New "Weird Al" pre- and post-release discussion [merged]

[Adam Tyner]

Well, I'm excited. No word on a title or tracklisting yet.

[nightwing82]

Any idea when they will release the track listing?

This is GREAT!

[Scot1458]

Great! Running with Siccors was his BEST album yet. Man, new Robbie Williams, new Weird Al, I might actually walk into a music store again!

[BT]

Been waitin' a long time for a new Weird Al album to drop. Looking forward to it. :)

-BT

[the narrator]

about time..i was beginning to wonder when a new one would come out

[Smidget]

w00t! One of the best concerts I saw :)

[Buttmunker]

I think his "Polka" songs are the best! I hate it when he puts out an album that doesn't include a Polka (luckily most do).

I'd love to find out the track listings, too. Since it's been quite a long time since his last album ("Running With Sissors" in the late '90's), the new one should include at least one Eminem parody or a J.Lo mix (The J.Lo Polka, Perhaps)?

[Scott27]

Apparently, the album is going to be called "Poodle Hat," and the tour the "Poodle Hat Tour."

Click here, and scroll down to the September 5 listing for the tour name (http://www.premieremarqueeclub.com/eventlisting_small.asp?)
Click here and go to the bottom of the list for the album title (http://www.beindependent.com/releases.asp?sortby=date&type=datesearch&streetdate=5%2F20%2F2003)

[grunter]

Great. Just what we need. Yet another parody of "Hot in Herre."

-rolleyes-

[Scott27]

The full cover art has now been posted at weirdal.com.

http://www.weirdal.com/images/phcdart2.jpg

[Sierra Disc]

I just can't get used to the man without glasses and mustache.

[Bust]

Hm...

I wonder if the NYC Subway cover theme has anything to do with the content on the disc.

[Adam Tyner]

From http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=18013&afl=mnew :

http://images.mp3.com/rollingstone/content/5718/Images/00324616.JPG

1. "Couch Potato," parody of Eminem's "Lose Yourself"
2. "Hardware Store"
3. "Trash Day," parody of Nelly's "Hot in Herre"
4. Party at the Leper Colony
5. "Angry White Boy Polka," parody of Papa Roach's "Last Resort," System of a Down's "Chop Suey," the Vine's "Get Free," the Hives' "Hate to Say I Told You So," the White Stripes' "Fell In Love With a Girl," the Strokes' "Last Nite," Disturbed's "Down With the Sickness," Rage Against the Machine's "Renegades of Funk," Limp Bizkit's "My Way," Staind's "Outside," Kid Rock's "Bawitdaba," P.O.D.'s "Youth of the Nation" and Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady"
6. "Wanna B Ur Lovr"
7. "A Complicated Song," parody of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated"
8. "Why Does This Always Happen to Me"
9. "Ode to a Superhero," parody of Billy Joel's "Piano Man"
10. "Bob"
11. "E-Bay," parody of the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way"
12. "Genius in France"

[Buttmunker]

This looks good. I love the Polka songs the best, and this one looks loaded. Although I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the songs he selected for the polka, I'm sure it will entice me to actually buy the real songs.

On Running With Scissors, his polka included The Dope Show by Marilyn Manson, and while I didn't care for the song (or give it a chance) in the past, I'm interested enough now to actually pick up the Manson album that contains the song - with a fresh, open perspective.

Thank you, Al.

[Buttmunker]

I really like Eminem, and while his hit Lose Yourself was the biggest song of his career, it ranks the lowest on my list of favorites due to all the *bleeps* you hear on the radio. It's also too much like a run-on rap as opposed to the melody contained on his other hits. I'd have preferred if he had parodied Superman or Cleanin' Out My Closet.

[das Monkey]

Multiple albums that I genuinely care about enough to approach a store being release on the <I>same day</I>? I can't recall the last time that happened.

das

[Scot1458]

woah! the only song I know is Piano Man!

[Buttmunker]

You gotta keep it real because Al's keeping it real.

[Numanoid]

Originally posted by Scot1458
woah! the only song I know is Piano Man!

I feel your pain, same here. Sadly, this is seriously going to hurt my enjoyment factor of this album.

God, I'm old.

