Reviewing music isn't really my style, but Weird Al can certainly be the exception to that rule. He may not have impacted my life quite like this guy, but through all the various genre swings I've gone through in my life, Al has always been there. He's in a very exclusive club that will get an in-store album purchase from me.

The reviews that follow are for the songs only. I've not yet checked out the accompanying DVD a music videos.

1. Perform This Way An obvious rip on Lady Gaga and her extreme fashion. This song has been a terrible ear worm for me since I watched the video last week. Both the lyrics and music for this are pretty damn good, only problem being that the song is far too short, imo. The song sounds very, very similar to Madonna's Express Yourself so it's kind of funny to hear "express yourself" uttered during the lyrics.

2. CNR It's a song about Charles Nelson Reilly being some sort of super human god. Not my favorite on the album musically, but not terrible. CNR was pretty cool on Match Game, though, and not to mention as the voice of Mermaidman Arch-villian, the Dirty Bubble.

3. TMZ A parody of Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me (so Wikipedia tells me), TMZ is all about those idiot celebrity gossip shows/magazines I hate so much (even if he only mentions TMZ specifically). A few chuckle worthy moments to be had as he mentions real life celeb stupidness such as Spears shaving her head. This one's pretty good.

4. Skipper Dan A rather depressing song about an acting genius who is stuck working a crappy amusement park ride as a tour guide. Probably all too common of a tale, the song is okay overall. This was one of a few songs he released a few years ago, so I'd already heard it.

5. Polka Face I love Al's polkas; think they're the highlight of all his albums, so call me nerdy when the first thing I realize about this song is that, in an unprecedented move, not only does he feature another song by an artist who's been parodied on the album, but that song opens and closes the polka. This is not Al's strongest polka ever, seeming more repetitious than previous ventures.

6. Craigslist This psychedelicy sounding song about the internet's garage sale is my least favorite on the album. Every time Al screams "CRAAAAAAIIGGSSSLLISSSTTTT-uh", I wince.

7. Party in the CIA This is your usual Al song taking some serious topic (being in the CIA doing all sorts of black ops killing and wiretapping and stuff), and turns it into a bouncy, fun little tune. A Miley Cyrus parody, this song is classic Al.

8. Ringtone A style parody of Queen (who is awesome), Ringtone is about some guy who has a terrible ringtone and how everybody around him cannot stand it. The opening sounds very much like Don't Stop Me Now and there's harmonies all over the place. The lyrics are pretty decent, too.

9. Another Tattoo I am not a fan of rap and its current place towards the top of the charts means that much of Al's pluckings come from this pool. This song isn't terrible, there are some melody redeeming qualities in the chorus, but I probably won't put it into playlist circulation.

10. If That Isn't Love If there's one person who knows how to make a screwed up love song, it's Mr. Yankovic and If That Isn't Love, a style parody of local band Hanson, is everything you'd expect from such. It's a cheery melody about the things the guy in the song do for his girlfriend that he considers above and beyond the call of duty (like not pretending she's some one else while they make out... most of the time).

11. Whatever You Like This is another rap parody, made back in '09 right on the heels of the economic down turn. About a penny pinching boyfriend/husband, this song was kind of funny back then, but it's mostly "seent it" now.

12. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me This is probably my favorite song on the album, both lyrically and musically. It's yet another style parody of Meatloaf and song writer Jim Steinman, whose over the top songs are something I enjoy more than I probably realize. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me is about some guy who is forever receiving forwarded internet garbage from a "friend". As anyone who has ever talked to me on IM knows, I am very much the "forwarder" here. Though, my content is usually fresh, not three years old. Oh, internet points for including a reference to Snopes.

So, that's my review of Al's latest. Overall, it's not as strong as in previous years and I attribute his overall seeming decline to change in the music landscape as well as age (he's over fifty now). But, even at that, the man is still a genius and can still belt out some awesome tunes.

Okay, so I actually filmed two things yesterday. I'm very sorry!

My bros and I took a walk in the blazing heat down our usual nature trail today. I thought it might be a nifty idea to make a video on my iPad along the way. That was far as the idea went and this is what we made. I apologize to you, to Peter Jackson and to Mr. Tolkein.

I'm so close to making this month-of-blogging thing that I cannot let a little thing like writer's block stop me now. I suppose I can just ramble.

My Wal-Mart experiences of late have not been of the highest caliber. Granted, one doesn't usually expect world class service at the World of Walls, but this has been exceedingly blah. Cashiers who just don't give a shit, seem to be high out of their mind or cannot comprehend the English language are what greet me at my new Wal-Mart. Though, I just left my old one, full of good people whom I mostly know, after having gotten the worst cashier yet.

I was there to pick up the new Weird Al album (which was not in the new releases as it should have been) and made a bee line to express lane with the shortest queue. The cashier, some teenager named Jace, was trying to open his drawer, an action that locks up the register until a CSM has approved it from their keypad. Problem number one - you don't lock up your register when there are customers waiting and you don't have to. He then proceeded to get exceedingly pissed off, swearing and smashing the clear button on his keyboard. He was honestly becoming quite violent.

Now, I can understand his frustration with slow CSM response and the slowness to back out of an action on the aging registers. I've been on both sides of of that equation. However, he did unessecarily bring it upon himself and his display of frustration was absolutely not professional.

So, yeah. I guess this post became a rant about my Wal-Mart experience, but it still counts.

I don't usually brag, but I make the Best Fucking Spaghetti Sauce in the world (BFSS for short). Today, I am going to pass on my tried and true formula to you, my adoring Internet audience.

Step 1

Chop some onion, celery and carrots. This is known in the culinary world as mirepoix.

Step 2

Saute your mirepoix in some olive oil along with spices and other things.

Step 3

Apply a healthy dose of magic. This step is critical and you mustn't get it wrong lest you create a hideous food beast.

Step 4

Enjoy over some thin spaghetti. Not that fat stuff. Ideally, you'd also have Parmesan cheese, though I sadly did not for this instance.

Congratulations! You now can make your own BFSS to woo over whomever you please!