Customer Reviews

Straight Outta Lynwood

5 star:		(98)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This album by Weird Al Yankovic is very funny with clever, creative lyrics and solid musical arrangements. Whether Al is singing a parody of someone else's song (for example, "White And Nerdy" is a parody of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire) or doing his own thing completely as in the song "Pancreas," Al always makes me laugh. I was never bored while listening to the CD side of this album; and with the "DualDisc" feature the videos and still photos on the DVD side of the disc were equally awesome and very well done.

I especially like "Pancreas;" the funny racial issues song called "White And Nerdy;" "Confessions Part III;" and "Don't Download This Song." The arrangement for "Polkarama," a really funny medley of songs by artists including The Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls and The Killers, is terrific. "Trapped In The Drive-Thru" is a pretty long song at almost ten minutes; but the musical arrangement and silly lyrics held my attention.

I agree with other reviewers who write that "Don't Download This Song" has that catchy, inspirational musical arrangement that also pokes fun at songs like "We Are The World." "Don't Download This Song" is strategically placed as the last song on the CD side of the album so the album ends with a song that's not just funny--the song packs a punch with its' arrangement and silly, over the top dramatic lyrics that really go after and lampoon "real life" ballads like "We Are The World."

The quality of the sound is excellent; and the liner notes provide full song lyrics, song credits and some great photos of Al and his band. Awesome!

The DVD side of the DualDisc is easy enough to figure out; one side of the disc is clearly marked "to play CD--this side up" and the other side is marked "to play DVD--this side up." The DVD side of the DualDisc features crystal clear, nicely animated videos of six songs including "Don't Download This Song;" "Weasel Stomping Day;" "I'll Sue Ya" and "Pancreas." Of special interest is a roughly nine minute video of Al and his band in the studio. I was very impressed.

Both the CD and the DVD sides played fine in my portable music player as well as on my PC; so I hope you don't encounter any problems with this format. In the past there were occasional problems playing these DualDiscs.

Overall, this is a very funny CD/DVD combo that proves Al Yankovic has a great talent for making people laugh with his music and funny parodies of popular songs by other artists. I highly recommend this for fans of Weird Al Yankovic and anyone who enjoys funny take-offs on popular entertainment!

New Weird Al! Whoo! :)

As a long time Weird Al fan, I've been waiting for this album for years, and it's really good. It's not my favorite Al ("Running with Scissors" still holds a strong place in my heart), but there's a lot of really great stuff here. In order...

--The tracks that were previously released on Al's MySpace page are awesome...the CD opens with the Chamillionaire parody "White & Nerdy" and closes with the soon-to-be-classic "Don't Download This Song."

--"Pancreas," a musical tribute to that most comical of organs, didn't really impress me at first, but the more I've listened to it, the more I like it. There's some great musical invention here.

--The Green Day parody "Canadian Idiot" crams every Canada joke into 2 minutes that you can, and is very funny.

--"I'll Sue Ya" may be Al's most hard-rocking tune ever, with a surprisingly catchy baseline over some very funny lines about our lawsuit-happy culture. ("I sued Colorado because it looks a bit too much like Wyoming.")

--"Polkarama," the traditional polka medley, is, as always, more entertaining if you know the songs he's using, and as someone who doesn't listen to much modern pop music, it kinda went over my head. Anyone who does listen to modern pop wanna post their take?

--"Virus Alert" is a very fast-paced tribute to that most annoying of modern computer trends, and very entertaining. Musically, it almost feels like 80's pop, which is an unusual departure for Al.

--"Confessions Part III," an Usher parody, is hysterical, as Al confesses to everything from infidelity to hogging the last of the rice krispies, while noting how rediculous it is to break up your soul-exposures into episodes.

--"Weasel Stomping Day" may be my favorite of the whole album, even at only 1:30 or so...I defy anyone to hear the sound of rodent's getting crushed and not at least chuckle. A light and upbeat tribute to a joyfully masochistic holiday ("It's a tradition, that means it's okay!"), it may be the greatest companion song to "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" ever.

