Review: Alpocalypse

(YouTube)

After some uploading trouble, this review is FINALLY up: I take a slightly in-depth look at the latest from “Weird Al” Yankovic.

Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about Alpocalypse! And if you don’t own it already, what are you waiting for?

If you’re wondering EXACTLY how I feel about “Party in the USA”, this post should clear things up.

Also, check out the fan-made “Polka Face” video, to hold you over for the official one!

9 thoughts on “Review: Alpocalypse

  1. Yup, bought the deluxe version on itunes the day it was released. While I disagree with some of the finer points you made (for me, Craigslist was the weakest song on the album, but then, I hate The Doors), I agree with the overall review. It’s a great album, and Party In The CIA is an instant Al classic, and surprise surprise, it’s not even about food! 😀

  2. Chris – Or, you know, mrskippy just has different tastes than you, which isn’t really an indicator of intelligence. But hey, what do I know? 😛

  3. But it’s the doors man! Next he’ll say he doesn’t care for the beatles or led Zeppelin! There has to be a line somewhere!

  4. I ordered the deluxe album too, and I received it about a week ago. I love the cd and DVD. but I don’t know what I’m going to do with the poster.

    Anyway, on the album, my favorite song is stop forwarding that crap to me, closely followed by skipper dan, and party in the CIA being third. My reasons are that I love the music and melody of Stop Forwarding That crap to me, and the humor tops it off perfectly. Skipper Dan is different. I don’t really know why I love it, but I do. I think it has something to do with it being dark. and finally, party in the CIA. I simply love it, because I hated the original so much.

  5. I found it interesting that you say this is the first of Al’s albums in a long while where you know all the songs being parodied. I find that is easily the album I knew the fewest of the songs. I counted 4 songs in the Polka medley that I’d heard before and I’ve heard Perform This Way (but I only listened to that in anticipation of Al’s version). And the only reason I’d heard Poker Face or Tik Tok before was because the amazing Molly Lewis (look her up, you’ll dig her if you’re a Coulton fan) plays fantastic ukelele versions of them.

    CNR is easily my favorite of this batch. TMZ, Tattoo and CIA are all throwaway songs for me. I think I’d enjoy them more if I enjoyed the type of songs he’s parodying. I wish he’d do a full-on indie-rock / alt-rock album parodying bands like Mountain Goats, Dresden Dolls and Electric Six. Something like that would be mind-blowing.

  6. Thanks for your thoughtful, well-considered, even-handed yet enthusiastic review. I agree on almost all points, except I *adore* “Another Tattoo”. Favourite bits include: Al’s singing, the adherence to the rhyme scheme (e.g. “hi” and “hey”), the background noises, and of course the “MOTHERf…” in the fadeout.

    Oddly enough, I’m 30 and I share your unprecedented familiarity with the pop culture references. On consideration, it may have something to do with my job at a night club…

    It seems to me that appreciation of “Party in the CIA” is proportional to how much one disliked “Party in the USA”. I had a temp office job where that was one of my “next time I hear this I swear I’m going to strangle someone” songs.

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