Underrated Weird Al Songs

It has long been clear that one of my purposes in this life is to educate others about "Weird Al" Yankovic. (I had to do it the other night at a bar, even.) And so now, I shall drop some Weird Al knowledge on all y'all.

Anybody who knows about Weird Al knows about the big ones: "Amish Paradise," "Eat It," "Smells Like Nirvana," and recently, "White and Nerdy." But what most people don't realize is that half of the songs on all of Al's albums are original, not parodies. They are often what he calls "style parodies," in that they are general homages to a style or a band, but the music and lyrics are all his own. And among these are the hidden gems.

I love, I really love "Pancreas," Al's take on the Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys. Also, it's about the pancreas.


"Everything You Know is Wrong" is the inspiration for this post--it happened to come on my iTunes this morning, and I was like "This song is great and also underappreciated!" (I also had to resist the urge to start tweeting the lyrics as if they were my updates. ex:
"I was driving on the freeway in the fast lane with a rabid wolverine in my underwear"
"when suddenly a guy behind me in the backseat popped right up and cupped his hands across my eyes!"
"I guessed is it Uncle Frank or Cousin Louie, is it Bob or Joe or Walter? Could it be Bill or Jim or Ed or Bernie or Steve?"
"I prob'ly would have kept on guessing but about that time we crashed into the truck"
"And as I'm laying bleeding there on the asphalt, finally I recognize the face of my Hibachi dealer who takes off his prosthetic lips"
etc.)

"You Make Me" is so zany. My favorite line is "When I'm with you I don't know whether I should study neurosurgery or go to see The Care Bears Movie."

I've been a fan of "Generic Blues" since I was a wee lassie. It only gets more awesome over time.

"One More Minute" is apparently based on an actual breakup that Al had.

"Since You've Been Gone" is acapella. And funny. And it's the only Weird Al song I can think of that has a punchline at the end (for whatever that's worth). It has no relation with the much later Kelly Clarkson single of the same name.

His newest, which he's released online well in advance of his next album, is the Doors homage "Craigslist." (He even got the original Doors keyboardist to keyboard it up!) I really like the video. (Apologies to Neal here, and maybe it's just the Jim Morrison wig, but I think Al is getting hotter as he gets old. Thoughts?)