Straight Outta Lynwood
Straight Outta Lynwood | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 26, 2006 | |||
Recorded | July 5, 2005–July 22, 2006 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 47:45 | |||
Label |
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Producer | "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||
"Weird Al" Yankovic chronology | ||||
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Singles from Straight Outta Lynwood | ||||
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Straight Outta Lynwood is the twelfth
The album contains three further parodies, based on "
In 2006, the album was released as both a digital download and as a DualDisc (a double-sided optical disc that contained a CD on one side and a DVD on the other) containing both the album and animated music videos for a number of the album's songs. Straight Outta Lynwood was met with mostly positive reviews: Many critics applauded "White & Nerdy" and "Trapped in the Drive-Thru", while some of the other parody songs were met with a more muted response. The album peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200. "White & Nerdy" became Yankovic's highest-charting single as well as his first Platinum-certified single. The record itself was certified Gold for shipments of over 500,000 copies.
Production
Originals
On July 5, 2005, recording for Straight Outta Lynwood officially began. By late 2005, six originals—"Pancreas", "Close but No Cigar", "Virus Alert", "Don't Download This Song", "I'll Sue Ya", and "Weasel Stomping Day"—had been recorded.
"Virus Alert" is a style parody of
Parodies and polka
On February 19, 2006, Yankovic began working on the album's parodies. During these sessions, three parodies were recorded; the first of these, "
After being denied permission to include "You're Pitiful" on the album, Yankovic wrote "Do I Creep You Out" and "White & Nerdy" to take its place, recording both on July 22, 2006.
"
"You're Pitiful" controversy
Yankovic had originally wanted to record a parody of James Blunt's hit "You're Beautiful" and release it as the lead single for the album. The parodist had approached Blunt about the spoof, and the singer approved his idea. Yankovic then went into the recording studio on April 12, 2006, and recorded his version, entitled "You're Pitiful".[2] However, Blunt's record company, Atlantic Records, told Yankovic that he could not include the song on his album. Yankovic eventually learned that Atlantic felt "it was 'too early' in James' career for a parody, and that they were afraid that focusing any more attention on 'Beautiful' at that point might lead to the perception of James as a 'one-hit wonder.'"[11]
The record company initially stated that they would permit Yankovic to release the parody at a later time. Later, Yankovic discovered that they had different intentions.[11] Since Blunt himself was fine with the parody, Yankovic decided to release "You're Pitiful" as a free digital download on his website, noting that, "if James Blunt himself were objecting I wouldn't even offer my parody for free on my Web site. But since it's a bunch of suits—who are actually going against their own artist's wishes—I have absolutely no problem with it."[15]
Unused ideas
Yankovic had wanted to record a parody of
Title and artwork
The title is a takeoff on
Visuals
While Yankovic's previous albums usually generated only one or two official music videos, Straight Outta Lynwood spawned nine, and the DualDisc release of the album included videos for all six original songs. Yankovic's record label had suggested he release a DualDisc, and he was in favor of the idea once he realized that he could hire animators to create videos for the original songs to make the release more rewarding for fans who purchased it. At first, Yankovic was unsure whom he would be able to hire, because of the budget, but to his surprise, many notable artists signed on. Bill Plympton created a hand-drawn video for "Don't Download This Song", which preceded the release of the album, and Thomas Lee, best known for his Flash music video "Star Wars Gangsta Rap", animated a video for "I'll Sue Ya". A music video for "Virus Alert" was helmed by David Lovelace (creator of the online animated series "Retarded Animal Babies"); Yankovic admitted to exercising more creative control over this video than the others present on the DVD, citing concern with Lovelace's previous content.[21][24] John Kricfalusi and Katie Rice animated a video for "Close but No Cigar". Yankovic had long been a fan of Kricfalusi, who is perhaps best known as the creator of the cartoon series Ren & Stimpy.[21][25][26] The video "takes an irreverent look at the world of dating as seen thru [sic] the eyes of Cigarettes the cat."[5] Jim Blashfield created a video for "Pancreas" using stock footage from the Prelinger Archives. Finally, Shadowmachine Films released a stop-motion video for "Weasel Stomping Day" that aired on September 24, 2006 as part of "The Munnery", the show's 32nd episode of the Adult Swim TV show Robot Chicken.[21]
Subsequent videos were also made for three of the album's parodies. On August 15, 2006, Yankovic announced that he planned to shoot a music video for "White & Nerdy" in the Los Angeles area on August 21, 24, 25, and 27. He posted a solicitation for volunteers to appear in the video on his MySpace blog.
