.  Wocka wocka doo doo yeah!

10. Mission Statement - "Weird Al" Yankovic (2014) Phew, we need a break after those songs! How about this Crosby, Stills & Nash pastiche that lends their low-key enjoyment of life to a long list of corporate buzzwords and jargon?  This one may not have any "jokes" or "funny lines," but the whole piece is an experience.

11. Good Old Days - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1988) What if James Taylor and Charles Manson collaborated on a song?  That was Al's impetus behind this one.  It's sweet and nostalgic and disturbing.

12. Dog Eat Dog - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1986) As a Talking Heads fan, I love this song.  It's content is the exact opposite of the Talking Heads outlook on life.  With elements of "Stay Up Late," "Artists Only," "And She Was," and, of course, "Once in a Lifetime," Al's fictional version of Brian Eno loves his mindless cubicle job and never wants it to change.

13. Frank's 2000" TV - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1993) But my all time favorite is my favorite.  This was my favorite Weird Al song before I even realized it was an R.E.M. style parody.  I hadn't yet listened to much of their early work, but now I see how songs such as "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" inspired this ode to consumerism and excess.  But hey, having a 2000" TV would be cool!  Al just sounds so earnest.  It's the truest love song I've ever heard.