::Weird Al Yankovic::Bad Hair Day::
Weird Al just cant stop making fun of great artists. Thank god. The title “Bad Hair Day” comes directly from Coolio’s crazy dread locks, which Al soon gets to mock soon enough for a second time. Although following albums such as “Dare to be Stupid” and “Even Worse”, his ninth album, Bad Hair Day is a classic all on its own. Well, lets get to the TxT.
Amish Paradise (3:20): Mocking Coolio’s “Gangsta Paradise”, Al takes the subject matter from living as a gangster, to living as an Amish man. This is arguably Al’s most popular song. Honestly this is a parody song at its best. The raps are smooth, the music is still in Coolio style, and fantastic rhyme and rhythm timing. I always appreciated Weird Al for his ability to rearrange the lyrics of one song to make a completely different masterpiece of the same d*mn song. If you haven’t heard this song or seen the video, get out from under your rock and download it or something!
Everything You Know is Wrong (3:47): When you hear the first verse of this song, you will undoubtedly think ‘WTF?!?!’ but don’t worry, theres still a good song behind the wtf-ness. Although the true meaning behind the song is nonexistent, it is pretty much a compilation of everything Weird Al finds bizarre and unusual. Such events include the verse of "driving on the freeway in the fast lane with a rabid wolverine in my underwear when suddenly a guy behind me in the back seat popped right up and cupped his hands across my eyes." Yep, just not normal.
Cavity Search (4:19): A nicely organized parody of "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2. It is pretty much the story about a guy who has uncontrollable urges to visit his dentist. His muttering of “Numb Me, Drill Me, Floss Me, Bill Me” seems almost like he’s having A LOT of fun at the dentist. Not sung in a sarcasticaly screechy voice like Weird Al does a lot, but more of an actual high production song, which only adds to the dry hilarity of the song. Near 2:33 theres a drilling sound and Al Moaning. I’ll end with that note.
Callin’ In Sick (3:40): A solid Weird Al song about faking an illness so he doesn’t have to go to work. And then following up his day of fun and relaxation by doing absolutely useless thing like, and I quote “I could sit and count my hair, I could burp my Tupperware.” Just a fun song that we all can relate to, although I’m not too sure how many of us burps our own Tupperware.
The Alternative Polka (4:50): Just a horde of popular alternative songs played with polka music. Such songs include:
"Loser" by Beck,
"Sex Type Thing" by Stone Temple Pilots,
"All I Want To Do" by Sheryl Crow,
"Closer" by Nine Inch Nails,
"Bang And Blame" by R.E.M.,
"You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette,
"Bullet With Butterfly Wings" by Smashing Pumpkins,
“My Friends" by Red Hot Chili Peppers,
"I'll Stick Around" by Foo Fighters,
"Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden, and
"Basket Case" by Green Day.
“The Alternative Polka” is just a pure fun song. Very fast and very bouncy.
Since You’ve Been Gone (1:22): The shortest song on the album. This is a very, VERY great song about coping with the end of a relationship. Something unexpected, sort of with it being Weird Al and all, is that this is an A Capella. Weird Al takes center stage, but there are some bass vocals in the back with the bouncy “Boom Biddy Ba Ba” type stuff. Great listen.
Gump (2:10): A parody of "Lump" by The Presidents of the United States of America” about well, Forrest Gump. It’s basically mocking how forrest gump looks, acts, and just plain is. Some nice verses complimenting the infamous “Shrimp Boat Bubba”, “Jenny”, “Momma”, and “Lt. Dan”. A fun song (I seem to be saying that a lot) and one of the best on the album.
I’m So Sick of You (3:26): Another Yankovic original on the album about a man who is getting sick of his wife about her bad habits. It seems kind of bland for the album. Definitely not a highlight, so I skip this one a lot.
Syndicated Inc. (3:54): A nice parody of “Misery” by “Soul Asylum”. It is about a family who loves the television. Like, that’s what they believe in. This features some of the nicest harmonization from Weird Al and there’s a nice harmonica solo. It features some nice classic shows like The Partridge Family, Laverne and Shirley, and All in the Family. Overall, a solid song and a solider parody.
I Remember Larry (3:56): This is another really bouncy song. Its about a guy named Larry who is the neighborhood prankster and about how Weird Al will always remember him for being a “Funny, Funny Guy.” The verses include the various thing that ‘Crazy Larry’ has done in the neighborhood, specifically Al. Generally it’s a really great song.
Phony Calls (3:22): Yet another parody, this time of “Waterfalls” by “TLC.” This has to be my favorite on the album. Its about making crack phone calls when the parents are out. He makes sure to mention all the famous lines like “Is your refrigerator running?”, “Do you have prince Albert in a can?”, and features a skip from the Simpson’s where Bart makes a call asking for a “Mike Rotch” and gets the guy to scream for a “My Crotch”. Great fun and excellent humor, but you can expect nothing less from Weird Al.
The Night Santa Went Crazy (4:01): This is it folks. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. No, not the end of the album; the SONG at the end of the album. This is honestly a classic song for anyone who’s heard it, and that is an unconfirmed fact. It is a jolly Christmas song about Santa Claus going crazy and raising hell among all the reindeer and elves. One of the best lines here includes “Well, he took a big flamethrower, and he barbecued Blitzen, then he took a big bite and said it tastes just like chicken.” I mean, c’mon. That is genius writing. The verses are filled with booze breath and reindeer chunks in the snow. This epic ends with the follow-up to the whole thing with the elves working for the U.S. Postal Service and Mrs. Claus working out movie deals. So, in closing the album ends with a bang. No pun intended.
In closing, this album is seriously something of a legend. There is much to be had as there usually always is with Weird Al. So if you like Al and don’t currently own this album, then please give it a listen. If you don’t like Weird Al, sucks to be you.
Weird Al is:
"Weird Al" Yankovic - accordion, keyboards, background vocals
Hank Azaria - voices
Nancy Cartwright - voices
Gary Herbig - bass saxophone
Steve Jay - bass, background vocals
Tommy Johnson - tuba
Warren Luening - trumpet
Joel Peskin - clarinet
Lisa Popeil - background vocals
Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz - percussion, drums
Ruben Valtierra - keyboards
Jim West - guitar, background vocals