[Buttmunker]

I'm surprised at all of you. How did you enjoy Running With Scissors, the last album? On it he had contemporary parodies as well. Actually, he did use American Pie for one, but that's the exception. The rest were from The Offspring and Puff Daddy.

[BigDaddy]

I just read that the couch song will not have a video because eminem said no. That sucks. I would like to hear the song.

[Buttmunker]

Originally posted by BigDaddy
I just read that the couch song will not have a video because eminem said no. That sucks. I would like to hear the song.

Eminem said no to the video, but yes to a parody song?!

[Buttmunker]

From www.billboard.com

Weird Al Parodies Eminem, Avril On New Album




"Weird Al" Yankovic takes on hits by a whole new crop of pop stars on his latest album, "Poodle Hat," due May 20 via Way Moby/Volcano. On the 12-track set, the musical parody veteran reworks well-known songs by such artists as Eminem, Avril Lavigne, and Nelly.

The album's lead track is "Couch Potato," a commentary on America's obsession with media and celebrity, set to Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Because Yankovic is going along with Eminem's wishes, the song won't be supported by the type of video treatment that has become the hallmark of past "Weird Al" projects.

"Eminem gave his approval for me to use 'Couch Potato' (my 'Lose Yourself' parody) as a track on my new album, but he wouldn't allow me to do a video for it," Yankovic tells Billboard.com. "He somehow feels that a Weird Al video would detract from his legacy or make people take him less seriously. I have to respect his decision, but it's obviously very disappointing for me -- it would have been an absolutely amazing video."

Elsewhere on "Poodle Hat," Lavigne's "Complicated" becomes "A Complicated Song," while Nelly's "Hot in Herre" is morphed into "Trash Day." Yankovic also turns Billy Joel's "Piano Man" into a "Spiderman" parody as "Ode to a Superhero," and the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" into the send-up "eBay."

In keeping with tradition, the album also features one of the accordion-playing musician's trademark polka medleys. The "Angry White Boy Polka" finds him incorporating snippets of songs by Rage Against The Machine, Papa Roach, System Of A Down, and the White Stripes, among others.

"Poodle Hat" also boasts original songs such as "Hardware Store," "Party at the Leper Colony," "Wanna B Ur Lovr," and the Bob Dylan homage "Bob." Ben Folds guests on the track ""Why Does This Always Happen to Me," while Dweezil Zappa appears on an tribute to his father, Frank Zappa ("Genius in France").

Yankovic and his band -- guitarist Jim West, bassist Steve Jay, and drummer Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz -- will kick off an extensive North American tour June 19 in Del Mar, Calif. Promising a "high-energy, multimedia extravaganza complete with hilarious video montages and elaborate costume changes," the tour will wrap with a Sept. 7 finale in Santa Clara, Calif.

"Poodle Hat" is the follow-up to 1999's "Running With Scissors," which peaked at No. 16 on The Billboard 200. That set parodied songs by the Barenaked Ladies, the Offspring, Puff Daddy, and others.

[Scot1458]

I have to admit on Sicors, the only one I didn't know was the Puff Daddy song, which Al did a TERRIC job on. Also think Jerry Spriger is better than the original.

I know I'll love this one. Only al could make me like Snoop Doggy Dog!

[Drexl]

Originally posted by BigDaddy
I just read that the couch song will not have a video because eminem said no.

Oh sure, that's understandable, because it's not as if Eminem would parody anyone in his videos without permission. :rolleyes:

[Rocky_Stallone]

Thank you ctyner for posting the track listing, the album sounds great!!!!

It was quite obvious that everyone predicted that he was going to parody "Lose Yourself" which is the one I can't wait to hear.

I also can't wait to hear that Billy Joel parody too. :)

[C-Mart]

This sounds great! I have been waiting for a long time for a new Al(bum). Thanks for the info!

[Buttmunker]

Remember the Dickie Goodman recordings? Mr. Jaws, for example, from 1975? Big novelty hit - ranked #4 - that contained samples from several hit songs from that year mixed with his commentary. He made his career and fortune from doing this, and I don't know if he had to acquire permission to do it. I remember back in 1958, Goodman and his partner (Buchanan?) released a song called The Flying Saucers that was the same bit as Mr. Jaws, a collection of the day's popular songs mixed with commentary. They were sued by several record companies - and Buchanan and Goodman WON!

