Issue #27: “Weird Al” Yankovic – Bad Hair Day

Released:  March 12th, 1996

Recorded:  November 1994 – January 1996

Genre:  Comedy, Pop/Rock

Record Label:  Rock ‘n Roll Records / Scotti Brothers

Duration:  42:14

Producer:  “Weird Al” Yankovic

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Bad Hair Day is One of My Favorites

I got this album sometime while “Gump” was a regular sight on MTV, and, having already owned the Presidents of the USA album that the original song “Lump” was on, thought this was about the funniest damn thing in the world at about 11 or 12.  “Amish Paradise” was a clear favorite as well, though it would be another few months before I’d listen to the rest of the album (it’s just what kids do, ok?) apart from the above 2 plus “The Alternative Polka” (much of which I was familiar with from MTV) and “Phony Calls” (a parody of TLC’s “Waterfalls,” which I actually owned a CD single of).  I’m not sure how it happened or what song I heard first, but I remembering being instantly hooked, and on the ground in stitches after hearing “I Remember Larry” and “The Night Santa Went Crazy.”

Over the next couple of weeks, I really began to take in the album, and as I got a little older, it got even funnier.  From a critical perspective Bad Hair Day was never at the top of the heap of Weird Al lyrics, but even after hearing much of his other work, I still liked Bad Hair Day best.  (Poodle Hat is a close second, though it didn’t even reach “gold” status…)  His parodies have always been top-notch, though his original work seems to go overlooked and undervalued.  Bad Hair Day delivers flawlessly on both accounts

Out of the album’s 12 tracks, Weird Al includes 5 songs, however, I’m not sure how many people realized that “Syndicated Inc.” was a parody since the original Soul Asylum track never saw quite the same level of exposure to non-rock audiences.  Either way, it’s still a funny song for anyone who remotely paid attention to the TV reruns of the time.  It’d probably be even funnier if I were a little older and had been more familiar with the shows themselves.  “Cavity Search” is expertly written as well; if only the original U2 track had been a little more musically interesting.  “Lump” was a bizarre high-energy song that popped out of nowhere, and “Gump” plays perfectly on the premise.  By 1996 the Forrest Gump jokes were getting a little old, but it was still fresh as a daisy in everyone’s mind.  “Phony Calls” is a super-clever take on “Waterfalls” and goes so far as to humorously imitate TLC’s inflection with some of the incidental remarks.

“Amish Paradise” is the star of Bad Hair Day, fresh on the heels of the Coolio original that had seen massive airplay on MTV.  And not only is the song funny, Weird Al was clever enough to juxtapose the simple Amish life with that of a gang banger.  There are some awesome moments in this song that work best with both a reasonable understanding of Amish culture and a firm grasp on the lyrics of “Gangsta’s Paradise.”  “Even Ezekiel thinks that my mind is gone,” always makes me laugh, and then there’s the brilliant, “I’m the pious guy the little Amlettes wanna be like / On my knees day and night socrin’ points for the afterlife,” which perfectly twists Coolio’s original lyrics around.

Weird Al’s originals aren’t to be missed either.  “Since You’ve Been Gone” is a great acapella track that spends the entire song setting up a joke.  “Everything You Know is Wrong” is a masterpiece of the bizarre, bombarding the listener with one off-kilter line after the next.  “I Remember Larry” starts off recounting humorous pranks pulled off by the narrator’s neighbor, only to take an unexpectedly dark turn for the last verse.  “The Night Santa Went Crazy” might just be Weird Al’s finest original moment, as he goes into gory detail about a drunken, psychotic Santa going into a murderous frenzy one Christmas Eve.  My favorite part is the fate of the reindeer, culminating with, “And he picked up a flamethrower / and he barbequed Blitzen / then he took a big bite / and said it tastes just like chicken!”

Weird Al is one of only a handful of popular artists where the words take center stage.  Bad Hair Day showed me that not only is Weird Al an excellent writer with a talent towards the comedic, but that he’s also an accomplished and talented musician, backed by equally talented musicians.  Yankovic may not be the next Eminem, though he does demonstrate his ability to stay with the beat and not sound completely ridiculous on “Amish Paradise.”  He also displays considering vocal prowess on “Since You’ve Been Gone” by singing all of the different vocal parts aside from the bassiest.  His backing band is equally versatile, producing fairly conventional rock/pop on tracks like “The Night Santa Went Crazy” and delivery full-fledged polka on, of course, “The Alternative Polka.”

The unfortunate side effect of parody is that often comes at the cost of relevance.  It can be hard to relive the magic of “Gump” or “Phony Calls” years later, especially as various, once-clever pop culture references fall by the wayside.  Even though much of Weird Al’s music might best be experienced within a certain musical climate created by other artists, it will always stand as intelligent and thoughtful songwriting.

Written by The Cubist

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Written by The Cubist

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I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

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