Review: Weird Al Yankovic, "Alpocalypse"

Alpocalypse
Weird Al Yankovic
Volcano
06.21.11


Theoretically, Weird Al Yankovic should be able to continue being pop culture's funhouse mirror indefinitely. He didn't create the song parody, of course, but he did create the idea of a song parodist superstar, a metameme all his own. When things happen in the world of music, Al happens right back at them, always with the same formula: trendy title, subversion of whatever trend everyone over 30 has trouble understanding, and parodies of established styles, set to some lyrics that mock a specific trend. And always capped off with his best joke, the polka medley of current hits, a Kidz Bop for comedy geeks. As professional pop court jester, Weird Al's job is to make the absurd and insubstantial seem somehow even more absurd and insubstantial. So he should be able to do this until his chattery teeth turn into a real pair of dentures. Right?


Maybe. Pop music has never been stupider or more inbred, thanks to the encroaching global corporate hegemony, but that also makes it harder to take down. Yes, Lady Gaga is a true superstar, born that way, even, which is why she was destined to fight Yankovic over the right to her image -- and lose -- and why "Perform This Way" is a (direct) hit. But most of Alpocalypse, as goofy and clever as ever, begs the question of his usefulness. Bruno Mars? Lady Antebellum? Miley Cyrus? What's there to parody? It's like mocking different flavors of Doritos. The disgusting protoplasm pop has congealed into leaves no stylistic room for invasion.


It's telling, then, that aside from the polka medley -- which still works, being a meme in itself now -- Al ventures further into pop's past than ever. Queen, The Doors, and Meatloaf are his style parodies this time out, and he gets retro-assists for taking on the White Stripes and Hanson. (Hanson?) Yankovic's concepts are always a mixed bag, and these are no exception: parodying the Chuck Norris phenomenon would work if he didn't have to remind us who Charles Nelson Reilly was, and he likewise sounds a little culturally unsure of himself for the first time, like a latter-day Simpsons episode; some of these ideas read like a list of Google trends (tats! ringtones! Craigslist!)


The one triumph is a straight parody of T.I.'s "Whatever You Like," where he deflates those champagne dreams for an Obama-era recession reality. But Al has never been interested in exposing society so much as tweaking its ears a little, so perhaps it's not fair to hope he'd make this his new jumping-off point. Then again, when you have to release half your songs ahead of time with videos attached just to get a jump on the Internet, perhaps some serious rethink is in order. You're still big, Weird Al. It's just the stage that got small.


Graded using the Third Eye Method:

Impact: 36. The Lady Gaga war, shortlived as it was, was the only real drama associated with the Alpocalypse.
Invention: 61. The polka stuff never gets old, but there's a disturbing creakiness to his method these days. A Steinman song about spam? 
Integrity: 62. He's still in there pitching... but does he know why?