--"Close But No Cigar" is also brilliant, an original about a guy who keeps nit-picking every relationship in beautifully absurd ways. ("She kept using the word 'infer' when I know she meant 'imply.'")

--"Do I Creep You Out" is a bit historic, as Al first takes aim at an American Idol (Taylor Hicks), with great success (though somewhat brief success, as the song itself is short enough as it is). The overblown chorus and climax exactly captures the phony bravado of the Idol crowd, and one must applaud Hicks as well for having the guts to let Al go through with it.

--Then comes "Trapped in the Drive-Thru," a parody of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet." It runs...get ready...10:50. No typo. Al's done rambling epics before, but usually originals - he's never tackled this big a parody before, especially one with as bizarre a premise: It's nothing more or less than a depiction of a couple heading to get some dinner at a drive thru. That's it, really. I think this is one where its success is truly in the ear of the individual...me, I loved it. The sheer absurdity of spending nearly 11 musical minutes documenting a relatively uneventful trip to grab food is what I find funny. You may think differently.

That's the album...at least, the musical side. Thing is, this here is a dual-disc release, one side musical CD, the other side DVD. The sheer volume of material is where this CD really shines. While I HATE double-sided discs, this one has so much stuff crammed on there that I can forgive it. Side B features:

--The whole album in 5.1 surround sound, an enhanced stereo mix and a karaoke mix. All with on-screen options for the hearing impaired. Tres cool.

--A 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, as we see Al and the band working on the music in the studio.

--And...SIX new music videos of all the album's originals, done by prominent animators from the Academy Award-nominated Bill Plympton to the guys from "Robot Chicken" (which, if you saw the show last Sunday, you've already seen). Just a terrifically packed set of extras which would only be made complete with the inclusion of the "White and Nerdy" video, which sadly was completed after the album was.

All in all, an excellent CD with some truly nifty special features added in. If you're an Al fan at all, it's well worth the buy, and at 14.88 (current Amazon list price) it's uber-cheap, too. Awesome stuff.

After his brilliant and fun "Poodle Hat" album it was refreshing to see Weird Al deliver once again with the latest on this album.

This won't go down as his greatest album ever, but it definitely holds it's own quite well. And above all else is more proof that the master of parody isn't going away any time soon (unless it's by his own choosing).

Some of the songs are instant classics. "White and Nerdy" a parody of "Riddin(Dirty)" will be one of those songs that will often be mentioned when thinking of Weird Al, for both fans young and old alike. It's a perfect example of how Al can take a song and turn it upside down to make a whole new feel and flow to it. This song will definitely rank up high with other classics such as "Amish Paradise" and "Fat". Especially due to the video that was made to go along with it. While unforutnatly the new video to the song wasn't part of the videos included it is widely available on the internet and you can be assured that Weird Al will release it for home owning soon enough.

Other favorites of mine on this album include: "Polkarama!" which is another Polka style compliation song. "Virus Alert" which is an original by Weird Al about the dangers of computer virus' and all the things they can do if we don't stop them. This song is nice in that it's done in a very traditional old style Al that we haven't heard in awhile on his latest albums. "Canadian Idiot" which is a nice spoof of Green Day's "American Idiot" which mocks the sterotypes Americans have about Canadians for the most part. The Usher Spoof "Confession Part III" is a lot of fun too and a nice play up on how there were two parts to the song and all the ridiculous things that Al lists as more confessions to the listener.

Trapped in the Drive Thru grows on you fast as a song you will really get into. At first it may take awhile as it is on the long side but that too is part of the humor. After a few listenings of it you will see why this is an instant classic. A great spoof of R. Kelly and his Urban Opera done Al style focusing on the troubles of ordering at a drive thru window. Instant classic.

There are some songs that didn't do it for me, but that happens on any music album. "Close But No Cigar" is a song that feels like we have done this before. Some of the love songs Al has done are great. This one though misses the mark a bit in my opinion. Doesn't mean it's not listenable by any means but just not the great humor and fun that we find in his past songs mocking love situations. The Taylor Hicks song spoof "Do I creep You Out?" isn't a favorite of mine but isn't the worst either.

