Song Review – Weird Al Yankovic’s “Word Crimes”
In an era when music has not only ceased to unite us, but has become one of the very implements used to divide us in the ever increasingly-entrenched culture war, there is one artist that is just weird enough to cross traditional borders of style, generation, and taste to tickle our funny bones universally. Yes, I’m talking about the curly-haired, spastic polka-playing parody artist “Weird” Al Yankovic.
Over the last 30 years, Weird Al has gone from being what young boys obsess over after their dinosaur phase, to becoming nothing short of an American treasure. As the lovable foil to whatever unfortunate song happens to be capturing the zeitgeist at the time, Weird Al’s genius is giving even the most hard-hearted among us the ability to laugh at ourselves.
Unlike the vast majority of artists that first made it big in the mid 80’s, Weird Al is as relevant as he ever was, if not more. Just appreciate this: As a parody artist and polka player, Weird Al has landed himself three Grammy Awards, 11 more nominations, six platinum records, and four gold ones. He is currently battling with Jason Mraz for the #1 album in the United States, and this is all from a man whose main instrument is the accordion. Weird Al was a nerd before being a nerd was cool, and very well may have been the germination point that allowed nerdy-ness to eventually take root as a symptom of the hip.
Highly respected amongst his musical peers for being able to shape shift into whatever style the parody calls for, and as a songwriter who can work within the limiting confines of someone else’s song structure, among the other accolades you can foist upon Weird Al, he’s also considered a musician’s musician. And the hints that his latest album just released called Mandatory Fun might be his last has necessitated a sense of reflection and increased value be placed on his music, and the joy it has brought to millions over the years.
One of the first singles from Mandatory Fun is the song “Word Crimes”. It is a parody of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”. Once again Weird Al illustrates his illustrious talent of toying with a relevant song’s meaning, while instilling it with an alternative theme that speaks to the heart of the current zeitgeist just as relevantly. With the onset of texting and Twitter, grammar has become a casualty of technology, and Weird Al takes the trend hilariously to task. And like always, he adds just enough subversiveness to give the song a sharpness, without being downright insulting (except to you mouth breathers, sorry). Many of us make these dumb grammar mistakes, whether from laziness, ignorance, or oversight. And once again Weird Al has us in stitches.
All I have to say is, before Weird Al retires he better make a country album, especially now that country is the most popular genre in America. That would make the 8-year-old me very, very happy.
Two guns up.
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July 17, 2014 @ 10:30 am
If Weird Al did do a country album I would be sooooo happy.
July 17, 2014 @ 8:05 pm
He has a country song called ” Good Enough For Now”, where he talks about how his girlfriend will do for now until something better comes along.
By the way, Trigger, I am a huge HUGE fan of Weird Al, but why are you reviewing this song on Saving COUNTRY MUSIC?
July 17, 2014 @ 9:18 pm
Because I think Weird Al is one of those artists that people who truly love music really enjoy, and I thought this particular song and video was worth sharing. And because I like keeping people on their toes.
July 18, 2014 @ 2:16 am
This song made my month! And I agree getting new Weird Al material is like a Christmas present in summer. He is like that art forger who was so good he could paint a Monet and fool the pros. And you are right Al is the real deal, if he wasn’t he would not have lasted.
I still laugh about Coolio raggin’ on him for Amish Paradise when Coolio basically ripped of Stevie Wonder’s “Past Time Paradise” pretty much verbatim save for his rapping.
Weird Al should parody Girl In A Country Song with something like Accordion in a Polka Band.
July 17, 2014 @ 11:36 am
Speaking of parody songs, where is Cledus T. Judd? Bro-country is a very fertile ground for comedic mocking…
July 17, 2014 @ 11:54 am
He last released “Parodyziac” in 2012.
It was alright. I couldn’t help but feel that his song selections that time around were not all that relevant (“Feel Like A Rock Star” bombed, for instance) or were a little dated by the time of the album’s release (“A Little More Country Than That”). It didn’t help matters that he parodied two Eric Church singles on the same album.
