Weird Al Yankovic, the king of parodists, has returned with his latest sendoff on today's pop stars, Bad Hair Day.
Five parodies grace this album, with two of them hitting a bullseye. "Amish Paradise", a take-off of the Coolio/L.V. #1 hit "Gangsta's Paradise", and "Gump", using the music from the Presidents of the United States hit "Lump", both rank in the Al hall of classics, for their humorous lyrics and well-played musical backing. Older fans of Soul Asylum who insinuate "pop sellout!" with their latest release will find some justification as Al turns "Misery" into "Syndicated Inc.", an average ode to today's television re-runs.
Unfortunately, the U2 song "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" (which gets transformed into the dentist song "Cavity Search") and the TLC penned "Waterfall" (now "Phony Calls") are both boring -in their lyrical content as well as performance. Even the appearance of Bart Simpson and Homer's favorite bartender, Moe, can't save "Phony Calls".
His original songs, which often get overlooked, are sometimes musical gems of a format - witness prior homages to the Talking Heads ("Dog Eat Dog") and the Devo dedication "Dare To Be Stupid". Two new ones continue this tradition: "Everything You Know Is Wrong" is a long overdue tip of the hat to the eccentric early days of They Might Be Giants, and "Callin' In Sick" points up to the Seattle scene including Nirvana's "Come As You Are". And, as always, the "Alternative Polka" medley, is good for a laugh.
The latest release by Weird Al Yankovic, Bad Hair Day, won't win any converts to the king of parody's camp - and this release won't generate any monster sales. But, those who are Close Personal Friends of Al will want to purchase this disc - and web surfers will want to check out more information at http://www.loop.com/~bermuda/index.htm
