Pledge Music (2017)
Over the next several weeks, we're going to celebrate Weird Al Wednesday as I go through each of the 15 albums in the Squeeze Box accordion box set. There are many albums in this set that were hugely influential to me as a young kid and there are no shortage of incredible songs throughout. Weird Al and The Blues Brothers are definitely the building blocks for my earliest appreciation of music.
We are nearing the end of the line here as this is Al's last studio full length. There is still the rarities compilation that came with this box set that I will write about next week, but as far as full lengths goes, Mandatory Fun is the last stop. This is actually a record I wrote about on this website when it came out in 2014. It seems unfathomable that this record came out nearly 4 years ago, but the cruel march of time continues.
My thoughts haven't changed too much since that initial review. I still think "Word Crimes" is a lot of fun, despite only knowing the original from it being played in Sears. The Al originals are the best of the bunch with "My Own Eyes," "First World Problems" and "Jackson Park Express" being the obvious highlights. I also still don't know most of the songs from the polka medley. Still, it's one of Weird Al's stronger modern records and I do enjoy it.
I'm not sure if there will ever be another Weird Al full length. Mandatory Fun was the last on his prior record contract and he did a bunch of interviews saying the album format is hard for him and being able to release one off singles would keep him more timely. However, he hasn't done much in the way of those one off releases over the past five years, so I guess we'll have to see.
"Weird Al" Yankovic - "My Own Eyes":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PMvU6knXKQ
"Weird Al" Yankovic - "Jackson Park Express":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZvgT4pVC_w
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