Customer Reviews

Internet Leaks EP

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a amateur marine biologist, I try to share our human experience with our sea-faring mammals.
So, I got this album and decided to play it over the aquarium's underwater speakers. Bad idea.

The dolphins initially were indifferent about 'Whatever you like', having not much exposure to today's hip-hop trends.

They really enjoyed 'Craigslist', with that classic 70s' sound meshed with modern weirdness that Jim Morrison couldn't even hallucinate if he had tried. If he had succeeded, probably would have sworn off drugs and be alive today performing Sinatra covers in Vegas.

'Skipper Dan' is a bit of a downer, since the situation hit home with my job here at the World Of Sea..
(not Seaworld, that's much better and doesn't smell as much like old fish)

Everybody, including the dolphins, really loved the CNR for its compelling riffs and the shocking revelation that Chuck Norris had ripped off the legend of veteran Tonight Show guest and comedian Charles Nelson Reiley. They quite enjoyed it, actually.

But then 'Ringtone' started playing.. not bad, I was listening, kinda cute in an way,
but I hadn't noticed that the dolphins had stopped frolicing..

They were swimming in circles in the tank, and it looked like they were attempting to block their ears with their flippers. (do they have ears? they didn't tell me anything at the employee orientation).

Apparently the strange frequency effects in the song were resonant with their echolocation, and they started ramming the speaker grilles, attempting to stop it. They rammed the wall several times, then leapt out of the water into the stands, and then imploded. So now I've got to clean all this imploded dolphin guts off of the arena before the next show.

Thanks a lot, Al.

Update:

Since I published this review, a busload of ASPCA advocates showed up at World of Sea. They wanted to investigate the
imploded dolphins. Where were they when the Manatee was holding that girl scout troop hostage?

I may have embellished the story a bit. The dolphins were just disoriented, and threw up their lunch.

I still had to clean it up, though.

Calm down, people! We'll be lucky if we can open for business tomorrow, the code violations are piling up.

Use your energies that you wrought toward my situation, and bother the Navy, they do much worse than Al, what with their low frequency sonar..
Although the whale that beached itself nearby, as a result of their testing, is quite a popular attraction now.

Good thing it survived the tow tr... oh, you'll call in the ASPCA again if I said more.

Don't forget to stop by the souvenir stand and pick up a bottle of genuine dolphin-ingested chum. Hey, I gotta make a living, too!

Suffice it to say I enjoyed 4/5 of the album, and the dolphins have recovered swimmingly.

Stop picketing the place already!
You're making a mess and I'll have to clean that up as well.

With the new ways that people are buying and enjoying music, "Weird Al" Yankovic is changing the way he releases his music. Starting with "Whatever You Like" in late 2008, Weird Al's been releasing new songs individually as digital singles, rather than waiting a couple years and releasing songs all at once on an album. This allows Al to put his more topical songs out on the market before they get outdated and it anticipates the eventual obsolescence of physical CDs. Will we ever see a proper "Weird Al" album again? Maybe. But for now Al is exclusively digital.

"Internet Leaks" is a digital EP that collects the first five previously-released digital singles. The songs are available individually with different artwork, but this EP is convenient for one-stop shopping, I guess. It organizes things a bit.

The most important question when looking at a new "Weird Al" album is, "What songs are being parodied?" "What exactly am I listening to?"

"Whatever You Like" is a recession-era parody of the T.I. song "Whatever You Like".

"Craigslist" is a style parody of '60s rock band The Doors.

"Skipper Dan" is an original song about an aspiring actor stuck working as a jungle cruise tour guide at Disneyland.

"CNR" is a style parody of the White Stripes, sung about the amazing made-up feats of the late comedian Charles Nelson Reilly. (Look him up. I had to.)

"Ringtone" is supposedly a style parody of Queen, although at times I think it's too generic.

The songs are pretty good overall. I don't think they're highlights of Al's long and illustrious career, but they fit in with the rest of his catalog. "Whatever You Like" was released at the height of the 2008 economic crisis and was pretty good. As a White Stripes fan I am also partial to "CNR", which sounds vaguely like "Icky Thump" meets "The Denial Twist". I enjoyed "Skipper Dan", too. "Ringtone", however, didn't really do it for me.

