“Weird Al” Yankovic is a national treasure. It’s as simple as that. Going on four decades now, he’s the strange uncle who shows up every few years to remind us that pop music is supposed to be fun, that sacred cows were meant to be tipped. And while some folks like to argue about his relevance — should he still release albums? Has YouTube obviated his existence? — such claims seem silly. Indeed, anyone can spoof pop music, but no one does it like Al.
53. “Lasagna” (Even Worse, 1988)
Parody of: Los Lobos – “La Bamba”
Notable Lyric: “Have-a more ravioli / You-a get roly poly, a-nice and-a big”
52. “I Love Rocky Road” (Weird Al Yankovic, 1983)
Parody of: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts – “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”
Notable Lyric: “I love rocky road / So have another triple scoop with me”
51. “Spy Hard” (Gump B-Side, 1996)
In the Style of: The opening sequence of Goldfinger
Notable Lyric: “If you walked in late /Allow me to reiterate / The name of this movie is ‘Spy Hard.’ / They call it ‘Spy Hard.’ / You’re watching ‘Spy Hard.’ / It’s the theme from ‘Spy Hard.’
50. “Skipper Dan” (Alpocalpyse, 2011)
In the Style of: Weezer
Notable Lyric: “I shoulda listened when my grandfather said / “Why don’t you major in business instead?” / Now my hopes have all vanished and my dreams have all died / And I’ll probably work forever as a tour guide on the Jungle Cruise ride”
49. “Headline News” (Permanent Record, 1994)
Parody of: Crash Test Dummies – “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”
Notable Lyric: “And then, there was this guy who / Made his wife so mad one night that she cut off his weiner / And when he finally came to / He found that Mr. Happy was missing”
48. “Pancreas” (Straight Outta Lynwood, 2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqDBB0no6dQ
In the Style of: The Beach Boys
Notable Lyric: “My spleen just doesn’t matter / Don’t really care about my bladder / But I don’t leave home without / My pancreas”
47. “UHF” (UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff, 1989)
In the Style of: A “Weird Al” original track
Notable Lyric: “Kick off your sneakers / Stick around for a while / We got it all on UHF”
46. “Christmas at Ground Zero” (Polka Party!, 1986)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=t039p6xqutU
In the Style of: Phil Spector
Notable Lyric: “You might hear some reindeer on your rooftop / Or Jack Frost on your windowsill / But if someone’s climbin’ down your chimney / You better load your gun and shoot to kill”
45. “You Don’t Love Me Anymore” (Off The Deep End, 1992)
Parody of: Extreme “More Than Words”
Notable Lyric: “I knew that we were having problems when / You put those piranhas in my bathtub again”
44. “One More Minute” (Dare to Be Stupid, 1985)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yWhpk-8QLFQ
In the Style of: Doo-wop
Notable Lyric: “I’d rather clean all the bathroom in Grand Central Station with my tongue / Than spend one more minute with you”
43. “Living With a Hernia” (Polka Party!, 1986)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=X8Ow1nlafOg
Parody of: James Brown – “Living in America”
Notable Lyric: “Can’t run, barely crawl / Got a bulge in my intestinal wall”
42. “Handy” (Mandatory Fun, 2014)
Parody of: Iggy Azalea – “Fancy”
Notable Lyric: “I’ve got 99 problems but a switch ain’t one.”
41. “This Is the Life” (Dare to Be Stupid, 1985)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=N1n5XqwUkYw
In the Style of: 1930s jazz
Notable Lyric: “That’s right, I’m the king, number one / I buy monographed Kleenex by the ton”
40. “Ricky” (“Weird Al” Yankovic, 1983)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=6ZlLQLFq_H4
Parody of: Toni Basil – “Mickey”
Notable Lyric: “Oh Ricky / What a pity, don’t you understand / That every day’s a rerun and the laughter’s always canned”
39. “Close But No Cigar” (Straight Outta Lynwood, 2006)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=PtMU8nvZzOs
In the Style of: Cake
Notable Lyric: “I thought after all these years of searching around I’d found my soulmate finally / But one day I found out she actually owned a copy / Of Joe Dirt on DVD”
38. “Pac-Man” (released 2017, from 1995)
Parody of: Taxman by the Beatles
Notable lyrics: “Hey mom, I won’t be home this year (Pacman)/Please forward all my mail right here (Pacman)/I’m at the Pacman/Yeah it’s the Pacman”
37. “TMZ” (Alpocalypse, 2011)
Parody of: Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”
Notable Lyric: “You just picked up some transvestite / Seconds later It’s up on the website”
36. “If That Isn’t Love” (Alpocalypse, 2011)
In the Style of: Hanson
Notable Lyric: “I’ll even let you warm your freezing hands inside my butt crack”
35. “Do I Creep You Out” (Straight Outta Lynwood, 2006)
Parody of: Taylor Hicks – “Do I Make You Proud”
Notable Lyric: “Somethin’ I should ask about / Can I sniff the pit-stains on your blouse?”
34. “Weasel Stomping Day” (Straight Outta Lynwood, 2006)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=k76IGLi6jWI
In the Style of: Albert Hague – “Trim Up the Tree”
Notable Lyric: “It’s tradition, that makes it okay”
33. “CNR” (Alpocalypse, 2011)
In the Style of: The White Stripes
Notable Lyric: “He had his very own line at the DMV / He made sweet, sweet love to a manatee”
32. “Like a Surgeon” (Dare to Be Stupid, 1985)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=notKtAgfwDA
Parody of: Madonna – “Like a Virgin”
Notable Lyric: “I’ll pull his indsides out, pull his insides out / And see what he ate / Like a surgeon, hey / Cuttin’ for the very first time”
31. “Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies” (UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff, 1989)
Parody of: Dire Straits – “Money for Nothing”
Notable Lyric: “Old Jed was shootin’ at some food / When all of a sudden right up from the ground, there / Well, there came a bubblin’ crude”
30. “Another One Rides the Bus” (Weird Al Yankovic, 1983)
Parody of: Queen – “Another One Bites the Dust”
Notable Lyric: “Riding in the bus down the boulevard / And the place was pretty packed (Yeah!) / Couldn’t find a seat so I had to stand / With the perverts in the back”
29. “Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me” (Alpocalypse, 2011)
In the Style of: Jim Stenman
Notable Lyric: “You’re passing around a link to some dumb thing on YouTube / That everybody else already saw three years ago / And wacky badly Photoshopped billboard / Were never that amusing to me / And I just can’t believe you believe those urban legends”
28. Mission Statement (Mandatory Fun, 2014)
Parody of: Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Notable lyrics: “Providing our supply chain with diversity (versity, ooooh)/We will distill our identity”
27. “Bob” (Poodle Hat, 2003)
In the Style of: Bob Dylan
Notable Lyric: “Rise to vote, sir / Do geese see god?”