Yankovic does something similar - except he leaves out the commentary - with his polkas. Little bits of each song mixed in a polka. I wish he'd release those as singles because I'll bet they'd get more radio play than his regular parodies.

[Iron Chef]

Tuesday!

[Rocky_Stallone]

WWWOOOOOOOOooooo, I'm going to try to pick this up this weekend. :)

[Michael Corvin]

Originally posted by Scot1458
woah! the only song I know is Piano Man!

Same here. Except for some of the songs in the polka mix. But I hate the polka crap he does. Oh well.

[C-Mart]

He was on KEvin and Bean this morning on KROQ and they played the polka as well as a snippit from Couch Potato. He will be signing CDs at the Virgin Megastore on Sunset in Hollywood tomorrow at 7PM if anyone is interested.

-CM-

[Buttmunker]

Originally posted by C-Mart
He was on KEvin and Bean this morning on KROQ and they played the polka as well as a snippit from Couch Potato. He will be signing CDs at the Virgin Megastore on Sunset in Hollywood tomorrow at 7PM if anyone is interested.

-CM-

How's it sound?! Did ya laugh out loud? Or chuckle? Or at least smile?

-Al Yankovic

[C-Mart]

The Angry White Boy Polka sounded pretty good, especially the "Ooh Ah ah ah ah!" part. That had me laughing out loud. I didn't get to hear the snippet from Couch Potato, as I was transitioning between house and car.

-CM-

[C-Mart]

This site has a link to MSN Entertainment, which has the whole Couch Potato song available to listen to. I would just link straight there, but this site also has the lyrics:

http://www.com-www.com/weirdal/couchpotato.html

I really like the song!

-CM-

[bub2000]

But I only watched "Will And Grace" one time one day
Wish I hadn't 'cause TiVo now thinks I'm gay

HA! I remember that story from a while ago...

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB1038261936872356908,00.html

[C-Mart]

Originally posted by bub2000
HA! I remember that story from a while ago...

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB1038261936872356908,00.html

That's pretty funny. I hadn't heard about the TiVo thing before. I'll have to ask my friend with Tivo if anything like that ever happened to him.

-CM-

[glassdragon]

Got my cd from meijer's at midnight :D awesome cd... got a kind of kareoke thing on it. And one of al's home videos and bonus insturmental tracks of the songs :P get it NOW

[das Monkey]

Although it's my personal life story, "Couch Potato" is pretty damn funny.

das

[das Monkey]

Normally I'd download an album like this before the release date and then buy it if it's good, but I got lazy and just bought it blind ... having now listened to the full thing, I am happy to say that it is excellent. Top to bottom, it's a creative and humorous effort, and the original tracks are solid (particularly "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?"). At 43 years old, his lyrics still show a keen and subtle understanding of American pop culture, and I would hope this album will be received better than his last couple of efforts (<I>Bad Hair Day</I> and <I>Running with Scissors</I>).

das

[Buttmunker]

It would be nice for him to have at least ONE Top 10 album in his career. I wish him luck in the sales department.

I think asking for Al to have a Number One album would be asking just a bit much. Even I have my feet firmly planted on the ground, and I'm sure Al doesn't have any delusions either.

But here's to faint hope...

[Scot1458]

Don't feel to sorry for Al, his records sell well, and he has a hell of a fan base.

Can't wait to get this one..last two were awsome! I still think Jerry Springer and Pentiums had some of his best lyrics ever.

[Buttmunker]

Not to knock Al, but I'm truly amazed at the longevity of his career. After all, when all is said and done, he's doing what most teenagers do all the time: making fun of popular songs.

I think Al Yankovic sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for a harvest of $$$ and fame and Grammys and platinum selling albums and Top 20 success that has spanned TWENTY years.

It's been said before, and it is sooo true: Al's career has lasted longer than most of the artists he parodies. Good for you, Al. But why did you shave your mustasche?!

[Chopper]

I went to Target during lunch to get this today, but it was $14.99, so I think I'll have to wait until I can get to Circuit City, where I think it's $11.99.

Any ideas for best prices?

