| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that for kids old enough to listen between the lines and understand the nature of parody, the inventive lyrics entertain with pointed messages couched in dark humor.
Anyone with a sense of irreverence will appreciate POODLE HAT and how well "Weird Al" Yankovic turns icons of pop music into humorous rants on the media, materialism, and whatever else comes to mind. The macabre Bruce Springsteen/Buddy Holly inspired "Party at the Leper Colony," describes the place where "Finger food and an ice cold keg...won't cost you an arm and a leg." Then there's the industrial rock litany "Hardware Store," featuring "kitchen faucets, folding tables, weatherstripping, jumper cables... pesticides for fumigation, high-performance lubrication."
Those listeners "a few fries short of a happy meal" may miss the virtuosity of Yankovic's musical parodies, but no one can miss the unrelenting inventiveness of his lyrics. In "A Complicated Song," a spin off the Avril Lavigne hit, a partygoer takes home too much pizza and asks, "Why'd you have to go and make me so constipated?" He finds out his date is his cousin--"How was I supposed to know we were both related?" Then he stands up on a roller coaster-- "Why'd I have to go and get myself decapitated?" Complementing the witty lyrics, the musical productions are stellar.
Families can talk about the fine art of parody. Why does it work and is there a point at which it stops being funny?
| Artist: | Weird Al Yankovic |
| Release date: | May 20, 2003 |
| Label: | Volcano |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Parental advisory: | No |