BBB Reviews: UHF: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff

Instead of ‘Even Worse, Al’s last studio album actually was a rebound. Hitting a good spot on the Billboard charts, it seemed as if a creative surge was pounding through Al, and good music was the order of the day.
Little did the unsuspecting public (outside the Tulsa area primarily) know that Al and his long-time manager Jay Levey were planning on making a movie!
Shot for about five million dollars in 1988-1989, the movie known as UHF performed just well enough to earn the budget back and then some. Of course with any movie comes a soundtrack, and thus a jumbled mix of sounds and themes from the album about to be reviewed today.
Now before you all start thinking this is a bad album, I’m telling you it’s NOT! Judging by this list made not too long ago, I ranked this album #4 of all the albums Al ever made. Some of it sympathy but most of it deserved, UHF is a highly underrated set of Yankovic’s lyrical children. So now to the album!
1. Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*: Of all the parodies that Al ever did, surprisingly this one caused a lot of commotion.
The parody of “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits apparently was forced to have that Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies* title due to lawyer wranglings. In any case, at least a music video was able to be made from it!
Another thing to take note at is Mark Knopfler also did guitar for the track. Al quipped on DVD commentary that there was no duplicating the loose feel Mark had.
To set up the song as it was in the movie, you have Al’s character George Newman looking at old footage, mainly of said ‘Hillbillies’. The footage then delves into a computer-generated jam where Al voices Jed Clampett, explaining primarily the plot/purpose of the show.
As you can imagine, some of the lyrics from the show’s original theme do pop up here. “Swimming pools, mova-mova-mova-movie stars!”
Al always had a knack of starting albums strong, and bah gawd this is no exception!

On the actual track, Mark Knopfler lends his guitar making abilities due to Al thinking it would provide a looser feel to the tighter parodies that Al’s own band would create. Also, no lyrics widget unfortunately due to those BS copyright laws. I’ll also state that the single to this song was also released ONE DAY before I was born! :)

2. “Gandhi II”: It’s one of several tracks on the album that’s not really a song, but instead a small snippet of the movie.
Made for Channel 62 in the primetime slot, Gandhi II is “Mr. Passive Resistance” thrown around 180 degrees. Instead of having “peace”, Gandhi shows up with vengeance and ass-kicking on his mind. WATCH THIS!

“I’ll have a steak…medium rare…”

3. Attack of the Radioactive Hamsters from a Planet Near Mars: This song is an original, but at the same time feels VERY familiar.
While the beats are a little different and the lyrics are a little different, you can’t help this song just by the song title feels a lot like “Slime Creatures from Outer Space”. Just like the song mentioned, it revolves around creatures, this time hamsters, coming to Earth and terrorizing the land. Really, there’s nothing much to note besides that.

Lyrics | Weird Al Yankovic lyrics - Attack Of The Radioactive Hampster From A Planet N lyrics
4. “Isle Thing”: This song is indeed a parody, that of “Wild Thing” by Tone Loc. It also is appears to be the first rap/hip-hop parody Al has done up to this point in his career.
In the song, Al’s fling introduces him to a show, we might have heard of it, called “Gilligan’s Island”. After this basic premise, it seems like the main character cannot stand the show at all. Sounded stupid, with Gilligan even stupider than that. Hey wait, wasn’t that the ORIGINAL complaints of the show?
Also, it seems that Al not only parodied the song, but also Tone Loc’s voice and referred to another one of his songs near the end, that of “Cold Funky Medina”.

Lyrics | Weird Al Yankovic lyrics - Isle Thing lyrics
5. “The Hot Rocks Polka”: After taking a break from polkas in “Even Worse”, Al is back. This time however, he attacks one band instead of a bunch of the most relevant people at the time.
The target? ROLLING STONES BABY! Also notice that the title of this polka refers to a greatest hits album the Stones had at this time.
Here’s the loot:

• "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)"
  
• "Brown Sugar"
  
• "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
  
• "Honky Tonk Women"
  
• "Under My Thumb"
  
• "Ruby Tuesday"
  
• "Miss You"
  
• "Sympathy for the Devil"
  
• "Get off of My Cloud"
  
• "Shattered"
  
• "Let's Spend the Night Together"
  
• "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
  
• "Ear Booker Polka" by "Weird Al" Yankovic

The main “polka” sound behind the music got heavily revamped, and it would be used in many of Al’s later (and better) polkas. Although the selection of songs is limited to one band, it’s actually a BADLY underrated track. All of those songs were done impeccably, and I couldn’t have agreed more with the book-ends of the track. I give this polka TWO THUMBS UP!
Lyrics | Weird Al Yankovic lyrics - The Hot Rocks Polka lyrics
6. “UHF”: An original song, a style parody of “State of Shock” by The Jacksons, and with a lot of different people being parodied/stylized in the music video. I’m not going to go deep into that, but just the song itself.
One of very few “title tracks” Al ever did, UHF feels like a shameless self-promotion of selling to in-movie characters. “Don’t change the channel, don’t touch that dial, we got it all on UHF!”
Also, there are two versions of this song. The one on the album is essentially a “long-cut”, where two larger instrumental jams are stretched-out/faded later, as opposed to the singles version where those jams were cut short, and thus the running time went from a shade over five minutes down to a shade under four minutes!

