“Weird Al” Yankovic is on tour supporting his latest album, “Straight Outta Lynwood”, but sadly it doesn’t look like he’s coming to Austin this time around. Last tour, he came to The Paramount and put on an amazing show. He is playing in San Antonio on June 8 and a few other Texas cities. Check out his tour page for details.

Most people know “Weird AL” as that guy who did some funny parodies. While his parodies set the standard by which all are measured against now, I think he is highly underrated. When I was a kid, it was his parodies that made me discover him but through out the years I’ve developed a much deeper appreciation for him. He is an incredible songwriter and wordsmith with a phenomenally talented band who have been with him through his entire career. His music can be rich melodically and structurally and many times his lyrics are pure genius (though there’s plenty of base silliness to be had too). In addition to his song parodies he also often does “style” parodies where he doesn’t lampoon a specific song but instead a particular band or general style of music. There’s also his legendary Polka Medleys full of popular songs done in polka style.

His original songs are the real reason to check him out. I think “Hardware Store” is just a brilliant song all around. It grooves, has rapid fire dense and funny lyrics, dense harmonies and some incredibly intricate weaving backup vocals.

Other required listening:

• “Albuquerque” – an 11 minute rambling epic of randomness
• “Genius In France” – I wonder how many people actual get that this is a spot on Frank Zappa “style” parody
• “Bob” – Again, I wonder how many people realize that not only is this a Bob Dylan “style” parody but every line of the song is a palindrome)
• “Wanna B Ur Lover” – Hilarious R&B parody where the singer is more full of himself than usual
• “Dare to be Stupid” – a DEVO “style” parody that Mark Mothersbaugh himself has described as “beautiful”
• “One More Minute” – A 50’s style breakup song with extra bite
• “Party At The Leper Colony” – If you love puns then this one’s for you

I think I’ll have to stop here as looking through his catalogue is tempting me to list about a hundred other songs such as “A Complicated Song”, “Happy Birthday”, “I’ll Be Mellow When I’m Dead”, “Mr. Frump In The Iron Lung”, “Nature Trail To Hell”, “Why Does This Always Happen To Me”, “Ebay” (brilliant Backstreet Boys parody), “All About The Pentiums”, and many, many more. If you are a fan at all, I highly recommend checking him out live.