The rest of the album is very middle of the road. Some songs you will love to listen to often but may not get the attention they deserve. While others you will probably not enjoy as much and forget they exist but that too will vary based on opinion and personal taste.

"Don't Download This Song" seems more of a personal message to people than a humor filled song to me, but still well done for what it is. I do see the humor in it but the music style of the song wasn't to my taste but I'm sure others will enjoy it in its "We Are the World" type of set up. Where as a song like "Pancreas" is one of those you will either enjoy it or not songs as its a nice filler about some weird object that comes to Al's mind as he is creating his various songs. While a song like "Weasel Stomping Day" is just fun and amusing as well as being famous for being on Robot Chicken. So there are some songs that will be love or hate with the fans and those feelings will depend on the persons own tastes. But even the weaker songs are still fun to listen to and add to the over all flavor of the latest album.

Overall this is definitely another great Weird Al piece of work. Some songs you have to listen to a few times to get into it but after those few times it fits in like the number 27 does to an Al song, in other words.. very well.

The dual disk is great in that it allows you to have the songs on CD for when you are on the road as well as listen to the songs on your computer via the DVD so you can sing along with the lyrics showing up on the screen. Not to mention 6 videos to some of the songs found here as well as almost 10 minutes of behind the scenes footage of Al recording this album.

Highly recommended. You won't be sorry adding this latest piece by Weird Al to your collections. As Al says in the song "Don't download this.. buy it!!" You will be glad you did.

I have been a Weird Al fan since his early days on the Dr. Demento radio show and I have reached a crisis with this album. I am TOO OLD to know the songs he is poking fun at!

I bought the album the day it came out, and for the very first time my 13 year old daughter was laughing harder than I was. I thought the lyrics were very good on the parody numbers, it's just not as effective when you don't recognize the song. "Canadian Idiot" was the only melody I recognized. Pretty pathetic, eh?

Having said that, this is a GREAT album and Weird Al is not showing any signs of slowing down. I am only giving it a 4 star rating because it's
my own fault for not knowing the songs. Getting old STINKS!

I've been a Weird Al fan forever. Weird Al Yankovic has been releasing parody music for 25 years. Parody victims have been anything from Michael Jackson to Madonna to Nirvana and it has always been hilarious listening to him poking fun of popular music and contemporary culture. His 80's albums sold well and you could frequently see him on MTV but lately his albums have been less successful. Al's last album "Poodle Hat" was a let down commercially, it stalled after only one single and little was heard of it. One reason was personal, Al's parents both killed in their home from carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping and Al stopped promoting the album and releasing new singles. Only 1 single was released from that album also, his own "Bob", initially he was suppost to release "Couch Potato" a ripp off of Eminem, but ironically Eminem didn't approve the suggestion to make a video. Another problem with "Couch Potato" was that many of the parodized song were getting old and hadn't been on the charts for years, Al had also become predictable and his attempts to poke fun of popular culture wasn't as fresh as it had been in the glory days. What kind of expectations could we have of "Straight Outta Lynwood" then?

This is Weird Al's best album in ages. The parody songs are right on spot and it feels like he has catched up with the contemporary culture again, most of the subjects he deal with are still very much present and feel fresh. On "White And Nerdy" (a parody of Chamillionaire "Ridin Dirrty") we'll find Al playing the nerd again, lyrics like "I'll ace any trivia quiz you bring on, I'm fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon" and "Shoppin' online for deals on some writable media, I've edit Wikipedia/ I memorized "Holy Grail" really well,I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL" There is even a video for this, it's hilarious. On "Canadian Idiot" (Parody of Green Day) it's time to make fun of the Canadians. "Well maple syrup and snow's what they export/ they treat curling just like it's a real sport". Also right on the spot, after 25 years it beyond me why the Canucks never were parodized before. "Confessions Part 3" a parody of Usher and "Do I Creep You Out" of Taylor Hicks, are also fun and "Trapped in the Drive Through" a parody of R. Kelly, and just like Kelly's song this song is sang in the same way and feels like a 11 minutes long narrated soap opera. Only diffrence that Al song deals with fast food and is 10 minutes of completely pointless nonsense. Ofcourse there is the usual "Polka" song, now called "Polkarama" and samples artists like Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West.