[Drexl]

Originally posted by das Monkey
Normally I'd download an album like this before the release date and then buy it if it's good, but I got lazy and just bought it blind ...

Don't you mean "deaf?" :)

[das Monkey]

<BLOCKQUOTE> • Quoth Drexl •<HR SIZE=1>Don't you mean "deaf?" :) <HR SIZE=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

:lol: I smell a flurry of "Deaf Buy" threads. :)

das

[Aghama]

Originally posted by Chopper
I went to Target during lunch to get this today, but it was $14.99, so I think I'll have to wait until I can get to Circuit City, where I think it's $11.99.

Any ideas for best prices? CC often has the best prices for NEW CDs. I'm too lazy to go to the store, so I just order them from cc.com with free shipping.

[Buttmunker]

www.deepdiscountcd.com

I recommend them highly.

[C-Mart]

Best Buy was $13.99 but I had a Zoner $5 coupon so I went ahead and got it there.

-CM-

[DVDProfessor]

I couldn't find it at CC but I got it at Target for $13.99, Tower has it on sale for $13.99 as well.

REVIEW:

Couch Potato- Not very good, Al's great, but not as a rapper
Hardward Store- Kind of stupid
Trash Day- Kind of funny, it sounds...well, weird
Party at the Leper Colony- It's pretty good
Angry White Boy Polka- Good, as usual, but not his best.
Wanna B Ur Lovr- Funny as hell! One of his best songs of all!
A Complicated Song- As funny as hell! Such a great song!
Why Does This Always Happen to Me?- Great song, one of the best
Ode to a Superhero- Love it! This is coming from a Billy Joel fan.
Bob- Pretty stupid
eBay- Funny, it's okay
Genius in France- I didn't really like it all that much

Over all not as good as Running with Scissors or Bad Hair Day, but definately a great buy!

[cartman]

Circuit City didn't have any left when I got there, and Best Buy had to go in the back to get the last three they had for me to get one. Was there a shortage, or did they just not order many?

As a side note, does anyone (ctyner most likely?) know what one has to do to get the backstage passes to his shows? :D

[C-Mart]

It is so hard to find anything obscure on release day at a place like Circuit City or Best Buy. CC is a little better, but still not great. I tried to get a limited dvd at CC once and they told me that they only got 4 copies! I found Poodle Hat at BB, but it wasn't on the shelf. I looked through the carts that they were prepping to put on the shelf and found about 10-12 copies there. To us Weird Al isn't obscure, but for some reason the big chains don't get a huge stock on release day. It is very annoying.

I have listened to most of the album, but not closely, as I have been at work. So far I have enjoyed it, but I will make up my mind a little better when I get to actually listen to the lyrics.

-CM-

[Snowmaker]

So, what are the parodies?

[Adam Tyner]

Snowmaker: They've already been posted in this thread.

[C-Mart]

Ok, I've had plenty of chance to listen to this album and I really like it! I think that the original songs from the Running are a little better, but overall it is really solid. I like all of the songs on this album. As far as each track relative to each other I agree with DVDProfessor's review, but for the ones that he thinks are stupid, I like, just less than the others.

I think that A Complicated Song is my favorite.

-CM-

[DVDProfessor]

A Complicated Song and Ode to a Superhero

Are my favorite parodies

Why Does This Always Happen to Me?

Is my favorite original song!

[Professor Frink]

Originally posted by DVDProfessor
A Complicated Song and Ode to a Superhero

Are my favorite parodies

Why Does This Always Happen to Me?

Is my favorite original song!

:up:

I almost cried when I listened to <b>A Complicated Song</b>. I laughed out loud with each reveal during the chorus:
constipated, related, decapitated
:lol:

[MatthewCho]

"Hardware Store" is one of his best originals of all time, up there with "The Night Santa Went Crazy" and "Christmas At Ground Zero."

"Ebay" is hilarious and right on the money (love the A+++++ reference).

- Matt

[Rocky_Stallone]

I was very dissapointed in Al Yankovic's newest album "Poodle Hat". It wasn't all that great IMO. He did a lot more rap and R and B on this album.