However, “Double D Cups” was rip-roaring hilarity, as was “Tebow”.
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Honestly, though, I think it would require someone like Yankovic to achieve the full force of cheekily mocking “bro-country” and mixing pop, rap and EDM with country to the point it’s not remotely country cliches with the hope of fomenting a broader cultural conversation. Cletus T. Judd, with all due respect to him, just doesn’t have the name recognition and clout to achieve that.
July 17, 2014 @ 11:41 am
The world sooooooo needs a Weird Al country album.
July 17, 2014 @ 11:41 am
Weird Al is a national treasure – even the inner 9 year old here enjoyed the show when I took my actual 9 year olds.
And my favorite of his is “Bob” – a spoof of Bob Dylan’s Subterranean
Homesick Blues video, sung entirely in palindromes, and with the full poetry of any actual Dylan song (can’t link to the youtube right now).
July 17, 2014 @ 12:01 pm
July 17, 2014 @ 9:08 pm
That is about as much sense as I can garner from most Dylan songs.
July 17, 2014 @ 9:08 pm
At least the ones he didn’t rip off….
July 17, 2014 @ 11:44 am
“Word Crimes” is sheer brilliance in that it achieves the unthinkable: redeeming that particular Robin Thicke song (which has always had a decent production, in all honesty, but was insufferable to my ears for the arrogant, sex-negative lyrics)
Who would have thought, of everyone who first emerged to notoriety during the 80s, that Weird Al Yankovic would remain the single most actively relevant entertainer in the industry? Yet, when you ponder a bit more, it’s not that hard to see why this is true. Because he possesses indispensable wit, dexterity, and attentiveness to both musical and cultural trends. Plus, he has this remarkable ability to push buttons on social topics without appearing jaded or bitter. Top all that off with the enviable artistic control he has long embraced, and it becomes apparent he has all the ingredients to a commercial and critical career wrought with depth and longevity.
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What I love most about this particular song is how it sounds like a “Conjunction Junction” for this generation. And during a time where YouTube comment sections and Twitter feeds are wrought with atrocious spelling (I’m not just talking typos or writing from mobile devices here: of which we all understandably do) and grammar errors, I find the more no-nonsensical, direct tone a must in parodying a “Grammar Nazi”. 😉
I also mentioned “dexterity” as a key positive adjective to describe Yankovic’s greatest strengths, and his wordplay absolutely lives up to that here as well (linguist, distinguish, English a key triad of an example). And when I listened to this, it became apparent that I find myself committing a couple of the cited fallacies more than I’d like to admit (most notably the “I COULD care less!” example). -__-
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Finally, as far as Yankovic and country music is concerned, I’d obviously love to see him dabble in this tradition more.
Over the years, he has had stylistic parodies at times that nod to country music. The two most glaring examples are “Truck Drivin’ Song” (which is a stylistic parody of C.W. McCall’s discography and has some hilarious imagery of a narrator sporting drag) and “Good Enough For Now”). And then…………… of course………….the “Achy Breaky Song”. 😉
You’re right, however, that Yankovic has tended to bypass the genre for the most part compared to others. And that’s especially a shame during a time where corporate country music is basically positioning itself as a punching bag laughingstock time and time again. I was actually quite surprised to see “Cruise” not even make the cut for his latest polka medley. I can understand why Yankovic didn’t outright parody the song on its own, but considering it peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted the composite chart for over a year, I felt like it was big enough to justify inclusion on a polka medley. (Hell, it might be fun to hear “This Is How We Bowl”. 😉 ).
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One theory I have as to why Yankovic has not dabbled further into country music boils down to one name: Cledus T. Judd. I think it’s safe to say, at least stylistically, Judd is the Weird Al Yankovic of the genre and, overall, I do enjoy what he produces.
