Straight Outta Lynwood [DUAL DISC]

Weird Al Yankovic

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 2006)
• Original Release Date: September 26, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Dual Disc
• Label: Volcano
• ASIN: B000H9HWSM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (174 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,313 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #4 in	Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Comedic Music > Novelty Music
  #5 in	Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Comedic Music > Comedy Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
All hail the return of novelty music's reigning king! Straight Outta Lynwood easily bests 2003's Poodle Hat and shows that Yankovic does know what he does best. Part of the secret to Weird Al's success is that he's never been very weird at all, and very rarely are his satires in any way "biting"--or even satires, really. The 11-minute parody of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" is funny at least for the first listen, but it's hard to ridicule something so largely ridiculous in the first place (plus Jimmy Kimmel totally got the jump on him). The best thing Mr. Yankovic has always done is to take some decent pop tune, change a word or phrase, invent an entirely new premise for the tune, and make an inspired video to go along with it. He does that several times here; Green Day's "American Idiot" becomes the hockey-obsessed "Canadian Idiot," and "White & Nerdy" is a truly inspired take on Chamillionaire's "Ridin'." That song is breakneck-paced and so funny it's a disservice to quote from it at all. "Polkarama!" is a return to W.A.'s novelty roots: a handful of mildly dated hit songs (50 Cent to Modest Mouse!) delivered in straight-ahead, sped-up polka style. It's toe-tapping and sweet. Hopefully we'll not have to wait three years for another Weird Al record. --Mike McGonigal

Product Description
"Weird Al" continues to reward his countless fans around the globe with yet another collection of insanely incisive musical comedy. As a special bonus, Straight Outta Lynwood will be available on DualDisc. which will include all original animations of all Al's original tracks! All-star animations include Academy Award nominee Bill Plympton, John Kricfalusi (Ren and Stimpy), Seth Green and Matt Senreich (Robot Chicken/Adult Swim, Family Guy). Also featured are Karaoke versions of the entire album including a scrolling lyric sheet for each track. As if that wasn't enough the Dual Disc also contains a behind-the-scenes featurette. All of this in a 5.1 Dolby mix of the entire album!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

101 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't download this song--the record store's where you belong--to get the DUALDISC!, September 26, 2006

By	Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight Into Hilarity, September 26, 2006

By	Jeffrey A. Mcginnis "JeffMac" (Bowling Green, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Be Careful of DualDisc, October 4, 2006

By	A. Pawson "DVD King" (NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.