Weird Al Yankovic was a huge part of my childhood. My first CD for my first CD player was “Running With
Scissors,” and to this day I still have every word to “Albuquerque” memorized, because that song is glorious.
As I reached my mid-teens, Weird Al stopped putting out new albums and my musical tastes strayed in new and exciting directions. There were years between the times when I heard a Weird Al song, and it wasn’t until now that I’m 20 that I’ve actually listened to one of his albums again.
“Alpocalypse” is the same quality as any Weird Al album, but I had mixed feelings while listening to it. Most of the songs Weird Al chose to parody were songs I already disliked, so I had trouble shifting over to a spoof version too quickly.
The writing is just as clever and snappy as usual, since wittiness is the trademark of Weird Al, but his music choice was questionable. If the music was better, I feel like I would have gotten more out of the album.
Once I listened to “Alpocalypse” a little bit more, I realized that the music was just a vessel for Weird Al’s genius. The best parodies make fun of the source material, and spoofing good music would give Weird Al less stuff to make fun of.
So, I get that shitty music is a necessary evil, but Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus? That’s cruel and unusual. Pop starlets aside, many of the other songs had solid original tracks, so I guess I should quit whining so much.
The highlight of any Weird Al song is the ingenuity of the lyrics and the cutting satire. Listening to the words is the only way to listen to this album, so if all you want is dope beats, this is not that, sorry. I found myself eventually listening to “Party in the C.I.A.” over and over because it was funny and catchy, even though that is the song based on Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the U.S.A,” a pop-fad I thoroughly detest.
My suggestion would be to consider whether you like humor in your music. Weird Al is an acquired taste; especially since he makes fun of the music his detractors listen to. Listen to some of his music online, decide if you like him, and then check out “Alpocalypse.” It’s a solid Weird Al album, but just solid. “Running with Scissors” would send shivers of nostalgia down the backs of any ‘90s kid.
Final verdict: B.