The peronal songs are ofcourse less interesting, but not bad. "Don't Download This Song" also released on video, is Al's version of a "We Are The World" and deals what happens to "criminals" that download music. "Pancreas", a Brian Wilson tribute. "Ill Sue Ya" a Rage Against the Machine sounding rocker deals with lawsuits. "Virus Alerts" is hilarious and deals with the technologic problem with the computers these days. It reminds me a little of a song he made in the 80's called "Cable Tv". "Weasel Stomping Day" - cheerfully describes an apparantly traditional holiday, silly but fun, kind of "Christmas at Ground Zero". "Close But No Cigar" perhaps a tribute to Jerry Seinfeld. It's about a guy that dumps his girlfriends for the tiniest flaws. There's also a bonus song, a parody on James Blunt, now called "You're Pitiful".

Overall, Weird Al's best album since "Off The Deep End" and that sais quite alot. It seems like he's really enjoying himself again and he's been coping up with the contemporary cultures also. The subjects he deals with are fresh (Listen to White And Nerdy for example) and also very fun. This is a must buy from the funniest parody musician around. 4'5 stars.

Funny CD, but DOES NOT work in all CD players/computers. I can play it in my car, but not on my stereo or on my computer. I love this music, but I hate this CD. I would suggest LEGALLY downloading the MP3s to make sure you can enjoy the music wherever you are, rather than spending the money twice.

An enjoyable listen. White & Nerdy and Canadian Idiot are the bst tracks. The R. Kelly spoof, like the original song, goes a little long. But this is definitely a great album to own.

I'll be the first to admit that some of these songs DID NOT catch on with me right away!! In fact at first I thought this would be the first Weird Al Album I bought that I would not enjoy very much.... I WAS WRONG!!! After a few listens these songs really grew on me!!
I loved "White and Nerdy" straight away (I am White and Nerdy accorging to my wife) and the song nails a few asects of the nerd culture that I perssonally have seen or experienced so it was quite a treat!
"Pancreas" is an AWESOME tribute to Brian Wilson and his style of music (if you are too young to know who Mr. Wilson is....listen to the beach boys and check out some of his own albums).
I also thought "Canadian Idiot" was great!! Being a Floridian and knowing a bunch of seasonal Canadians it was rather funny and hit home!!
Close But No Cigar was an excellent song that was an abvious style parody of CAKE. Loved the words to the song and the little flaws that made him break up with each gorgeous woman!!
I could list reasons for liking all the songs but I don't want to take up too much space!! Let me just say that you will love this album as long as you give it a chance!!
Don't forget to visit Weird Al's website and get the free parody "You're Pitiful" (parody of "You're Beautiful") which was originally going to be on the album but was tanked at the last minute do to record company lawyers.

One more thing. This album is a dual disc. One side plays as a DVD the other as a CD. This disc MAY NOT play in certain drives or DC players so just be careful!!
The videos were hilarious though!!

I'm here to tell ya, there are a lot very good reasons to buy this album. But most of them are not why I bought this album.

Sure Al's parodies are all great fun, but that's not why I bought this album. Sure this whole album is fraught with hilarity, but that's not why a bought this album. I didn't even buy this album because of all the cool video's included. IT'S THE MUSIC, MAN. That's why I bought this album. Can this Al guy sing or what - even if he is a little weird. (Although, I'm not too sure about the weird part, but that's what Al keeps telling everyone so I'll go along with it.)

Case in point; So there I was, sitting in my mini van at a red light, jamming to the music, not really paying any attention to the lyrics, just enjoying the sounds the band and singers were putting out. With my head bobbin' to the beat and hands drumming on the steering wheel, I noticed an elderly lady in the car next to me looking my way. She seemed to have an air of disdain about her at seeing a gentleman of my years acting like some dang fool kid. That very moment is when my ears picked up on the words "I blew my nose and wiped it on your cat". The lyric caught me totally off guard and I spontaneously burst into laughter. Seeing that, the lady snapped her head forward, stomped on the accelerator and speed through the red light trying to get away from that dang fool (being myself) as fast as she could.

