"Weird Al" Yankovic, STRAIGHT OUTTA LYNWOOD

When you hear several music hits of diverse genres blended together into a polka, that can mean only one thing: “Weird Al” Yankovic has a new album out. With STRAIGHT OUTTA LYNWOOD, the great weird one is back in form, providing hilarious songs – both parodies and originals.

Rapper Chamillionaire established his street cred with the song “Ridin,” and “Weird Al” effortlessly uses the same sound to establish his geekiness with “White & Nerdy” (“I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise/I’m a whiz at Minesweeper, I could play for days”). Other musical victims include Green Day (whose angry political message gets transformed into an anti-Canadian tune), Taylor Hicks, Usher, and R. Kelly. As always, “Weird Al” and his band match the music perfectly while creating hysterical lyrics.

Never content to just parody, “Weird Al” offers several fresh songs here too. “Weasel Stomping Day” is a joyous celebration of a truly… unique holiday. Computer users will appreciate “Virus Alert,” warning all of the latest threatening computer virus (“It’ll make your keyboard all sticky/give your poodle a hickey/and invest all your cash in stock in Euro Disney”). Other tunes cover excessively picky boyfriends, massive litigation, and the dangers of downloading. (Sadly, the album’s weak point is the original “Pancreas,” a faux love song to a favorite organ.)

As with all “Weird Al” albums, there is a level of topicality to the parodies: They’re great now, but they lose some of their edge when the originals become forgotten or dated. Some parodies also work better than others depending on your enjoyment of the originals: I for one could have managed without a R. Kelly parody that’s over eight minutes long. With that in mind, STRAIGHT OUTTA LYNWOOD is another wonderful comedy album that’ll have you laughing out loud. Stay weird, “Weird Al”!

(There’s a bonus DVD with animated videos for several of the songs. Sadly, the video for “White & Nerdy” was left off, and much of the animation is cheap. But it’s worth it just to watch the show ROBOT CHICKEN bring “Weasel Stomping Day” to life.)

Overall Grade: A-