However, Judd has just never been remotely as relevant from a broader cultural standpoint as Yankovic. I also don’t consider Judd quite as witty and dexterous as Yankovic. I think helping a broader scope of listeners appreciate country music’s influence and appeal requires more of a cultural ambassador at large offering it its due. And I really hope Yankovic understands just that from here on out.
July 17, 2014 @ 11:57 am
In fact, scratch the bowling idea.
I want to hear “This Is How We Troll”: a parody of “This Is How We Roll” mocking message board and YouTube trolling! 😉
July 17, 2014 @ 12:30 pm
“Yeah, baby, this is how we troll,
we troll onto SoundCloud,
with nothing else to do,
we mock meals on Cucumbertown,
yeah, we holla at them boys,
in all-caps and chastise,
just because we can,
and we have too much free time,
logged on my Dell Inspiron 15,
hard to scroll through,
fingers smothered with powder of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos,
cursing Bjork on VEVO,
automatically bankrupting Bebo,
this life I live don’t pay my bills,
and that’s a drag, yo!”
😉
July 21, 2014 @ 8:02 pm
Among the songs and acts that got parodied or made the polka medley on MF, I was surprised not only by the lack of “Cruise,” but also any mention of Taylor Swift (no WANEGBT, “I Knew You Were Trouble” nor “22”) or pop-folk acts like Mumford & Sons (“I Will Wait”) and The Lumineers (I would’ve thought “Ho Hey” would be perfect for polka treatment).
July 17, 2014 @ 12:26 pm
Take notice, Brantley Gilbert fans!
Aw man, I love this song. 🙂
July 17, 2014 @ 12:40 pm
“wut iz yankuhvick talkin bout? speek ingglish man!!! u uze 2 menny big wurds!”
(shudders seeing Farce The Music’s expose the comments Brantley Gilbert fans leave on YouTube and realizing what was intended as a parody has probably ACTUALLY been said already!) -__- -__- -__-
July 17, 2014 @ 12:37 pm
Nice write-up, Trig! I’ve been following Al’s career off-and-on since “Smells Like Nirvana,” and he never ceases to amaze me. 😀
Of the four ‘Mandatory Fun’ songs I’ve heard so far (I don’t have the CD yet, I’m hoping to get it for my birthday tomorrow, or else when I go shopping next week), this has been far and away my favorite.
As much as I disliked the original “Blurred Lines” — primarily for its obnoxious lyrics — I have to admit the tune is incredibly catchy, and Al’s new-and-improved lyrics speak right to my inner grammar-nerd.
July 17, 2014 @ 12:54 pm
I thought the way he interpreted Pharrell William’s “Happy” was equally as infectious. I’m absolutely relieved he called out people taking pictures of their food right toward the beginning of the song! 😉
His treatment of Lorde’s “Royals” is also bizarrely hilarious. I love how he veers from the use of aluminium foil to keep your food fresh in the first verse, to guarding your mind from conspiracy theories and the Illuminati in the second verse, hahaha! 😉
The only parody of a specific recent hit that missed the mark to me was his interpretation of Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive”. That somehow didn’t really click. It could just be because there’s nothing all that appealing about a character who is physically inactive and not socially adept. Plus, it’s a trope he has touched on before with better results (“You’re Pitiful” achieves that much more effectively).
July 17, 2014 @ 3:04 pm
Aw, I loved “Tacky” too; and “Foil” was good but I thought the video really enhanced it by how it tied the two different lyrical ideas together.
As for “Handy,” well… as much as I liked the video and the new lyrics, I find the musical hooks of “Fancy” just too earworm-from-Hell annoying to begin with. Maybe it’ll be a grower — at least Al’s rapping is a major improvement over Iggy Azalea!
Haven’t heard “Inactive” yet; “Radioactive” is one of those songs that never made much of an impression on me, though I thought the video was wonderfully weird and I’ve liked other Imagine Dragons songs (especially “It’s Time”).