Turns your brain to cottage cheese!

Lyrics | Weird Al Yankovic lyrics - Uhf lyrics
7. “Let Me Be Your Hog”: Mindless 0:17 rambling. On the DVD commentary, Al noted how he wanted to get "Kung Fu Fighting" in the movie. This should have occurred in the scene where Uncle Harvey, in his pool, was awaiting a call from Big Louie concerning a debt. The royalty price was way too high for the movie's budget ($12,000), so Al instead went to the studio and yelled out this piece.
8. “She Drives Like Crazy”: A parody of “She Drives Me Crazy” by Fine Young Cannibals.
It’s a pop rhythm with Al’s character complaining about how badly his girl drives. Simple as that.
Lyrics | Weird Al Yankovic lyrics - She Drives Like Crazy lyrics
9. “Generic Blues”: While this song is lyrically original, the inspiration behind it doesn’t require a lot of imagination.
Think of it as Al’s love-letter to the “Blues”, pretty much that style of both rhythm and song made in Chicago back 30-40 years before this tune was even made! Add in your usual Al torture elements, and a classic is made!
Lyrics | Weird Al Yankovic lyrics - Generic Blues lyrics
10. “Spatula City”: Another commercial from UHF.
Apparently amongst the first footage shot for the movie, it’s about a store that sells, well, SPATULAS!

“Okay kids, let’s go!”

11. “Fun Zone”: This song is an instrumental theme to the “Stanley Spudowski’s Clubhouse” program in the movie. Apparently, it’s also the theme used at the beginning of EVERY Al concert, and it’s also the music you hear on the main menu of the Weird Al Yankovic - The Ultimate Video Collection. Also FYI: did you know that this song is also the theme for “Welcome to the Fun Zone”, a show originally written to replace Saturday Night Live?
12. “Spam”: This song is a parody of “Stand” by R.E.M., and revolves around, you guessed it, SPAM!
Essentially it’s an ode to that luncheon meat. While Al notes it’s made of ham and pork, there could also be mystery meat in there? What thoughtful lyrics! He also tells us about the tab on the can, which is pretty weird, but okay…..
It was a song destined for the Food Album. Ironically, Al would be a vegan after UHF.
Lyrics | Weird Al Yankovic lyrics - Spam lyrics
13. “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota”: A style parody of “30,000 Pounds of Bananas” by Harry Chapin. This was #6 on my count down list I did, and here is what I wrote then:
(before anyone asks, no, they didn’t go to Spatula City)
This song gives birth to a somewhat-tradition of Al’s: Put your longest song LAST on the record! At nearly seven minutes, this song feels as long as the road trip the characters of this song make, as you guessed it, they travel to Minnesota to look at the biggest ball of twine in the whole wide world! A song I wish was somehow worked into the movie, it sounds like something promoted on that channel! The imagery, that of kids jumping around in the back seat asking “are we there yet” is some old-time nostalgia, that of 20 years to the former. And who wants to eat pickled weiners and diet chocolate soda? Yum? I DON’T KNOWWWWWWW! As the dad character, Al wonders (in paraphrase) of what the hell the point was with this ball of twine? After the gift shop expenditure, time to go home, and there is seven minutes gone! 
Lyrics | Weird Al Yankovic lyrics - The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota lyrics
In conclusion, this album is pretty underrated. Al is all over the map musically, Rap, rock, hip hop, pop, and even CHICAGO BLUES, get torn to shreds, but torn to shreds like a pork butt roasted in a BBQ joint.
Sadly though, this would be the second in three albums that wouldn’t rank high/not get certified ‘Platinum’ by the RIAA. It’s a shame, because while the audience of the movie exploded about a decade after release, this album never did. Please, do yourself a favor and get this! Even BB King says ‘Generic Blues’ is one of his favorite blues songs of all time!

BBB Top 10: The Best ‘Weird Al’ Songs That Aren’t on a Greatest Hits Album.

(If you purchase this, you might help me buy a copy of my own! That’s my way of telling you I get slight residuals.)

