Weird Al Yankovic is one strange guy. But boy, is he talented. I’ve been
admiring his lyrical prowess for years, and since I started writing
song parodies in earnest myself, I have considered him a major
influence. But Al doesn’t stop with the lyrics. An accomplished singer
and musician, he’s built a career on his precise mimicry of the songs of
others, as well as his crafting of truly off-the-wall original
recordings. One subject that seems to come up again and again throughout
his albums is food, so it’s little surprise that he decided to devote
an entire album to parodies on this theme with The Food Album.
Fat - One of two Michael Jackson
parodies on this album, both of which gained far greater popularity
than the other tracks. This is a song about a guy who really loves to
eat, which has led to his having a rather unwieldy girth. An amusing
song, and just over-the-top enough that it doesn’t really come across as
mean-spirited. “If I have one more pie a la mode, I’m gonna need my own
zip code...”
Lasagna - Starting off with a fun accordion solo, this La Bamba parody is a tribute to Italian food, which Al sings with a rather stilted accent. As in Eat It,
it seems he’s taking on the voice of a mom who is pushing food on a
reluctant eater, though in this case, I get the impression that the
recipient of her meals is probably an adult. Slightly hard to understand
some of the lyrics with his accent, but as a big fan of Italian food, I
dig this one. “Have-a more ravioli. You a-get roly-poly, a-nice and
a-big, like you cousin Luigi.”
Addicted to Spuds - When
my brother Nathan was younger, he had a curious obsession with
potatoes. In one of his art classes, he drew a poster of a “flock” of
potatoes romping joyously upon a sun-drenched plain under the words
“Free the Potatoes!” On another occasion, he produced a poster of a
movie starring Paul Shaffer of The Late Show with David Letterman
as a character named Potato. Clearly, Nathan was addicted to spuds and
could have been the subject of this song. Al’s voice seems to veer
off-key at times here, but I imagine that’s intentional. Thanks to that
catchy Superbowl commercial from 2006, my first association with Addicted to Love is always going to be LOST,
to which I clearly was (and probably still am) addicted, but I’ll be
glad to listen to this as I munch on some French fries. “Potato skins,
potato cakes. Hash browns and instant flakes. Baked or boiled or French
fried. There’s no kind you haven’t tried.”
I Love Rocky Road
- Al sounds like a slightly crazed teen with a braces lisp here, which
makes his choice of favorite ice cream rather unfortunate. There’s no
indication in the song that rocky road is any worse for him than a less
chunky style of ice cream, but I can’t help but suspect that maybe part
of the attraction is the knowledge that his eating habits would horrify
his orthodontist. Silly sound effects, a bit of accordion and a chorus
of Chipmunky voices at the end add to the fun here. “When I'm all alone,
I just grab myself a cone, and if I get fat and lose my teeth that's
fine with me. Just lock me in the freezer and throw away the key.”
Spam
- I like the way the vocals overlap slightly on this song; it‘s always
fun to hear Al sing with himself. This is a silly, electric guitar-heavy
ode to everybody‘s favorite mystery meat. The lyrics are rather
laughably simplistic, which seems to go with the cheapy quality of the
food being celebrated. “The tab is there to open the can. The can is
there to hold in the Spam.”
Eat It - Arguably Al’s most famous song, this parody of Beat It
has Al taking on the role of a nagging parent whose child does not want
to eat. It’s an expertly crafted parody, and it touches on a pretty
universal experience. Al is a fun mix of goofy and imposing here; I can
easily imagine Everybody Loves Raymond’s
Marie letting loose with a diatribe like this when her boys were young.
This song helped launch Al‘s career, and it‘s easy to see why. “How
come you're always such a fussy young man? Don't want no Captain Crunch,
don't want no Raisin Bran. Well, don't you know that other kids are
starving in Japan? So eat it, just eat it!”
The White Stuff - When I saw this title, I had a hard time figuring out what this parody of The Right Stuff
would be about. Halfway through the first verse, I still wasn’t sure,
but when it finally hit me, I had to commend him on his cleverness,
though I somehow have managed to be pretty much immune to the charms of
the cookie he lauds. “Oh oh oh oh oh, oh O-reo! What’s in the middle?
The white stuff!”
My Bologna - This accordion-heavy parody of My Sharona
was the first of Al’s parodies to make it to number one of Dr.
Demento’s countdown. It’s among Al’s simplest songs, which makes sense
since it comes from so early in his career, but it’s certainly catchy.
“Goin' to the market now, market now. I'm the city's biggest bologna
buyer. Walkin' down the shopping aisles, shopping aisles, filling up my
basket with Oscar Mayer.”
Taco Grande - Instead of Italian, Al dons a Spanish accent here. Pretty similar to Lasagna,
except that the speaker is requesting food instead of offering it.
There’s a lot of Spanish in this one, and since I don’t understand
Spanish, I kinda feel like I’m missing out on something, and the fact
that I don’t know the original song or like Mexican food also makes it a
little harder to connect with this one. Still, it’s good for a chuckle
or two. “You want some more cinnamon crispas? If you don't, hasta la
vista. Just take the rest home in a doggie bag if you wanna. You can
finish it mañana.”
The Rye or the Kaiser - Despite
being a fan of Weird Al for half my life, I’d only heard three of the
songs on this album before listening to it for the first time this week.
This is my clear favorite of the new bunch, as it riffs on Eye of the Tiger,
a song that always puts me into fist-pumping mode, and amusingly
imagines a less than glamorous future for Rocky. There’s something both
sad and sweet in the picture of this prize fighter now standing behind a
deli counter taking orders. At least he seems to take as much pride in
this new line of work as he did in boxing... “Try the rye or the kaiser,
they're on special tonight. If you want, you can have an appetizer. You
might like our salami, and the liver's all right. And they'd really go
well with the rye or the kaiser.”
Weird Al seems to have a
special knack for writing about munchies, so if you’re looking for a way
to make light of your lunch, check out The Food Album. Just don’t listen with your mouth full or laughter-induced choking may ensue...
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