Straight Outta Lynwood is the twelfth album by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on September 26, 2006 in the U.S. by Volcano Records, on September 30, 2006 in Australia, on October 3 in Canada, on October 6, 2006 in New Zealand, November 13, 2006 in the United Kingdom, and November 24, 2006 in Germany. The album was released as a DualDisc, with the DVD side including the album mixed in 5.1 digital surround sound, instrumental versions of all songs (with optional on-screen lyrics for karaoke), a nine-minute documentary, six animated music videos, and a twenty-four-page full color booklet.
Four singles have so far been released: "Don't Download This Song", "White & Nerdy", "Canadian Idiot" and "Trapped in the Drive-Thru". All songs can be heard at Yankovic's MySpace page. Music videos for the first two can also be seen at the same page.
Straight Outta Lynwood is Yankovic's most successful chart album in the U.S. and his first top ten album ever, entering the Billboard 200 at number ten. "White & Nerdy" has also become Yankovic's first ever top-ten single, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Both the album and the single were certified gold by the RIAA. (His previous highest-peaking single was 1984's "Eat It", which peaked at number twelve). "Canadian Idiot" also entered the charts, peaking at eighty-two in the U.S.
The title is a reference to Straight Outta Compton , the second album of rap group N.W.A, with Lynwood being a nod to Yankovic's hometown of nearby Lynwood, California.
Album delay and other issues
Yankovic's teaser campaign for his twelfth album started on April 6, 2006, with a large "27" on the official site's splash page, which was later revealed to signify the then-planned June 27, 2006 release. However, the album was delayed as troubles had arisen with one of the recorded parodies. "You're Pitiful", a parody of James Blunt's hit "You're Beautiful", was recorded for the album, but was removed at the request of Blunt's label, Atlantic Records. The song was then released as a free-for-download single on the Internet in June 2006. Yankovic then went back into the studio and recorded two new songs, "Do I Creep You Out" and "White & Nerdy", to make up for "You're Pitiful".
Yankovic had wanted to record a parody of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" for the album, but Powter initially refused. Powter then changed his mind "literally the day before went into the studio to record 'White & Nerdy'", at which point, according to Yankovic, "the train had left the station".
Besides his "Bad Day" parody, "You Had a Bad Date", Yankovic claimed to have several "mediocre" parody ideas such as "Holodeck Girl" ("Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani), "IRS" ("S.O.S." by Rihanna), and "Hairy Back" ("SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake).
Even though Straight Outta Lynwood was released on September 26 in the U.S., apparently because of a mix-up at the label it was not released in Australia until September 29 and not until October 3 in Canada.
The PAL and Canadian release versions of the album are not on a DualDisc, but rather a separate CD with a DVD showing only the music videos and the Making Of featurette. However, the DVD side of the U.S. DualDisc is region free, so it may be imported without region problems.
Track listing
The track listing, parodies, and polka song are as follows:
Outtakes
Music videos
While Yankovic's albums usually generate only one or two official music videos, Straight Outta Lynwood has so far spawned nine. The DualDisc includes videos for all six original songs, and subsequent videos have been made for three of the parodies. This is in marked contrast to his last album, Poodle Hat , which generated only one ( Bob ).
Title and artwork
The title is a parody of N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton , although it is probably also a nod to the popularity of subsequent "Straight Outta _______" rap album titles, such as Straight Outta Ca$hville by Young Buck; Yankovic himself is from Lynwood, California, a lower-class Los Angeles suburb that borders Compton. The cover art depicts Yankovic in a photograph by Michael Blackwell, an Atlanta, Georgia photographer who has also photographed such current hip-hop stars as T.I., Lil' Scrappy, and Young Jeezy. The pitbull on the cover is named Dough Boy, and is owned by a local couple that was walking by. When asked if the album had a different album cover when "You're Pitiful" was planned to be on it, Yankovic stated that the cover was always going to be like that. Yankovic had liked the irony of having a gangsta rap-style album cover and title with "such a toothless ballad for the lead parody." The album cover ended up being unintentionally appropriate with "White & Nerdy" (a hip hop style track) being the lead track on the album.
Notes
- Originally Nickelback had given Yankovic permission to use their song "Photograph" in Al's "Polkarama"; however, he was unable "to find a way to incorporate the song into where it didn't sound wedged in or tacked on", so he decided not to use it, although he still thanked Nickelback in the liner notes.
- T-Pain also had given Al permission to parody his song "I'm N Luv (Wit A Stripper)" into "I'm in Love With the Skipper", a Gilligan's Island-themed song. However, Yankovic decided not to record it. T-Pain is also thanked in the liner notes. Yankovic currently performs the song in the parody medley of the Straight Outta Lynwood Tour.
- The numbers and letters on the album cover have several meanings: "NLY" are the initials of both Yankovic's daughter and his father. The number "27" is an in-joke with Yankovic's fans, but February 7 was also his mother's birthday. The license plate originally read "27 4LIFE" during the photo shoot.
- The car featured on the album is a convertable 1967 Chevrolet Impala. This same model is also used in Supernatural (TV series).
- The album was intended to be released on the 27th, because Weird Al's favorite number is 27. But was dropped a day earlier for unknown reasons.
Awards, nominations and accolades
- Straight Outta Lynwood was nominated for two Grammy Awards in the categories of "Best Comedy Album" and "Best Surround Sound Album".
- "Trapped in the Drive Thru" ranked 77th on Rolling Stone' s 100 Greatest Songs of 2006.
- "White & Nerdy" ranked 76th on Blender 's Top 100 Songs of 2006.
- Straight Outta Lynwood , the single White & Nerdy, and the White & Nerdy ringtone were all certified gold. The single was later declared platinum by the RIAA.
Personnel
- "Weird Al" Yankovic – vocals, accordion, keyboards, sound effects, background vocals, clapping, shouts
- Jim West – guitar, mandolin, sound effects, vocals, clapping, shouts
- Steve Jay – bass, banjo, sound effects, vocals, clapping, shouts
- Rubén Valtierra – piano, keyboards
- Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz – drums, percussion, sound effects, vocals, clapping, shouts, laughs
Production
- 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
Charts
Album
References
- ^ "Straight Outta Lynwood". All Things Yankovic. 2007-01-09 . http://www.allthingsyank.com/sol.htm . Retrieved 2007-02-07 .
- ^ a b c d e "Ask Al". "Weird Al" Yankovic . http://www.weirdal.com/aa.htm . Retrieved 2007-02-07 .
- ^ "Weird Al Yankovic MySpace page" . http://www.myspace.com/weirdal . Retrieved 2007-02-07 .
- ^ a b www.weirdal.com
- ^ ""Weird Al" Yankovic: Recording Dates" . http://weirdal.com/rcdgdate.htm . Retrieved 2006-09-15 .
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