July 17, 2014 @ 2:37 pm
happy birthday Gena R.
July 17, 2014 @ 3:05 pm
Thanks, Lunchbox! 🙂
July 17, 2014 @ 4:23 pm
Yayness! Happy Birthday Gena! =D =D =D
July 18, 2014 @ 5:26 am
Thank youuu! 😀
July 21, 2014 @ 7:48 pm
Well, I did end up getting the CD for my birthday, and I listened to it at least a few times over the weekend. 😀
Decent batch of parodies for sure, but I found the originals especially strong this time — my favorites are probably the Pixies pastiche “First World Problems” (the line about Amazon makes me laugh every time) and the Southern Culture On The Skids style parody “Lame Claim to Fame” (I giggled all the way through it on first listen).
July 17, 2014 @ 12:45 pm
My only beef with the song is the phrase “I could care less.” I know the intellectually correct phrase is “I couldn’t care less.” As in, I care zero, there is nothing less than zero.
However I’ve always felt that “I could care less” was a shorthand unfinished thought. As in, I could theoretically care less than I do, but it would be difficult because I care so very little to begin with.
July 17, 2014 @ 2:28 pm
I think that’s while Al inserted it into the song – it applies. Message board posts are littered with “I could care less.”
July 17, 2014 @ 6:26 pm
I always personally say “couldn’t”, but I also took the use of “could” as a denotation of sarcasm.. indicating one actually could not care less.
July 17, 2014 @ 7:41 pm
I could care less, but I choose not to. Caring less might take too much effort.
July 17, 2014 @ 2:02 pm
I’ve enjoyed his parodies for a better part of my life.
Unfortunately, as I get older, I recognize fewer and fewer of his songs since I don’t really listen to what’s popular. And even though most of his songs kinda stand on their own (while standing on top of the original) sometimes it’s just more fun when you like the original.
The last album that I really enjoyed was Running With Scissors. Poodle Hat was when I started to not immediately recognize the songs.
However, “Foil” from this new round of songs has been stuck in my head since yesterday, and I never heard of the original until I checked it out just before listening to the parody.
July 17, 2014 @ 2:32 pm
“Running With Scissors” is one of my favorite Weird Al albums.
I think “Albuquerque” is by far Weird Al at his most absurdly, ambitiously best.
July 17, 2014 @ 2:34 pm
Also, you don’t consider “White & Nerdy” recognizable? It’s the highest-peaking and best-selling hit of his career, after all.
July 18, 2014 @ 5:31 am
I still haven’t heard “Ridin'”, and I find W&N pretty hysterical in its own right. (Same goes for “It’s All About the Benjamins” and “… Pentiums”.)
July 17, 2014 @ 2:13 pm
Yep it would take Weird Al to do a bro country parody to do it right.I’m thinking he doesn’t listen to a whole lot of anything country though.
I read today I think on Yahoo on how some minor league baseball team is having a Miley Cyrus-Justin Beiber demolition night on the anniversary of the infamous Disco Demolition night of Comiskey Park years ago..Am I the only one who has a light bulb going off on top of his head for a Bro Country Demolition night??
Make it happen Trigger!!
July 17, 2014 @ 3:36 pm
If Weird Al made a bro-country parody, we may end up with another ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’. I’m all for it.
July 17, 2014 @ 6:29 pm
Monogenre.
July 18, 2014 @ 9:09 am
Well, not sure where the rest of my post went. Oh well.
July 18, 2014 @ 11:35 pm
I was wondering why you were so curt Shasta 🙂
It wasn’t my editing, I promise.
July 17, 2014 @ 9:51 pm
Have to hand it to Al, he does an impeccable job in mocking artists.
Irony is not coincidence… that has to be an Alanis Morrissette jab right? I mean even the graphic shows rain on your wedding day…
July 18, 2014 @ 7:53 am
Thanks, Trig, it’s pleasing to see this review.