Promotion
Following the release of Straight Outta Lynwood, Yankovic undertook the two-year-long Straight Outta Lynwood Tour. Starting on March 10, 2007 and concluding on August 28, 2008, Yankovic played 163 shows across the United States.[31] To promote the album, a promotional website was launched for the single "Don't Download This Song", "dontdownloadthissong.com". The site allowed a user to launch an e-card that included a download and stream of the song, as well as options to email the card to friends.[32]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork | 7.3/10[36] |
Rolling Stone | [37] |
Slant Magazine | [38] |
Chris Carle of IGN awarded the album an 8 out of 10, denoting a "great" release.[35] He called it "another solid record to add to the collection; just the right nostalgic blend of parodies, gross-out songs and polka."[35] Specifically, he selected "White & Nerdy", "Polkarama!", and "Weasel Stomping Day" as the album's stand-out tracks, but felt that original songs like "Pancreas" and "I'll Sue Ya" were either not funny or "late to the party".[35] David Jeffries of AllMusic awarded the record three-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "inspired".[33] He highlighted "White & Nerdy" as a choice single, calling it a "reason to celebrate [Yankovic's] return".[33] Jeffries applauded "Canadian Idiot" and "Trapped in the Drive-Thru", calling both funny, and he also noted that the originals from the album were humorous as well. However, he felt that the Usher and Taylor Hicks parodies were "only mildly humorous" and that some of the original songs "really drag" when compared to the others.[33] Gavin Edwards of Rolling Stone awarded the album three out of five stars and highlighted "Trapped in the Drive-Thru" as the album's best song, writing, "'Weird Al' is funniest when he's singing about food."[37]
Al Shipley of Stylus gave the album a "B−" and felt that, while "White & Nerdy" was a solid parody, the other spoofs on the album were not quite up to par. He praised "Pancreas" and "Virus Alert" as the album's best style parodies, comparing the latter to the 1985 single "Dare to Be Stupid", while criticizing "I'll Sue Ya", "Close but No Cigar", and "Don't Download This Song". Shipley concluded that the most hilarious moment on the album was Yankovic singing the lyrics to "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent over a polka beat in "Polkarama!"[34] Scott Shetler of Slant Magazine awarded the album three stars out of five. He felt that in the 2000s, Yankovic's work had gradually declined in quality, but that Straight Outta Lynwood displayed "occasional flashes of genius", such as "White & Nerdy", which he praised for Yankovic's rapping ability. Shetler also felt that "Trapped in the Drive-Thru", was impressive, although he noted it was not as spectacular as it could have been. Once again, "Confessions, Pt. III" and "Do I Creep You Out" were described as "throwaways". However, Shetler wrote that "for once, Yankovic's originals are better than his parodies", highlighting "Pancreas", "I'll Sue Ya", and "Don't Download This Song" as the best songs on the album.[38]
Accolades
Straight Outta Lynwood was nominated for two
Commercial performance
Straight Outta Lynwood was released on September 26, 2006. On April 4, 2007, the album was certified gold for shipments exceeding 500,000 copies.
Internationally, the album charted at number 27 on the
In late 2013, Yankovic sued his label, Volcano, and its parent company
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Parody of | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | " Polkarama! " | Various; arranged by Yankovic | A polka medley including:
| 4:17 |
6. | "Virus Alert" | Yankovic | Style parody of Usher | 3:52 |
8. | "Weasel Stomping Day" | Yankovic | Style parody of animated musical specials of the 1960s[3] | 1:34 |
9. | "Close but No Cigar" | Yankovic | Style parody of Cake[3] | 3:55 |
10. | "Do I Creep You Out" | Tracy Ackerman, Andy Watkins, Paul Wilson, Yankovic | "Do I Make You Proud" by Taylor Hicks | 2:46 |
11. | "Trapped in the Drive-Thru" | Robert Kelly, James Page, Robert Plant, John Baldwin, Yankovic | "Trapped in the Closet" by R. Kelly; contains an interpolation of "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin | 10:50 |
12. | "Don't Download This Song" | Yankovic | Style parody of 1980s charity songs[6] | 3:54 |
Total length: | 47:45 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from CD liner notes,[4] except where noted.
