Line #14 YMMV/RunningWithScissors


1	[[WMG:[[center:[-''Music/WeirdAlYankovic'' '''[[YMMV/WeirdAlYankovic Main YMMV Page]]'''\
2	Albums: ''[[YMMV/WeirdAlYankovicAlbum "Weird Al" Yankovic (1983)]]'' \| ''YMMV/WeirdAlYankovicIn3D'' \| ''YMMV/DareToBeStupid'' \| ''YMMV/PolkaParty'' \| ''YMMV/EvenWorse'' \| ''YMMV/UHFOriginalMotionPictureSoundtrackAndOtherStuff'' \| ''YMMV/OffTheDeepEnd'' \| ''YMMV/{{Alapalooza}}'' \| ''YMMV/BadHairDay'' \| '''''Running with Scissors''''' \| ''YMMV/PoodleHat'' \| ''YMMV/StraightOuttaLynwood'' \| ''YMMV/{{Alpocalypse}}'' \| ''YMMV/MandatoryFun''\
3	Films: ''YMMV/{{UHF}}'' \| ''YMMV/WeirdTheAlYankovicStory''-]]]]]
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5	* CriticalDissonance: ''Running With Scissors'' was one of his worst-reviewed albums, but contains several fan-favorites.
6	* FairForItsDay: On the one hand, "Truck Drivin' Song" loses much of its absurdity the more gender norms are challenged, meaning a song where the entire joke is that the singer is a WholesomeCrossdresser grows less inherently funny. On the other, ir presents an earnest, hearty delivery of a song solidly embracing the singer's perspective. Combined with gradual indications that their fashion sense at least lies in DragQueen territory, this paints an oddly positive picture of a person cheerily confident in their own flamboyant identity.
7	* HarsherInHindsight: "Your Horoscope For Today" has a line for Pisces to "try to avoid any Virgos or Leos with the Ebola virus". This came across way more cautionary after the 2014 outbreak.
8	* HilariousInHindsight: "The Saga Begins" contains the lines "And the Jedi I admire most/Went up with Darth Maul and now he's toast/Well, I'm still here and he's a ghost". The revelation that Qui-Gon Jinn is the one who discovered the Force Ghost technique upon his death would not happen until ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', released six years later.
9	* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: Jews don't just have a good sense of humor about "Pretty Fly For A Rabbi," they've ''completely adopted it as their own'', to the point that it contributed to a rumor that Al himself was Jewish (he's a non-practicing Christian; Yankovic is a Serbian surname). It helps that Al already has a large Jewish fanbase and most of the stereotypes he name-checks are positive, and Judaism itself is a culture that's largely fond of SelfDeprecation.
10	* ParodyDisplacement
11	** Not too many people are as familiar with AlternativeRock band The Rugburns, much less so their 1995 EP track "Dick's Automotive", as they are with Al's {{homage}}, "Albuquerque". Listening to the original version after years of being familiar with Al's version, especially when you recognize which lyrics he's spoofing directly, can be downright surreal.
12	** Around the time "The Saga Begins" was getting regular airplay on Radio/RadioDisney, Music/{{Madonna}} released a cover of "American Pie" (the song it's parodying), leading to a number of kids wondering why Madonna was singing a non-funny version of a Weird Al song. It didn't help that the cover was a tie-in to her now-forgotten star vehicle film flop ''The Next Best Thing''. Al himself commented on the cover in a magazine article, saying "The Saga Begins" was now "[[TakeThat the second-funniest version]]" of "American Pie" ever recorded.
13	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: This album is composed of hip hop, bubblegum pop, adult contemporary, alternative rock and country. Also included is a parody of "Zoot Suit Riot" by the Cherry Poppin' Daddies symbolizing the era's neo-swing revival, and a parody of "American Pie" by Music/DonMcLean which recapped the then-new ''Franchise/StarWars'' film ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.

Context YMMV / RunningWithScissors