52. Poodle Hat by Weird Al Yankovic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YDOZjrVMAY&list=OLAK5uy_ljbAhXzssWBDwG6nZMwr5GFgDp8VE0GDQ
As a 14-year-old farm boy, many a Saturday was spent on a tractor on a Marsh Valley mountainside driving round and round a field, tilling up the soil in preparation for planting or just preventing the weeds from growing. But even though I had to spend the entire day on that tractor seat, I always was excited to do the work, because the tractor had a radio, and out in the fields up on a mountain, I could get the Salt Lake City radio station that played the Dr. Demento Show every Saturday. (My radio at home couldn't pick up the station.) And one of the reasons I loved the Dr. Demento Show was because he would play the Weird Al Yankovic's song " Yoda," and up on that mountain was the only place I could ever hear it, because it never got released on a record until 1985. But when I heard it in 1980--the year The Empire Strikes Back hit the theaters and Yoda over took Kermit as my favorite green muppet--I turned into a Weird Al Yankovic fan. Of course, for the next four years nobody else knew it in my school except for a few close friends. But then Weird Al released " Eat It" as a parody of Michael Jackson's "Beat It," and the entire world took notice. I know that the student body of Marsh Valley High School took notice because I used to play "Beat It" at the school dances, wait about five songs, and then play "Eat It." There would always be some jock that would yell out, "You played that one already!" during the opening notes. But then when the weird fart noise started up, they'd all laugh and realize that they'd been pranked.
That song got Al the 1984 Grammy for Best Comedy Recording. But the Grammys didn't stop there. Since then, he's been nominated 16 times for various albums, songs, and music videos, with five Grammy wins, including Best Comedy Album for Mandatory Fun and, one of my Top 60 favorite albums, Poodle Hat.
Poodle Hat won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album, which I think belies the man's true musical genius. He's not just funny. He's a talented composer, musician (he ROCKS the accordion), and singer. Yes, this album does have five straight-up parodies of hit songs written by other people, but there are seven original songs that hold their own musically against the parodied songs. And that's saying something because one of those parodied songs happens to be "Piano Man" by Billy Joel! And if you're a Ben Folds fan, Ben plays piano on the song "Why Does This Always Happen to Me," which is a style parody of Ben Folds songs. Apparently, the two men are friends, and Al will sometimes play with Ben just for the hell of it.
The hallmark of Weird Al songs are the clever and funny lyrics, so there are plenty of spit-take-funny lines on this album. But I think the funniest part of the entire album comes from the beginning of "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?"
I was watching my TV one nightWhen they broke in with a special reportAbout some devastating earthquake in PeruThere were thirty thousand crushed to deathEven more were buried aliveOn the Richter scale it measured 8.2And I said"God, please answer me one question""Why'd they have to interrupt The Simpsons just for this?"
One of the other things I love about Al's albums is how he will always include one song which will never get air-play on the radio because it's way too long. "Genius in France" is the long song for this album. As you listen to this song, see if you can figure out the different ways that he says that he is "dumb." (I count 35, but I could be wrong.) By the way, the song was written as an homage to Frank Zappa--another musical genius--and Frank's son, Dweezil Zappa, plays guitar on it.
I bought Poodle Hat while going to graduate school at Utah State, and I listened to it repeatedly at work while doing mindless boring work involving HTML code fixes. But it also got lots of play in the pickup truck anytime the family took a trip anywhere. Julie heard it enough times that now anytime I say, "Honey, don't you realize that I'm a genius?" she will say, "Yeah, but only in France." So THAT'S how much I listened to this album--enough times that my WIFE remembers the song lyrics and uses them against me. Consequently, you may want to listen to this album out of ear shot of your wife. But make sure the kids hear it, because loving a Weird Al song is something every kid should do, even if they don't have a radio on their tractor.
Once again, I am exposed as a fraud. I've long considered myself a fan of Weird Al, yet I've never actually purchased any of his albums. Oh, I've bought a few random songs here and there (one of my favorite workout songs is Weird Al's "Tacky"), but most of my exposure to actual Weird Al music comes from Nardo and his Nebraska nephew.
ReplyDeleteAs suggested, I played this album around the kids. Their favorites were "A Complicated Song," and "Ode to a Super Hero." My personal favorite is "Why Does This Always Happen To Me." (I remember watching the night of Al's tambourine performance on Ben's "Landed" on the "Tonight Show." It was a true late-night joyous surprise!)
Weird Al is a national treasure, and I applaud you for further exposing him (figuratively speaking) to me.