If you haven't checked in with "Weird Al" in awhile (his last album was 2006's "Straight Outta Lynwood"), this is what he's been up to. Worth a listen.

I've loved Weird Al Yankovic's work since it was released nationally (decades ago...how old does THAT make you feel???) and he continues to prove he can still bring the funny. I will admit my enjoyment stems from the art of Al's work - I don't just listen to these songs as background music - they command your full attention. I listen for the words, the musical parody, the social relevance - these are the essential elements that turn something from being slightly amusing to making me laugh out loud.

"Whatever You Like" is classic Al funny. It paints a picture of how the completely opposite side of the financial tier might live in Al's twisted comedy world compared to T.I.'s opulence. If you liked White and Nerdy, this one is right up your alley.

"Craig's List" is equally funny, but the freakish similarity to Jim Morrison's vocals mesmerizes you away from the rest of the song. I had to listen to it a couple of times before I could come back to earth and actually listen to Al's great lyrics.

"Skipper Dan" has been touted by several as an 80's parody, but while the music is clearly upbeat I'm a reminded more of the soul of Harry Chapin through the lyrics. Harry Chapin often wrote of sad memories of the past, one would hope, as a warning to pay attention to the life you are living. This song is interesting though - one always wonders what happened to those people you've known over the years with lofty dreams of stardom.

"CNR" is hysterical. Having been born at the end of the 50's, Charles Nelson Reilly was one of my favorite childhood memories. I remember his outrageous comedy on Match Game - a show that gave me many hours of pleasure. It's almost impossible to believe the movie about his life "The Life of Reilly," which met with great reviews from the critics, can't find a distributor to allow us to purchase the DVD. Certainly he deserves better than that for the years of laughter he gave us. Perhaps they need to self-publish? ([...] for more information.)

"Ringtone" is done a la Queen. The video is funny as all out and one of the females in it looks suspiciously like Janeane Garofalo. For me, "Ringtone" shines best in it's parody of Queen with crisp, clean harmonies and music. I am often amazed at how Al is able to mimic so many strong performers and their performances so well. The humor is there in "Ringtone," but to me not as strong as the other four. Listen to this one for the musical experience.

Wondering if you should shell out the money now for this half-completed album or wait until the final CD is ready for release? GO FOR IT NOW! This group of MP3s is well worth the $[...] price.

Al keeps his viewers up to date with notices on MySpace ([...]), Facebook ([...]) and Twitter ([...]) when new work is ready to be released to the public. In addition, he gives us the joy of watching the associated videos as music is released on his YouTube Channel ([...]). If you know Al, you know his videos make his music twice as funny.

Weird Al Yankovic...always a good purchase!

I have been a HUGE weird al fan for as long as i can remember and these songs by far are some of his best...granted im not a real big fan of "craigslist" but i never cared for the doors...but skipper dan and CNR and the rest INSTANT CLASSIC cant wait til he goes on turn next year so i can see him perform these live!! SUPER AWESOME SET!

Being a life-long "Doors" fan, I thought Weird Al's "Craigs List" totally Rocks! My daughter, who is a Weird Al Nut Supreme, turned me on to this track. I give it 5 dolphin flippers UP.

One of Al's best. To bad they don't make THIS album on CD. Anyway, well worth the $6.00. Buy this album!!!!

Al's still got it! Love the tracks, would have loved a whole new album, but it's almost better in these small chunks.

Ringtone is great. Whatever you like... hilarious... I'm thinking of cutting coupons to go shopping for bling...

I listen to this album many time. still I live. If you try to quit smoking do not listen to this music. It is full of mental control foibles and causes severe swelling. I think it is better than an Obama speech. Hillary would understand that observation. All in all, I think this music is better than being breast fed by Dolly Parton. I heard one time she got arrested for using a pump. Cruelty or depraved indifference. Something like that. Anyway.