My Review of Running With Scissors

Yes, "Weird Al" Yankovic has released a tenth album. He's still doing what he does best, and he's still funny. In fact, Al and his band are even better than before at crafting Yankovic's comedy into well-performed songs, making this one of Al's best-sounding albums. The format is typical for Al, with five parodies, six originals, and a polka medley. Specifically, these songs are:

The Saga Begins (parody of "American Pie," by Don McLean)

Al does a good job at setting the plot of "The Phantom Menace" to the tune of this classic song, but, unfortunately, that's about all he does here. The laughs are few and far between.

My Baby's In Love With Eddie Vedder

Al's first foray into zydeco has a quite catchy tune. The theme is really nothing new (for the music world in general, that is, not Al in particular); it's another song about infatuation with a celebrity. The lyrics are still amusing, and there are some really well-done parts, like the line "Now she's got an unrequited adoration for the frustrated, agitated, designated alienated spokesman for the disaffected grunge generation." (Okay, so I'm a sucker for twenty-seven-cent words that rhyme.) The way that Al sings "Eddie Vedder" is also interesting to hear.

Pretty Fly For A Rabbi (parody of "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)," by The Offspring)

Contrary to popular opinion, Al is not Jewish. That didn't stop him from writing a clever Jewish-themed parody. I would advise you to bone up on your Yiddish before listening to it, though; there were a few jokes that I didn't get until Jewish members of the Al newsgroup explained them.

The Weird Al Show Theme

As you may have guessed from the title, this is (or, more accurately, was) the theme to Al's children's programme. It's short (Al wasn't trying to do what The Rembrandts did with the theme to "Friends"), and might seem like a bit of an odd choice for an album track, but this is the guy who released "Harvey The Wonder Hamster" and a cover of "George Of The Jungle." Basically, this song is pure Al, with references to a spatula tattoo and a Tater Tot factory.

Jerry Springer (parody of "One Week," by Barenaked Ladies)

This is similar to Al's earlier "Talk Soup," but better. Al does a great job at keeping up with the fast pace of the song.

Germs

I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, this is a good style parody of Nine Inch Nails, and it has an amusing and appropriate theme. I don't really care for Nine Inch Nails, though, and the song isn't really laugh-out-loud funny. It's not my favourite, but it seems like it might grow on me, though. (Get it?)

Polka Power!

For those of you unfamiliar with Al's polka medleys, he takes a handful of songs (not that you can really hold the songs in your hand; that's just an expression), and works them into a medley, with a polka sound (and plenty of Spike Jones-esque wackiness) to it. The polka is generally the track that I play the most on any given Al album (aside from the first album and Even Worse, neither one of which has one), and this one seems like it won't be any exception. I'm not sure I'll ever tire of this format. This time, the songs in the medley are the Spice Girls' "Wannabe," Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta," Pras Michel's "Ghetto Supastar," the Backstreet Boys' "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," Smash Mouth's "Walkin' On The Sun," the Beastie Boys' "Intergalactic," Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping," Madonna's "Ray Of Light," Matchbox 20's "Push," Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life," Marilyn Manson's "The Dope Show," Hanson's "MmmBop," Marcy Playground's "Sex And Candy," and Semisonic's "Closing Time." While this isn't really Al's best polka medley, it's still a treat to the ears (more so than many of the original songs, certainly).

Your Horoscope For Today

Al takes on ska and astrology, and comes up with hilarious results. The lyrics to this track cover every star sign, and include predictions such as "The stars say that you're an exciting and wonderful person, but you know they're lying." This isn't the funniest line in the song, but I wouldn't want to spoil any more of it for you.

It's All About The Pentiums (parody of "It's All About The Benjamins," by Puff Daddy)

Al has rapped before (Remember "Amish Paradise"?), but this is his first attempt at the really heavy-sounding stuff. I don't care for this style of "music," and the original song (or at least the version I've heard, which was one of approximately twenty thousand remixes), was pretty annoying. The parody, though, is really funny. Elitist nerds are funny enough on their own, and the song's "gangsta" touch makes it all the better.

Truck Drivin' Song

As many other reviewers on the Al newsgroup have said, this song is sort of a country version of Monty Python's "Lumberjack Song." There's not much more to say about this fairly short number, but it does keep up the comedic pace fairly well.

Grapefruit Diet (parody of "Zoot Suit Riot," by Cherry Poppin' Daddies)

Yes, it's another song about food. Some of the jokes are quite similar to those in "Fat" (Al's parody of Michael Jackson's "Bad"), but the sound is quite different. Perhaps it's best to think of this as a sequel to "Fat," as some other Al fans have suggested.

Albuquerque

This long, rambling epic is the longest song on any of Al's albums, beating out "The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota" for that title. I don't generally like really long songs, but this song manages to remain uproariously funny throughout its running time of eleven minutes and twenty-two seconds. It's probably the highlight of the album, and it makes an excellent addition to Al's body of work. I don't want to say too much more than this; it has to be heard to be believed.

In summary, this is Al doing what he's done before, but doing it quite well. If you liked Al's earlier work, it's quite likely that you'll enjoy this one. If you don't care for Al's style of humour, though, this album probably won't be particularly interesting to you.

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