Al was my inspiration for getting into Parody writing. You can’t believe how fun (and challenging) it can be to create something in the studio totally different and yet still retain the same sound as the original song that was used. Al is without a doubt the master and deserves accolades for this talent.
To the readers of SCM:
My parodies are mostly country, rock and Americana songs which have been morphed into Christmas Parodies. I’m not tooting my own horn here, I only do these for fun and not for sale. I like to share these with the world.
If you want to get some chuckles, check out my Reverbnation page or my YouTube channel and listen to some of these 26 parodies. They are worth your time.
Enjoy!
Bob Phelan
July 18, 2014 @ 1:15 pm
Some very good points, Trig! Even though I’ve not listened to Weird Al in a long time, prior to hearing “Word Crimes” the other day, I’ve always admired the man for his genius and his approach: he is one of the few artists in any genre who has that broad, “everyone loves him” appeal. And usually, like in the case with this song, his parodies far eclipse the originals. You’re right, though, it would be beyond amazing to hear a Weird Al country album. It’d probably be miles ahead of the likes of Cledus T. Judd or any of the other country parodists (I’m sure there are more, but cannot think of them at the moment). In any case, there already kind of is a “Country Weird Al” in the form of Richard Bowden. Can’t find much on him online, but he was one half of “Pinkert and Bowden” and he owns a music theater here in East Texas. Catching him live (he plays in the Austin area fairly frequently) is HIGHLY recommended and one of the most hilarious experiences you will likely have as a live music fan. Songs like “Friends in Crawlspaces” (a parody of the ubiquitous Garth Brooks hit about low places, but with lyrics about Jeffrey Dahmer) are beyond knee-slappers.
I was lucky enough to witness a song-swap between Bowden and Al Barlow (another dearly loved, but criminally underappreciated elsewhere, treasure here in Texas) a few years ago and had to leave the room for a minute–I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe for a bit.
Incidentally, Al Barlow is another songwriter who has a “Weird Al”-style appeal (must be something with guys named Al?). He’s like a Tom T. Hall/John Prine-style singer/songwriter who writes some very amusing, slice-of-life story songs that really make you think.
July 18, 2014 @ 4:31 pm
I haven’t really heard any of the songs he’s spoofing as I don’t listen to radio anymore, with the exception of ‘Blurred Lines, as it was everywhere. That said the songs are brilliant!
July 20, 2014 @ 11:01 am
I have loved Weird Al ever since 2003 when he released Poodle Hat and Straight Outta Lynnwood. He is funny, intelligent and does not take himself to seriously. I love the parodies and I can’t believe that he is being mentioned on a country website. He should go country, after all Sheryl Crow did.
July 21, 2014 @ 11:48 am
Weird Al is funny and Cledus T. Judd is too. I even wrote a parody myself it’s called Taylor Swift (Parody of Little Bitty by Alan Jackson). I wrote it in an hour but tbh it really sucks and the lyrics suck and the song goes a little like this:
Well I had a fantasy meeting Carrie Underwood
Then I was dying to meet Kellie Pickler
Lord I even wanted to meet sexy Danielle Bradberry
Honestly there is only one person I”™m really dying to meet
I really want to meet Taylor Swift
The inspirational singer from Nashville, Tennessee
I can”™t help it she”™s really a sexy cutie
I know this Alan Jackson parody will not work
Well I tried going to a country concert
The second attempt I tried to go to Chicago
Then I couldn”™t go because I headed to a party
Darn it now I wish it wasn”™t my last attempt
Cause I want to meet Taylor Swift
My number 1 hero from Nashville, Tennessee
I want her autograph & a picture with her
The only way that it will happen if comes true
SWIFT-Y
I still want to meet her in real life
I”™m not giving up until we finally meet
I looked up every single site
It looks like I”™m a little late
I just want meet that cute country girl
I want a little bitty kiss from her
I want her to sing on the
Maybe that will all happen someday
I really want to meet Taylor Swift
The coolest country singer in Nashville, Tennessee
I begging you lord to make it come true
We all live just a little bitty while
I really want to meet Taylor Swift