With the legend’s new album coming out on June 21st, it would mark the first time since 2006 that ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic released a full-length album full of new material.
The album, entitled “Alpocalypse” features newly-recorded material with “previously” released material, as in the ‘Internet Leaks’ album available only on iTunes. While it’ll no doubt be a ‘typical’ Al album of parodies, originals, and downright sick-in-nature anthems, it goes to show that Mr. Yankovic is a man who never goes irrelevant and always stays on topical issues.
However, there are songs in his library that, like my prior blog about Billy Joel, are never talked about and thus feel like neglected children. Therefore today, we’re unearthing them, and perhaps you might take another  gander at these true gems.
(As always, these songs are in CHRONILOGICAL ORDER, and there will be Amazon links after the numericals, just in case your record space needs some more filling!)
1. “Midnight Star”, In 3-D, 1984:
 

Jumping to Al’s second album, because quite frankly the best stuff from the first album has been hailed over while the second-hand stuff remain second-hand, In 3-D remains an underrated album in the ‘Weird Al’ cannon. This track is the second one on the album, and it’s a original tune whose topic is around those ridiculous tabloids you see in the grocery store. “It says the ghost of Elvis is living in my den.” That’s just a sample of the bizarre imagery that not only infiltrates this song, but the whole album.

The frog boy is on the loose again!

2. “Theme from Rocky XIII”, In 3-D, 1984

While the song may not sound familiar, the tune it parodies is celebrated the world over. A parody of “Eye of the Tiger” from Survivor, this ditty revolves around a hypothetical THIRTEENTH Rocky movie whose plot revolves around the main character owning a deli. Yes, I am serious. In the song, it talks about Rocky in his older (and apparently fatter) days, “sold his gloves, threw his eggs down the drain!” Follow the non-existent plot and then just bask in the glory of Al in his youth making up something goofy.

Stay away from the tuna it smells funny tonight!

3. “I Want a New Duck”, Dare to be Stupid, 1985:

Once again, another parody. This time its from a very popular band in the 80s’ called Huey Lewis and the News, who had a single called, “I Want a New Drug”. In typical Al looney-ness, it describes how Al desperately wants a new duck with the characteristics of a human, “not a swan or a goose… I’ll name him Bruce!” Look out for segments in the song where the “backup” immediately turns into ducks quacking! As a eight-year old that cracked me up, and as an older person it still does. And you thought I was going for the pun? Nah!

I want a drake I’ll dress real cute, I’m think I’m gonna name him Bruce!

4. “Slime Creatures from Outer Space”, Dare to be Stupid, 1985

One of the very first songs to be recorded for the album, this song in a way feels like it should have been recorded for “In 3-D”. The song revolves around, well, the slime creatures coming in from outer space and completely destroying Earth as we know it. “They’re not very nice to the human race,” Al says, as he hopes none of them come in because he just washed the rug. That’s lyrics you just don’t hear from anyone else, and again, eclectic Al does the impossible!

It’s not complete, but rare nonetheless.
5. “Alimony”, Even Worse, 1988:

While it’s a parody, it reflects nothing of the track its life owes its existence to. “Mony Mony” by Billy Idol was a track made almost exclusively for clubs, “Alimony” is a sad tale about a man getting everything yanked off his back because of a divorce. Keep in mind, Al didn’t get married FOR THE FIRST TIME until a decade or so later, so this song was pretty much made for fun. “Workin’ three jobs just to stay in debt now.” That’s probably the least of his worries, as his car, and even his toothbrush are taken because of said “divorce”. A genuine Al torture song, but not in terms in gore and literal guts, but of hardship and figurative guts. The literal guts would be in the form of “Good Old Days” from the same album.

It’s a “live” parody of a “live” track! XD

6. “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota”, UHF, 1989
 
(It’s a good movie! I swear!)
This song gives birth to a somewhat-tradition of Al’s: Put your longest song LAST on the record! At nearly seven minutes, this song feels as long as the road trip the characters of this song make, as you guessed it, they travel to Minnesota to look at the biggest ball of twine in the whole wide world! A song I wish was somehow worked into the movie, it sounds like something promoted on that channel! The imagery, that of kids jumping around in the back seat asking “are we there yet” is some old-time nostalgia, that of 20 years to the former. And who wants to eat pickled weiners and diet chocolate soda? Yum? I DON’T KNOWWWWWWW! As the dad character, Al wonders (in paraphrase) of what the hell the point was with this ball of twine? After the gift shop expenditure, time to go home, and there is seven minutes gone! 

A road trip of a song. I wonder if anyone experienced the pickled weiners and diet chocolate soda?