Band members
- (track 9), choir vocals (track 12)
- Jim West – keyboard programming (track 1), acoustic guitar (track 2), banjo (tracks 2, 5), ukulele (track 2), finger snaps (tracks 2, 5), hand claps (tracks 2, 5, 9, 12), electric guitar (tracks 3–4, 6–7, 9–12), group vocals (track 5), chorus vocals (track 9), choir vocals (track 12)
- maracas (track 9), cowbell (track 9), hi-hat sequencing (track 9), chorus vocals (track 9), Simmons drums (track 12), bar chimes(track 12)
- Steve Jay – bass guitar (tracks 2–6, 9–10, 12), banjo (track 2), flute (track 2), finger snaps (track 2, 5), hand claps (track 2, 5, 9, 12), bass vocals (tracks 5, 8), group vocals (track 5), synth bass (tracks 7, 11), choir vocals (track 12)
Additional musicians
- Miles Jay – string bass (tracks 2, 8)
- Sarah O'Brien – cello (track 2)
- John Dickson – French horn (tracks 2, 12)
- Lee Thornburg – trumpet (tracks 2, 6, 9, 12)
- Nick Lane – trombone (tracks 2, 6, 8, 12)
- Warren Luening – trumpet (track 5)
- Joel Peskin – clarinet (track 5)
- Tommy Johnson – tuba (track 5)
- Kim Bullard – keyboards (tracks 7, 11–12)
- Lisa Popeil – female vocals (track 8), background vocals (track 10), choir vocals (track 12)
- Angie Jaree – female vocals (track 8), choir vocals (track 12)
- Kim Erin – female vocals (track 8), choir vocals (track 12)
- Monique Donnelly – female vocals (track 8), background vocals (track 10), choir vocals (track 12)
- Suzanne Yankovic[48] – weasel noises (track 8)
- Nina Yankovic[48] – weasel noises (track 8)
- Bo Yankovic[48] – weasel noises (track 8)
- Rubén Valtierra – keyboards (track 10)
- Scottie Haskell – background vocals (track 10)
- David Joyce – choir vocals (track 12)
- Randy Crenshaw – choir vocals (track 12)
Technical
- Al Yankovic – producer
- Jim West – orchestral arrangement (track 8)
- Tony Papa – engineer, mixing
- Rafael Serrano – engineer
- Jason Rankins – assistant engineer
- Brian Warwick – assistant engineer
- John Adams – assistant engineer
- Phillip Ramos – assistant engineer
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
- Jeff Gilligan – art direction, design
- Michael Blackwell – photography
- Crystle Streets – styling
- Cazzie Mayorga – hair stylist
- Walter Barnett – set designer
- Emily Harrell – producer (for STIR)
Charts and certifications
Charts
|
Certifications
|
Singles
Year | Song | Peak positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US [39] |
SWE [45] |
UK
[46] | ||
2006 | "White & Nerdy" | 9 | 14 | 80 |
2006 | "Canadian Idiot" | 82 | — | — |
References
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- ^ a b c ""Weird Al" Yankovic: Recording Dates". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Archived from the original on September 13, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Moss, Corey (September 26, 2006). "Track By Track: In Weird Al's Lynwood, Green Day's 'Idiot' Is Canadian". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on April 3, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f "Weird Al" Yankovic (2006). Straight Outta Lynwood (CD liner notes). Volcano Records. 82876-89951-2.
- ^ a b c d e "Weird Al Unleashes His New Album With a Bill Plympton Video Don't Download This Song!!!". Ain't It Cool News. September 11, 2006. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
- ^ a b Martens, China (September 18, 2006). "Don't Not Download This Song". IDG News Service. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
- ^ "Appearances & Events". Bill Plympton Studio. January–February 2007. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
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- ^ "Close But No Cigar by Weird Al Yankovic". SongFacts. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ "Canadian Idiot by Weird Al Yankovic". SongFacts. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
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