# The Videos on Weird Al's Latest Album **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2006, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685 "2006-10-24T07:22:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/1 "2006-10-24T07:22:20Z")
Did Al make these? Or have much of anything to do with their making? I hope not. They’re… atrocious. :dubious: :mad: Anyone know if there’s a story to be told behind their existence? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/2 "2006-10-24T07:32:31Z")
[http://www.weirdal.com/aa.htm](http://www.weirdal.com/aa.htm) ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/3 "2006-10-24T13:19:24Z")
You misspelled ‘awesome’. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/4 "2006-10-24T13:41:03Z")
I’m with Frylock. The videos were not up to Al’s usual calibre. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/5 "2006-10-24T21:48:32Z")
I liked the video for “Don’t Download this Song,” and the others ranged from “meh” to “okay”. But I still want to get the “White and Nerdy” video in high res, not YouTube crud. (And I liked the “behind the scenes” mini-documentary) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/6 "2006-10-24T22:26:17Z")
The website says > [@](#): > > Featuring parodies of Chamillionaire, Green Day, Usher, R. Kelly and Taylor Hicks! Given that I wouldn’t know any songs by those artists, the parodies would be lost on me. I’m old. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/7 "2006-10-25T01:47:30Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] The website saysGiven that I wouldn’t know any songs by those artists, the parodies would be lost on me. I’m old. ☹ [/QUOTE] In another Thread I mentioned that as the years go by I am less likely to know the songs Al is parodying. The parodies are definitely best appreciated when you know the original. On the new album I only know the Chamillionaire song and the Green Day song. The other three parodies still provide a few laughs, but I have the feeling I’d like them more if I knew the originals (I definitely imagine that his _Trapped in the Closet_ parody would be much much funnier if I knew the original). It’s still a great album. I’ll mention in yet another Thread that, as I appreciate his parodies less and less\*, Al’s original songwriting is getting better and better. There’s nothing on this new album that approaches the brilliance of _Hardware Store_, _Genius in France_ or _Bob_ from the last album, but there are some real gems: _Close But No Cigar_, _Don’t Download This Song_, and particularly _Virus Alert_. I really like the song _Pancreas_, which is an original, not a direct parody. It is however a style parody based on the songs from Brian WIlson’s _Smile_. I know that I definitely would not appreciate this song much at all if I was not familiar with the Brian Wilson album. The humor in this song is not really based on “jokes”, but rather the humor is based on the odd arrangments Brian Wilson did and especially the really bizarre Van Dyke Parks lyrics. Al pays homage to Van Dyke Parks so very well that it really is hilarious. However, if you don’t know the Brian WIlson album, you’re not going to appreciate it. I should also note that on _Pancreas_ Al really shines as a producer- so well put together! P.S. The videos on the album should be looked at as “extras”, just a bit of fun for folks who choose to flip the CD. They’re not major productions that would be released to promote the album. _White and Nerdy_ is the first “official” released video. The animated shorts are just a little incentive to by the physical CD, which would be priced the same without the videos, rather than buy the album digitally. \*Though I have appreciated his parodies less in recent years, I really think _White and Nerdy_ is one of his most brilliant parodies ever. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2006, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/8 "2006-10-25T03:11:16Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] The website saysGiven that I wouldn’t know any songs by those artists, the parodies would be lost on me. [/quote] Don’t sweat it – just Google the songs in question, get illuminated, and enjoy. For instance, I appreciated “Trapped in the Drive Thru” more after I read the lyrics for the original, R. Kelly’s [“Trapped in the Closet”](http://www.anysonglyrics.com/lyrics/r/rkelly/Trapped-In-The-Closet-Lyrics.htm) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/9 "2006-10-26T15:52:36Z")
[QUOTE=rjung] I liked the video for “Don’t Download this Song,” and the others ranged from “meh” to “okay”. But I still want to get the “White and Nerdy” video in high res, not YouTube crud. [/QUOTE] The video on [Myspace.com](http://Myspace.com) seems better than YouTube or Google. My 12y.o. loves it. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-videos-on-weird-als-latest-album/377685/10 "2006-10-26T15:54:34Z")
I guess I should be more specific instead of just dumping people into [MySpace.com](http://MySpace.com): [Featured Content on Myspace](http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1194164636&n=2)