7. “When I Was Your Age”, Off the Deep End, 1992:

THIS, my friends, is perhaps the author’s personal favorite Al song. The main character, a much-older Al of bitter and disenfranchised memories, talks about how the current generation (with Nintendos and water beds) is so spoiled (to his salt on snails and sleeping on broken glass). The exaggerations in this song are quite staggering, “Nobody ever drove me to school when it was 40 degrees below! I walked buck-naked, through 40 miles of snow!” Like “Good Old Days” briefly mentioned in the ‘Alimony’ entry, this song is a gore and guts torture song to the zenith degree. “They chopped me into pieces, and played frisbee with my brain! I’m gonna tell ya junior, you never heard me complain when I was your age!” I will also note, in a very schilling way, that if you buy the album above, has to be in CD form though, you will get an easter egg at the very last song (You Don’t Love Me Anymore). Trust me, it’s a good one!

Used old rusty nails, we had no Nintendo, we just poured salt on snails!

8. “Since You’ve Been Gone”, Bad Hair Day, 1996:

By far the shortest song on this countdown at just a shade under a minute and a half, but wow what a piece it is. Essentially, it’s a song talking about how Al misses his girl, who broke up with him. To get his feeling across, Al uses his wonderful library of gross imagery/exaggerations to describe the internal trauma, “I dropped a two-ton bowling ball on my toes… shoved a red-hot cactus up my nose”. The ending though is the greatest contradiction I may have ever heard, “I feel almost as bad I did… when you were still here!!!!” May I also add this song was done ENTIRELY in a cappella, so no instruments or sound effects were used, it was ALL voice, just adding to the raw undertones already in play. This whole album could have comprised this list!

An ice-cream headache that won’t go away!

9. “All About the Pentiums”, Running with Scissors, 1999:

If “When I Was Your Age” is my favorite SONG, then Running with Scissors is my favorite ALBUM. A tight set-list, not one skippable track, and while it might go through rose-eyed glasses for nostalgia, it holds up even more than a decade later. This selection, parody of “All About the Benjamins” by Puff Daddy (or P Diddy, or Sean Combs, or whoever the hell he is this week), essentially talks about technology getting outdated as soon as you unwrap it. Although no one will have 100 gigs of RAM anytime soon, the overall message of age of technology is as timely as it ever was. With Pentiums falling by the wayside to dual-cores, and then “Cores” (that’s your ‘I’ systems, of i3, i5, and i7) coming in, CD-ROM has now evolved to Blu-Ray, and RAM is now in the Gigs from Megs with huge speed to match. Bill Gates may not do your tech support, but at least Windows 7 is not as “holey moley” as Vista when it first came out. Also watch out for Drew Carey in a cameo appearance! And did I say this was my favorite of Al’s albums?

I don’t feed trolls and I don’t read SPAM!

10. “A Complicated Song”, Poodle Hat, 2003:

Of all of Al’s albums, this is amongst my least favorite pile. It didn’t click with me on day one, and still doesn’t although there are still more than enough hits to keep me coming back. Of all songs on that album however, who woulda thunk cute lil’ Avril Lavigne and “Complicated” would be the inspirational basis for this parody? While the original’s core theme was about relationships, this one has to do with a chain of events related to eating WAY too much pizza at a party only Al attended. Or, trying to make a chain of events that makes the situation in question end in “-ated”. For example, constipated is beleaguered with irrigated and evacuated for his colon, related for his near “incest” with a girl who turned out to be his cousin, and then decapitated as his head flies off after hitting a beam on a roller coaster. Some people call it classless, I say it’s classic Al, no matter how the cake is cut.

EXTRA CHEESE…SAVE A PIECE FOR ME!

Oh crap, there’s one more song I need to mention. Sorry Nostalgia Critic, I’m going to steal a gimmick of yours. And no, the song is question is NOT “Everything You Know is Wrong”, the track used in that man’s “Top Eleven Screw-Up” videos. As a matter of fact…
11. “Weasel Stomping Day”, Straight Outta Lynwood, 2006

This is a gory, GORY track. As a matter of fact, it’s probably the goriest track outside of “The Night Santa Went Crazy”. An original and very short (1:37) song, the tune is essentially polka-sounding with a lot of sound effects for crunching and oozing. The song is about, you guessed it, WEASEL STOMPING! A town celebrating this sick holiday, complete with Viking boots, lots of mayonnaise, and guns being put down in lieu of said boots. The music video is genius, as it is created by the same people who made the Robot Chicken series on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim”. To find that, just flip the disc over. Straight Outta Lynwood is a “dual-disc” design where one half of the disc is a audio CD with the regular album, and the other is a single-layer DVD where it is primarily music videos and a DVD-audio version of the LP.

So come along for a laugh, snap their weasely spines in half!

In conclusion, I realized there are at least another 10 Al songs I could do, considering the vast library of said work. However, for now, these are ten I consider un-sung classics, songs that define ‘Weird Al’ and his main core of themes and rhythms. Come June 21st, there’ll most likely be MORE unsung heroes, so until then, “they took out all my internal organs just to pay the rent!”