I’ve seen the genre of Limp Bizkit and their complaining comrades referred to as “nu metal,” although I’m not sure exactly what that means. Ben has said that he was mostly aiming his song at Korn, however, and they’re conspicuously absent from the polka. Two years prior, Al directed the video for Ben Folds’s “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” which also mocked this variety of music. It has a Bo Diddley rhythm, and Buddy Holly, Kenny Loggins, and Bruce Springsteen (specifically Clarence Clemons’ saxophone work in his songs) have also been proposed as influences.Īngry White Boy Polka – This polka medley has a more consistent theme than most of them, and it’s a theme that contrasts well with the cheerful music. It’s mostly a collection of puns, although as someone pointed out, it’s kind of surprising he didn’t include the line “throw your hands in the air” anywhere in it. Party at the Leper Colony – Apparently leprosy doesn’t ACTUALLY cause body parts to fall off, but that’s become such a common part of popular culture that it’s not surprising Al would use it in this song.
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I don’t find this to be one of Al’s more memorable parodies, but I always like it when I listen to it, mostly for the lines “it’s so bad the roaches wear slippers” and “I wipe my feet before I go outside.” I’m not sure why he didn’t just use “Rotten Herre” as the name of this one, though. I can understand why “Couch Potato” wouldn’t be called “Lose Your Mind,” as that would give no indication as to what the song was about. It’s interesting that most of the parody titles on this album don’t really give an indication as to what they’re spoofing. Trash Day – A parody of Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” which will probably come to my mind for the rest of my life whenever someone mentions the heat. One part of the song has Al quickly listing many different items the store sells (including automatic circumcisers), and the speed with which he does it has led to his never even attempting to play this one live. The premise of people in a small town being really excited because a big hardware store is opening is probably pretty accurate. I don’t know who that artist was, but the song is excellent as it is. Hardware Store – I believe Al said that he originally intended this to be a style parody, but it ended up sounding nothing like the artist whose style he was trying to imitate, so it’s basically a true original. I do think it’s strange that Al didn’t try to make a video for any other parodies on the album, but apparently the “Couch Potato” one was already in pre-production, so maybe it was a budget issue. When Al did a fake interview with Eminem, he made it less absurd than usual, instead pointing out the rapper’s hypocrisy. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, both because Eminem frequently employs comedy in his own songs and videos, and because I’m not sure why a video would be so much more objectionable than the song. This remains the only lead parody on one of Al’s albums NOT to have a music video, because apparently Eminem gave permission for the song but not a video. I believe the joke about TiVo thinking someone is gay because they watched Will and Grace is based on an actual anecdote. It mentions both then-contemporary shows and old favorites like The Flintstones and The Muppet Show.
A COMPLICATED SONG WEIRD AL OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO TV
There are elements here of “I Can’t Watch This” in that it’s a rap that criticizes some TV shows of the period, but it’s not quite as negative. It was not one of his better-received albums, perhaps due partially to a lack of promotion.Ĭouch Potato – Al returns to his old standby subject of television with this parody, featuring a narrator who has kind of a love/hate relationship with the tube. I remember buying this album at Target on the day it came out and recording it to a cassette because my car at the time didn’t have a CD player. The cover shows Al on a subway with Bela on his head, and most of the other riders are friends and family.
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It’s kind of unusual among his album titles, because while it’s whimsical, there isn’t any actual joke to it. The title apparently derived from a time when Al’s poodle Bela sat on his head. My look back at “Weird Al” Yankovic’s catalog moves into the new millennium with Poodle Hat from 2003.