1. None of his songs on the album weren't as funny anymore
2. He has only like three songs on the album that I like on it, which were "Ode to A Superhero", "Why Does this Always Happen to Me" (the Beck style parody original song) and "The Angry White Boy Polka".

But other than that, I didn't care for the other songs.

The Eminem parody "Couch Potatoe" was well done but the lyrics should have been written better to make it funnier.

What are your thoughts on the album for those who bought it?

[Rocky_Stallone]

On a side note, this post is coming from a huge Weird Al fanatic, I like his earlier stuff more.

"Running With Scissors" was a fantastic album, but this one "Poodle Hat" was dissapointing.

[benedict]

I've just merged the two related discussions for this topic in the same way as I have done recently (this week) with various Deftones near duplicates/overlaps. (Some OT stuff was also split off and locked).


Benedict
Moderator, Music Talk

[Adam Tyner]

Originally posted by Rocky_Stallone
"Why Does this Always Happen to Me" (the Beck style parody original song)

Ben Folds Five, not Beck. Ben even plays piano on the song.

[harpo787]

I guess my only complaint on the album is the lack of a song that covers the "she dumped me and now I'm just gonna gouge out my eyes, but even though I'm in pain that she's gone, I'm just gonna do so much better" style....along the lines of "Since You've Been Gone", "I'm So Sick of You" (both from Bad Hair Day), "Melanie" (from Even Worse)......

But I guess now I realize in searching on other albums, that he didn't seem to have a song along those lines off of the previous album Running With Scissors....oh well, other than that one complaint, I very much like the album.

Al could work until they day he died, or until someone stopped writing music....and that's not bloody likely to happen.

By the way, I think my favorite cover tune would be the Complicated song and perhaps the favorite original tune would be I'm In Love with You song....not sure if that's the right name....the one with the lyric "My love for you is like diarhea, I just can't hold it in".....

[Buttmunker]

Weird Al Yankovic's Poodle Hat debuted on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart at #17. Not a big surprise, but he is consistent! All of his best selling albums have been Top 20 successes. I was hoping for a Top 10 debut, but I guess it isn't in the cards for Al to have that kind of success.

[Iron Chef]

Bob is one of the best original songs that Al has ever done.

rotfl

[Scott27]

According to weirdal.com, the album sold 49,862 copies in the first week, for the aforementioned 17th place debut ranking. According to the site, both are first-week bests for Al. :thumbsup:

Anyone know what those numbers were for RWS?

[das Monkey]

<BLOCKQUOTE> • Quoth Iron Chef •<HR SIZE=1>Bob is one of the best original songs that Al has ever done.

rotfl <HR SIZE=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

While I don't think it's his best song, it may be the best title ever.

das

[evenflow]

Weird Al is one of the most untalented people in the music business... Fred Durst has more talent than him...

:crap:

[baboisme]

i've heard the complicated and lose yourself parodies. good stuff!

i scored free tickets to see him in june, and i can't wait!! :D

[Iron Chef]

Originally posted by evenflowddt
Weird Al is one of the most untalented people in the music business... Fred Durst has more talent than him...

:crap:

-ohbfrank-

Five years from now, nobody will be able to tell you who Fred Durst was. Al will live on.

I eagerly await your album evenflow, since you seem to know so much about musical talent.

[Chopper]

Originally posted by evenflowddt
Weird Al is one of the most untalented people in the music business... Fred Durst has more talent than him...

:crap:

Is this supposed to be really, really subtle sarcasm? Or are we using a different definition of "talent" than what I'm used to using?

[evenflow]

Originally posted by Iron Chef
-ohbfrank-

Five years from now, nobody will be able to tell you who Fred Durst was. Al will live on.
.

Of course, since Durst will soon find out that he sucks and stop making music. Al, on the other hand, will still release crappy albums thinking that he's funny and has talent.

[Rocky_Stallone]

Originally posted by evenflowddt
Of course, since Durst will soon find out that he sucks and stop making music. Al, on the other hand, will still release crappy albums thinking that he's funny and has talent.

CORRECTION: You may not think he's funny has no talent but other people do. At least Al has a full band and plays all the music himself, so you have to give him credit for that.

