Album Review: “Weird Al” Yankovic – Alpocalypse

Whether you’re a die-hard fan or not, the release of a new Weird Al album is an important thing. The man has observed, deconstructed, composed, performed, and recorded music in every popular genre of the last three decades. What other artist can say that? He is an all-seeing pop culture overlord. Al knows us better than we know ourselves. But Yankovic is himself a part of the story unfolding. The world is changing rapidly, the music industry is collapsing in on itself, and “Weird Al” Yankovic , though he still looks like a spry young thing, is over fifty. Adapting to the new norm and spinning it on its head is his greatest trick, but can he keep up the pace? Since the early ’90s he’s been releasing albums at widening intervals – three, four, and now five years apart. For those of us who’ve been hooked on parodies and polkas since our adolescence, the wait is agonizing. Well, ALcolytes rejoice, the Alpocalypse ‘ tracks began in 2008 with the extremely timely parody of T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” (by the same name) about spoiling your fly honey amidst the nation’s damaged economy. The track was recorded and released in two weeks and made it to iTunes while T.I.’s original was still number one in the charts. It was a bold move and a great way to keep up with the times. Despite having been announced around the same time as “Whatever You Like”, the EP’s additional four tracks, all original work, appeared nearly a year later. Oddly enough, fast forward to 2011, all five of the EP’s tracks appear on Alpocalypse .

Al’s a big fan of patterns, and not just the brightly colored ones on his shirts. His albums have developed a formula over the years: 12 tracks, five parodies, one polka mega-mix of hit songs, six originals most often “style parodies” of other artists. Within those tracks there are also a number of subjects that he returns to: food, television, ironic romance, and he frequently illustrates the core concept of a song with lists of anecdotes or items. By the numbers Alpocalypse : ‘It’s really good, but not nearly as great as (whichever Weird Al record I listened to when I was 12)’” And this is a sentiment that’s sure to be shared by the vast majority of adult listeners. The fact is, there is no perfect Weird Al album. Each of his records act as a cross section of culture. They become time capsules. Yankovic takes strides to give his topical tracks some serious staying power; just look at the longevity of 1999′s “It’s All About the Pentiums”. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Often times the humor of his parody lyrics outlive the notoriety of the tracks he parodies. Ultimately, the best way to judge a Weird Al album is on a song-by-song basis.