The inspirational singer from Nashville, Tennessee
I better bulk up & freshen up
Cause if I get picture with her I need to look handsome
Spoken:
I am telling you this Alan Jackson Parody will not work
I”™m serious this song is not work
Even if it was just a scheme to just ask her to be my date for a day
She”™s not still going notice this song that I recorded when I post it on YouTube
It”™s unlikely she will notice because she”™s famous & I”™m not
*NOTE: The lines are spoken during the outro
July 21, 2014 @ 1:13 pm
Triggerman, Better known as ” SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC”, Get a fuckin grip! Have you lost all focus?, or do you just fish for desperately needed “REAL web site activity? You used to be better than this…
July 21, 2014 @ 1:43 pm
Oh come on. Can’t quite understand how some people apparently take this website so seriously, even more seriously than I do, to where if I post a quick story about Weird Al that somehow an atrocity has been committed. As I stated above, and as can be read in the comments by many readers, the enjoyment of Weird Al is universal, and since he doesn’t really fit in any genre because he’s a parody artist, I don’t see any harm about posting about him here. If you don’t like him, so be it. It doesn’t mark some change in tide in Saving Country Music’s coverage. It isn’t representative of the music coverage that is regularly found here. It’s just one post, no matter how some want to exploit it on Facebook to act like the world is ending. In fact, maybe one of the reasons I posted it was to get the goat of some people who obsess over what I’m doing, as opposed to find their own niche. 😉 This is MY website. I paid for it, and nobody pays me. So if I want to talk about Weird Al, I will do so.
Having said that, I appreciate your concern. But as I’ve saying all year, the amount of coverage Saving Country Music is offering to independent/underground/traditional country artists has never been greater by statistical, factual certitude. Any anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is being opportunist, and is not looking at the big picture.
July 26, 2014 @ 1:08 pm
I used to take this site “seriously”. I have too slowly seen it for fodder. It’s your site Kyle if you want to entertain your cronies rather than stick to your founding roots, Dig It!…looks like you have a big enough shovel.
July 26, 2014 @ 11:05 pm
Which cronies are those? It is my policy to piss everyone off equally, so if there’s someone I’m not pissing off, please tell me who and I will make sure to shove a fork in their side just like I did others with this article.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing a gangly, strange-looking, visibly awkward person sittin’ on top of the charts. Music is for everybody.
–Jason Isbell
July 21, 2014 @ 7:17 pm
Actually, I think this Weird Al article does its own part in saving country music!
In order to “save country music,” Trigger reviews and discusses ways in which musicians are or are not thriving, and why definitions are important to preserving musical traditions and the vitality of musical genres. Weird Al’s parodies are excellent, real examples of well-honed musical skills, of how to create new materials within set boundaries. You can’t get more “limited,” I don’t think, than rewriting the lyrics to a song that is already a hit, and Weird Al does so intelligently and skillfully, with due respect to the genre/tradition in question.
Isn’t “saving” something another way of saying trying to bring something back to life? If that’s the case, isn’t it worth looking at music that is vibrant and relevant and well-crafted to figure out the why and how, and see if the lessons can apply to country music? We could do worse than having a generation of country performers who grow up idolizing someone like Weird Al, and — forgive me, Trigger, if I am putting words in your mouth — I think the point, after all, is to recognize and support good music and help it get to the people who need to hear it. Good music is good music, and you never know who will hear it, and how it will affect them.
July 21, 2014 @ 6:29 pm
I have so enjoyed Weird Al’s 8 videos in 8 days campaign. Pretty genius on his part. A good dose of parody is just what the current state of music needs right now.
I don’t see Al doing a “bro-country” parody. Not really his style to parody a sub-genre that becomes a parody of itself.
August 17, 2014 @ 12:13 am
HORSE SHIT!