Weird Al's new album "Poodle Hat" is a major hit right now, it sold almost 50,000 albums and it's now #17 in the Billboard, this is Al's most highest albums selling he's ever had in his entire career. Even though I think "Poodle Hat" was dissapointing, I tip my hat off to Al for making it a smash hit though. :)

[Buttmunker]

Hey, Weird Al Yankovic would not appreciate all the bickering. He would want everyone to talk about how great he is, so let's get on with it...

[glassdragon]

WWAD - what would Al do? :lol:

[Bust]

Just got this today... :up: :up:

Love "Ode To A Superhero". "Bob" is a GREAT original.

This is the first "Al"-bum I've purchased since Even Worse. Good to hear he's still writing these songs.

[JestersTear]

This is one of Al's best CD's ever.

Couch Potato and Trash Day are constant replays when I'm out driving. As far as original songs go, "Why Does This Always Happen to Me" is pure gold.

The only weak points on the CD are "Wanna be ur lver," which is probably the absolute worst song he's ever done, and the extreme length of "Genius in France."

As for "Bob." I assume most have noticed it, but since I haven't seen it mentioned in here, every line of the song is a palindrome (a phrase that is spelled the same forwards and backwards). That's a work of art.

[BigPete]

Listening to it now ... I just wished Al masked his voice a little better. Songs like Amish Paradise, Smeels Like Nirvana, and the other huge hits worked best for me because it sounded so much like the real thing. His normal voice comes through a lot more in this album, and I feel my enjoyment suffers a little because of it.

Parts of "Genius in France" had me convinced I was listening to Zappa. More than conviced, it's a frickin' reincarnation!! I dunno if that's a good or bad thing, tho. I just wish I had the liner notes handy to see what they said about it.

[JestersTear]

Originally posted by LittleDick
Parts of "Genius in France" had me convinced I was listening to Zappa. More than conviced, it's a frickin' reincarnation!! I dunno if that's a good or bad thing, tho. I just wish I had the liner notes handy to see what they said about it.

Dweezil plays guitar on the track

[BigPete]

Originally posted by JestersTear
Dweezil plays guitar on the track

Interesting. Well, at least that means he had permission to steal a page from Frank's lyrics book.

[Bust]

Originally posted by JestersTear
... and the extreme length of "Genius in France."



9 minutes?!?!? WTF Al?

[Bust]

Originally posted by JestersTear
As far as original songs go, "Why Does This Always Happen to Me" is pure gold.


After listening a few more times, I have to say this is the best song on the disc. Absolutely hilarious.

[Adam Tyner]

9 minutes?!?!? WTF Al?

It's not the longest song he's written or anything.

[JestersTear]

Originally posted by ctyner
It's not the longest song he's written or anything.

It's not just the length that bothers me, it's that it's long & tedious. If it were a 5 minute song, I'd love it.

[harpo787]

"Albuquerque" from Running with Scissors runs close to 12 minutes long...but I like it more than "Genius in France".

I guess it really is all about sour kraut(sp?)!

Genius in France, eh? Does Al live in France sometimes? The guy IS a genius after all....

[BigPete]

Originally posted by JestersTear
It's not just the length that bothers me, it's that it's long & tedious. If it were a 5 minute song, I'd love it.

It's flawless Frank Zappa ... what else would you expect? He was true to his inspiration.

"Genius in France" is a nine-minute homage to Frank Zappa that's clever and authentic but will just puzzle most listeners

[Bust]

Anyone else still listening to this? I can't get over how awesome it would be to stab my boss in the face when he asks me to order more toner.

[jay77a]

Originally posted by Bust
Anyone else still listening to this? I can't get over how awesome it would be to stab my boss in the face when he asks me to order more toner.

WELCOME BACK SENOR THREAD!?!

[Bust]

just found this today... amazing flash animation for "angry white boy polka..."

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view.php?id=132035

[Scot1458]

still nothing beats IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PENTIUMS.

that song is pure art.

[Booth]

Originally posted by JestersTear
As for "Bob." I assume most have noticed it, but since I haven't seen it mentioned in here, every line of the song is a palindrome (a phrase that is spelled the same forwards and backwards). That's a work of art.

Boy, I feel dumb. I've had the album for 6 months and have listened to "Bob" many times. I never picked up on that. Thanks for the tip-off, though!