Well, I guess that probably isn't why you should by this album either, but I can tell ya... This double CD sure is a lot of fun and you will absolutely enjoy the music.

Jim

This CD/DVD dual disc was one of the only things I asked for for Christmas, and so, when I found it under the tree, I proceeded to alternately thrill and annoy my family by blasting it loud enough to be heard in the North Pole.

Although I love, love, LOVE the song White and Nerdy, you really haven't lived (or enjoyed Weird Al's true talents) until you've listened to Confessions Part III and Trapped in the Drive-Thru. The latter is absolutely hilarious, and, truth be told, gave me flashbacks of the unfortunate time my sister made me actually watch the DVD video of R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet Chapters 1-12 (Unrated Version).

I've heard (and read) plenty of complaints about the fact that the White and Nerdy video isn't on the DVD side of this disc. Since the only videos included are of Weird Al's original songs, I'm guessing this has something to do with copyright and/or royalties. It all works for me!

If you like Weird Al, and if you enjoy laughing until you cry, you won't go wrong with Straight Outta Lynwood. Trust me on this!

I listened to this album for the first time tonight. Eleven years ago tonight, a friend got us tickets to a Weird Al concert. While driving home from the concert, we had a car accident and he died. After the first verse of "I'll Sue Ya," I seriously wondered if I might die laughing and join him!

I'll go through track by track:
White and Nerdy: Funny, I've heard this before so it didn't seem as new, but as a computer programmer I got a lot of good laughs. And I do hand-code HTML4!
Pancreas: Another novelty artist named Mindless Drug Hoover released a song with the same name and a similar concept. I wondered if by some weird hand of Eris, Weird Al had done the same song, but nope! He did something even more insane, even tying in things like gravity.
Canadian Idiot: I don't listen to much pop music, so haven't heard the originals, but another fun song making fun of racism. Everyone bags on Canadians anyway. One note: Weird Al even parodies the war.
I'll Sue Ya: Okay, here we go, definitely a favorite song. As said, after the first verse I wondered if I would join my friend, and if I could even handle a second verse! I did leave Earthlink, because I became dissatisfied with their tech support, so that struck a chord. Everyone has had issues with Verizon. And don't even mention New Jersey! I see this listed as an original song, but it sounds like a song done in the style of Rage against the Machine. Perfect! I really enjoy it when he doesn't parody a song per se, but parodies a group or style. This has always brought out his creativity. Sadly, some of the ridiculous things he yells out have actually happened (a guy sued someone for breaking his ankle while robbing his place.) I love this song!
Polkarama: Another classic Polka tune. As said I don't listen to much popular music, so for me these Polka songs provide a good insulated way to absorb the dirtier music of this time. I'll stick with these versions!
Virus Alert: Another great computer song! The main part would make a great sound alert. It has one of those catchy melodies and concepts that will just stay in your head for days, especially the next time your antivirus software alerts you with a new update! Virus Alert! (You could, of course, just use Linux, but we'll save that for another rant.)
Confession Part III: I don't know if he parodied a song here, or simply parodied the style of the current music, but either way he did a hilarious job. Every guy will love the last spoken line of the song.
Weasel Stomping Day: A little silly song, not much to say, but have fun!
Close but No Cigar: Okay, now I have a confession to make. I downloaded this album on bittorrent, and this song didn't play, so I did not hear it. I feel doubly glad I bought the CD.
Do I Creep You Out: Okay, I've heard the original, but can't put my finger on it. In a silly way, I consider this a song from every guy to every girl!
Trapped in the Drive Thru: I've heard the original referenced, and saw the South Park episode, an can imagine the original. This song treks in at around eleven minutes, and it does sort of go on, fut for me, this just added to the theme of the song, a tedius hunger-driven trip to the drive thru.
Don't Download this Song: A great capper for the album. Doubly funny since my downloaded copy missed a track, as if to underscore the point. It reminds me of the South Park episode which covered this theme. Buy my CD so I can afford a diamond-studded swimming pool. Classic!

In summary, I love this album, and consider it one of his best. I know my friend would have loved it too! Through various events, I know Weird Al as a very compassionate human being, and in his own way, a visionary.