Poodle Hat is the Grammy Award-winning eleventh studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on May 20, 2003 on Volcano Records. It debuted at #17 on the Billboard 200. The album was released on an Enhanced CD. The bonus content includes some of Yankovic's real home videos and his commentary on them, as well as synchronized lyrics and instrumental or acoustic versions of some songs. An Easter egg depicts him with his then-pregnant wife, Suzanne, who also appears on the CD cover wearing a hat and glasses. The album's only single, "eBay", would not be released until January 2007. The album's only song to have a music video is "Bob". As of 2012, it remains one of the only three Yankovic albums to have not achieved gold status, along with Polka Party! and UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff.
Track listing [edit]
| Track |
Title |
Length |
Description |
| 1 |
"Couch Potato" (Jeffrey Bass, Marshall Mathers, Luis Edgardo Resto) |
4:18 |
Parody of "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. The singer describes the many channels available on his cable TV. |
| 2 |
"Hardware Store" (Yankovic) |
3:45 |
Original.[5] About a new neighborhood hardware store and the things that can be purchased there. |
| 3 |
"Trash Day" (Chuck Brown, Cornell Haynes, Pharrell) |
3:12 |
Parody of "Hot in Herre" by Nelly. The narrative focuses on the filthiness of the singer's house. |
| 4 |
"Party at the Leper Colony" (Yankovic) |
3:38 |
Style parody of Bo Diddley, most notably "Hey Bo Diddley" but with Springsteen-esque instrumentation and vocals plus a saxophone solo a la Clarence Clemons. The song describes a party at a leper colony during which people's body parts keep falling off. |
| 5 |
"Angry White Boy Polka" |
5:04 |
Polka medley, containing:
|
| 6 |
"Wanna B Ur Lovr" (Yankovic) |
6:14 |
Style parody of Midnite Vultures-era Beck, specifically "Peaches & Cream".[6] The song consists of pick-up lines which become steadily more ridiculous and suggestive. |
| 7 |
"eBay" (Andreas Carlsson, Max Martin) |
3:36 |
Parody of "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys. Describes every manner of obscure items that the singer has purchased on eBay. |
| 8 |
"Genius in France" (Yankovic) |
8:58 |
Contains various licks and other elements found in Frank Zappa's material.[7] Frank's son Dweezil Zappa plays the intro guitar solo. The lyrics describe a person who, although rejected elsewhere, finds acceptance in France. |
| 9 |
"A Complicated Song" (Yankovic, Avril Lavigne) |
3:39 |
Parody of "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne. The singer laments some mishaps resulting from everyday circumstances, such as eating too much pizza or discovering your girlfriend is secretly your cousin. |
| 10 |
"Why Does This Always Happen to Me?" (Yankovic) |
4:52 |
Style parody of Ben Folds, who also plays the piano in the song. The protagonist describes some particularly horrific tragedies, then complains about the (minor) inconvenience that they have caused him. |
Bonus Tracks
Music videos [edit]
A music video for "Couch Potato" was to be shot shortly after the album's release, but Eminem denied Yankovic permission to shoot it. Yankovic told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2003:
| “ |
We were already in pre-production. We believed that it was just a formality, that Eminem just wanted to hear the final mix of the song... And then we got a phone call saying he was not going to give permission for a video. We were devastated...I certainly don't have any bad feelings toward Eminem. He was gracious enough to let us use the song on the album—and we use "The Real Slim Shady" in the "Angry White Boy Polka" medley, too. But this is the first album I've ever released without an accompanying video.[8] |
” |
A quick video for "Bob" was shot instead and used on the tour and the 2003 edition of Al TV. The video for "Bob" can now be found on the "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection DVD. The video for "Bob" appears to be based on the promo video that was shot for D.A. Pennebaker's Dont Look Back, detailing Dylan's second tour of England, including Bob Dylan's song, "Subterranean Homesick Blues", which was included on Pennebaker's film. The song "Bob" also has very many similarities in rhythm and movement of Dylan's song, "Subterranean Homesick Blues".
As the original short film featured famous beat poet Allen Ginsberg, the video shows a rabbi in the background (played by Al's drummer Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz) speaking with a man in a black suit (played by Yankovic's long-time manager and UHF director Jay Levey).
Personnel [edit]
- "Weird Al" Yankovic - accordion, keyboards, sound effects, vocals, backing vocals, clapping, shouts
- Jim West - guitar, mandolin, sound effects, vocals, clapping, shouts
- Steve Jay - bass guitar, banjo, sound effects, vocals, clapping, shouts
- Rubén Valtierra - piano, keyboards
- Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz - drums, percussion, sound effects, vocals, clapping, shouts, laughs
- William K. Anderson[9] - harmonica
- Kim Bullard - keyboards
- DJ Swamp - scratching
- Tom Evans - saxophone
- Tommy Johnson - tuba
- John "Juke" Logan - harmonica
- Warren Luening - trumpet
- Herb Pedersen - banjo on "Bob" and "Genius in France"
- Joel Peskin - clarinet
- Lisa Popeil - backing vocals
- Lee R. Thomburg - trombone, trumpet
- Carmen Twilley - backing vocals
- Julia Waters - vocals, backing vocals
- Maxine Waters - backing vocals
- Ben Folds - piano on "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?"
- Dweezil Zappa - opening guitar solo on "Genius in France"
Production [edit]
- Producer: Al Yankovic
- Engineers: Tony Papa, Rafael Serrano
- Assistant engineers: Aaron Kaplan, Doug Sanderson, Antony Zeller
- Mixing: Tony Papa
- Mastering: Bernie Grundman
- Arranger: "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Drum programming: Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz
- Design: Nick Gamma, Jackie Murphy
- Photography: Mark Seliger
Charts [edit]
Awards [edit]
Grammy Awards
| Year |
Award |
Winner |
| 2003 |
Best Comedy Album |
Poodle Hat |
References [edit]
- ^ Poodle Hat at Allmusic
- ^ Serpick, Evan (2003-07-07). "Poodle Hat Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
- ^ Hoard, Christian (2003-05-20). ""Weird Al" Yankovic: Poodle Hat : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York. p. 893. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ "Ask Al Archive for June 28, 2006". weirdal.com. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. (August 2003). ""Ask Al" Q&As for August 7, 2003". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
- ^ a b Moss, Corey (2003-05-07). "Weird Al Parodies 'Lose Yourself' But Won't Spoof Em's Video". VH1. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
- ^ Speaking With "Weird Al", Chicago Sun-Times, 25 July 2003.
- ^ http://www.andersonscores.com/ William Kevin Anderson
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