On one hand, I don’t think anybody took “Weird Al” Yankovic
seriously after 1997. On the other hand, since it’s Weird Al, that
really doesn’t matter.
Most people of my generation were first exposed to Al when
“Amish Paradise” came out, and many of liked the irreverent lyrics
set to songs we knew and liked. So when
Running With Scissors came out, we eagerly picked it up and
hoped for the best.
The problem is, Al and his band perfectly recreate the original
songs and lavish production on the originals, meaning the pop
culture references in the songs and the songs themselves are
already outdated. It’s good to hear parodies of Nine Inch Nails,
Don McLean (sounds like a burger), Barenaked Ladies, and TLC, but
those bands were popular in the early 90’s (except McLean), and
this came out in 1999.
Any Weird Al album divides into originals and covers. Here, the
originals far outweigh the covers, with “Germs,” “My Baby’s in Love
with Eddie Vedder” and “Albuquerque” nicely fitting into the
Yankovic canon. The latter song is a 12-minute jumble that’s only
for fans of Frank Zappa or art-rock, but if you have the patience
and like this sort of humor, it’s hilarious.
Of the covers, “Grapefruit Diet” does justice to swing, “It’s
All About the Pentiums” takes the pretension out of gangsta rap and
“Jerry Springer” keeps pace with the Barenaked Ladies “One Week.”
Dated music and dated references, but fun all the same.
I tended to get bored listening to “The Saga Begins,” because
there is no way to improve “American Pie” after it was played
830,500 times a week on classic rock radio. Some of the tracks near
the end tended to meander a bit, almost as if Weird Al was trying
too hard, but his ubiquitous polka pastiche, in this case
“Alternative Polka,” is one of the most entertaining songs
here.
Obviously, this is not quality entertainment, but it’s fun, and
while it may not have the staying power of some of Al’s earlier
songs, it’s one of the strongest entries in his library. But don’t
be surprised if you don’t get some of the musical or cultural
references.
