The Food Album - Weird Al Yankovic

...those novelty albums, you know the ones where you hear the tune correctly but the words have been replaced Weird Al Yankovic is a popular name in the world of parodies. Until 5 years ago I was not a fan of these songs, in fact I had never heard them. I think the first song I heard was 'Which Backstreet Boy is Gay' which had me in fits of laughter. I was in a mate's car one night, he was evidently into this type of music and was listening to a rather ...
...young age and was into the parodies of Allan Sherman. Anyway Weird Al Yankovic has grown up today to be one of those artists you either love - or hate. Personally I have quite a liking towards his music they never fail to make me giggle so are perfect for that rainy, depressing day where you need a slight chuckle.
*****OTHER SONGS*****

I am not going to go into all of them on here because this is a review about the 'food' album. ... more

*****WEIRD AL YANKOVIC*****

Don't you just love those novelty albums, you know the ones where you hear the tune correctly but the words have been replaced Weird Al Yankovic is a popular name in the world of parodies. Until 5 years ago I was not a fan of these songs, in fact I had never heard them. I think the first song I heard was 'Which Backstreet Boy is Gay' which had me in fits of laughter. I was in a mate's car one night, he was evidently into this type of music and was listening to a rather hilarious song 'Like a Surgeon'. The first paragraph nearly made me wet myself with laughter. Until that night I had never heard of Weird Al Yankovic and soon became interested in his songs.
Weird Al Yankovic's real name is Alfred Matthew Yankovic and he was born 23rd October 1959 in California. He was into music from a young age and was into the parodies of Allan Sherman. Anyway Weird Al Yankovic has grown up today to be one of those artists you either love - or hate. Personally I have quite a liking towards his music they never fail to make me giggle so are perfect for that rainy, depressing day where you need a slight chuckle.
*****OTHER SONGS*****

I am not going to go into all of them on here because this is a review about the 'food' album. I will give you a slight insight into some of my favourite songs to give you a taster of this funny artist.

I think I would have to say that my favourite song is probably 'Like a Surgeon' a parody of Madonna's 'Like a Virgin'. I will give you the first paragraph as it is just so funny, try singing it along to the tune for the best laugh ;-)

"I finally made it through med school
Somehow I made it through
I'm just an intern
I still make a mistake or two"

Weird Al Yankovic has also done the following parodies you may recognize some of them.

"Ebay" a parody of I want it That Way by 'Backstreet Boys'
"I think I'm a Clone Now" a parody of I think we're alone Now by 'Tiffany'

Check him out you can buy his albums fairly cheap on Amazon and Play.com it's worth the money for the giggle. Secondhand you can pick up a CD for less than a £1 new you would expect to pay anything between £6 and £12 for a single CD.

*****THE FOOD ALBUM*****

This album obviously features songs based on food. It is rather funny but not my favourite of Weird Al's albums. This album costs £11.49 brand new on Amazon and £3.41 used. It is a good buy especially if you are into these entertaining parodies.

***Track 1***
'FAT' (track length 3:40)
A funny track which is a parody of 'Bad' by Michael Jackson.

My funniest line is this one - "When I walk out to get my mail, it measures on the Richter scale". I spat my drink out listening to that one and it still makes me chuckle today. The song is obviously about some poor chap who has got a little too fat and just walking causes an earthquake.

***Track 2***
'Lasagna' (track length 2:49)
I quite like the song La Bamba by Los Lobos and this is a funny track dedicated to the yummy food of Lasagna.

Again I will enlighten you to my favorite line although it's not as funny as the above one it still makes me smile. I just thought this bit added to the Italian accent was just quite good. "Have-a more ravioli, You-a get roly poly, a-nice and-a big". Clearly Weird Al is referring to the tummy getting bigger with all that lasagna.

***Track 3***
'Addicted to Spuds' (track length 3:51)
I loved the way this song started with the 'rappy' start about many different types of spuds. It is clearly a song about someone who loved spuds so much. When it breaks into "Might as well face it, you're addicted to spuds" In a way I was expecting this but laughed so much when I heard it.

***Track 4***
'I love Rocky Road' (track length 2:56) I know it was done originally by someone else but I only the Britney spears one. 'I Love Rock and Roll'.

I love Rocky Road is the parody by Weird Al about someone who loved the ice cream called 'Rocky Road' The song is funny an I am sure you will know this funny line and compare it to the real one. "So have another triple scoop with me, ow"

***Track 5***
'Spam' (track length 3:01)
I must admit I didn't find this one very funny until I heard the original. The song is a parody of 'Stand' by REM and admittedly I had never heard the song before. Don't get me wrong it is quite funny as it's about that pork meat called Spam. I think you need to know the previous songs well to find the parodies funny.

***Track 6***
'Eat it' (track length 3:22)
Tee hee I was laughing all the way through this song, its just hilarious. A parody of Michael Jackson's 'Beat it'. It's about parents trying to get their kids to eat properly. The song really is hilarious.

It's just the bit "Don't want to argue, I don't want to debate, don't want to hear about what kind of food you hate" that really gets me going, and as it's right at the beginning of the song I am chuckling throughout the rest often missing other funny parts.

***Track 7***
'The White Stuff' (track length 2:44)
This is a song based on (New Kids on the Block - The Right Stuff) about someone who loves that milkly filling between Oreo cookies. These biscuits are usually found in supermarkets such as Lidl or on American Soap Operas. Even so the song is rather funny and did make me smile. The 'new' words fit in perfectly with the 'original' lyrics

***Track 8***
'My Bologna' (track length 2:00)
I can't say I recognised the original tune at first however my partner informed me that it was My Sharona by the Knack. I had heard the tune and found it funny but my partner thought it was great as he obviously knew the song well before. The song is basically about the obsession of a Bologna. The burp through the song is rather random and actually quite funny!

***Track 9***
'Taco Grande' (track length 3:47)
I didn't really get this song, the words were funny but I wouldn't call it a parody as it's not a real song or it's an unfamiliar one. It is about someone's visit to a restaurant selling Mexican food. I would suppose that a slight knowledge of the Spanish language would help here.

***Track 10***
'Rye or the Kaiser' (track length 3:55)
This is a rather funny song about a famous boxer who got 'fat and weak' and is now running a deli on the end of the street. The song is a parody of Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (the Rocky theme tune). The title is about the products on offer in his deli shop. The song is quite funny although not my favorite. I must admit that I had to listen 2-4 times to really understand what he was singing about.

***SUMMARY***

OK so he is not really to everyone's taste but he is very funny. I must admit that his songs always bring a smile to my face and often an immature chuckle here and there! I believe Weird Al is a funny performer and would recommend this album to anyone needing a laugh or two. This CD will cost about £5-£11 from Amazon, Play.com and Ebay...A bargain! 

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