Alapalooza

Alapalooza is the eighth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1993. The cover sleeve is a spoof on the movie poster of the hit movie Jurassic Park. The name is a parody of the music festival Lollapalooza.

Released after the successful album Off the Deep End, Alapalooza was met with mixed reviews, although it later was certified Gold by the RIAA.^[4] The album's first single, "Jurassic Park," was nominated for a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form in 1994.^[5]

Recording and release

After his successful album Off the Deep End, Yankovic decided to return to the studio in 1992. The main reason why he decided to record a new album so close to the release of another album, was due to the state of the as-of-then unreleased track "Waffle King" (which technically had been released on the "Smells Like Nirvana" single).

This time, instead of doing one of his traditional polka medleys, Yankovic decided to do a single song polka which was composed completely of "Bohemian Rhapsody" (This was most likely done due to the song's increased popularity after the hit movie "Wayne's World" re-energized its playing on the radio. Others have speculated that it was done as a tribute to the then recently deceased Freddie Mercury).

Due to the similar cover art of the two albums, some of the covers of "Alapalooza" feature the words "No, this is NOT the Jurassic Park soundtrack!"^[6]

Later copies of Bad Hair Day accidentally use the CD art from this album.^[7]

Track listing

1. "Jurassic Park" (orig. Jimmy Webb, arr. "Weird Al" Yankovic) – 3:55
   • Parody of "MacArthur Park" by Richard Harris; about the plot of the movie Jurassic Park.
2. "Young, Dumb & Ugly" (Yankovic) – 4:24
   • Style parody of AC/DC;^[8] about a group of "rebels without a clue" who try to act tough but just look stupid.
3. "Bedrock Anthem" (orig. Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Flea, Chad Smith, arr. Yankovic) – 3:43
   • Parody of "Under the Bridge" and "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers; a song that discusses someone who wants to be a Flintstone and live in Bedrock, and then lists multiple reasons why.
4. "Frank's 2000" TV" (Yankovic) – 4:07
   • Style parody of R.E.M.'s early work;^[8][9] about a man whose neighbor buys a 2000" TV. (Note: A 2000" TV would have a 166.66' (50.8 m) diagonal — a standard 4:3 ratio screen would be 100' (30.48 m) by 133' 4" (40.64 m); almost half the length of a football field, and ten stories high.)
5. "Achy Breaky Song" (orig. Don Von Tress, arr. Yankovic) – 3:23
   • Parody of "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus; about a man who hates the constant radio airplay "Achy Breaky Heart" receives and mentions several other groups and artists he would rather hear than Achy Breaky Heart, including Donny Osmond and Marie, Barry Manilow, New Kids on the Block, the Village People, Vanilla Ice, the Bee Gees, Debby Boone, ABBA, Slim Whitman, Zamfir, Yoko Ono, and Tiffany.
6. "Traffic Jam" (Yankovic) – 4:01
   • Style parody of "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince; about the perils of being stuck in a traffic jam.
7. "Talk Soup" (Yankovic) – 4:25
   • Style Parody of "Steam" by Peter Gabriel with elements of "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder and "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley; about a man who is desperate to appear on Geraldo, Sally Jessy Raphael, or any other daytime talk show and talk about his bizarre relationships, uncommon family relations, and his unusual opinions.
8. "Livin' in the Fridge" (org. Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Mark Hudson, arr. Yankovic) – 3:55
   • Parody of "Livin' on the Edge" by Aerosmith; a cautionary tale about expired food gaining sentience.
9. "She Never Told Me She Was a Mime" (Yankovic) – 4:54
   • Original; about a man who misses the obvious signs his girlfriend is a mime.
10. "Harvey the Wonder Hamster" (Yankovic) – 0:21
    • Original; an anthem for the titular character. This song would later be used in The Weird Al Show.
11. "Waffle King" (Yankovic) – 4:25
    • Style parody of "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel with elements of "Close (To the Edit)" by Art of Noise; about a man's ascendance to celebrity status through his wondrous waffle recipe, and how he subsequently turns into an egomaniac.
12. "Bohemian Polka" (Polka medley, arr. Yankovic) – 3:39
    • "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen set to a polka beat. This is Yankovic's only all-polka song to date that features a single song, as opposed to the polka medleys that appear on most of his other albums. Possibly a tribute to the then-recently deceased Freddie Mercury.

Reception

Critical reception

At the 36th Grammy Awards in 1994, the claymation video for "Jurassic Park" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form.^[10] However, it lost to Peter Gabriel's music video for his single "Steam."^[5]

Chart positions

Personnel

• "Weird Al" Yankovic – accordion, keyboards, vocals, background vocals
• Mel Blanc – voice of Barney Rubble and Dino
• Brad Buxer – synthesizer, keyboards, orchestra
• Steve Jay – bass, background vocals
• Tommy Johnson – tuba
• Warren Luening – trumpet
• Joel Peskin – clarinet, baritone saxophone
• Alan Reed – voice of Fred Flintstone
• Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz – percussion, drums
• Rubén Valtierra – keyboards
• Julia Tillman Waters – background vocals
• Maxine Willard Waters – background vocals
• Jim West – banjo, guitar, mandolin, background vocals

Production

• Producer: "Weird Al" Yankovic
• Engineer: Tony Papa
• Assistant engineer: Colin Sauers
• Executive producer: Spencer Proffer
• Mixing: Tony Papa
• Mastering: Bernie Grundman
• Programming: Brad Buxer
• Arranger: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Brad Buxer
• Orchestral arrangements: Brad Buxer
• Art direction: Doug Haverty
• Photography: Rocky Schenck

References