Bad Hair Day is the ninth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on March 12, 1996. It was also Yankovic's last studio album for the Scotti Brothers label before leaving for Volcano Records in 1999. The album produced a variety of hit comedy singles; lead single "Amish Paradise", which made the lampoons of Amish's "Gangsta's Paradise" and Amish lifestyle, Coolio, charted at number 53 on Billboard Hot 100, while "Gump", which parodied "Lump" by The President of the United States and the film Forrest Gump, mapped in 102.
The musical style on the album was built around parodies and pop and rock pastiches of the mid-1990s, mostly targeting alternative rock and hip-hop alike. The album also includes stylistic parodies, imitations from certain artists such as They Might Be Giants and Elvis Costello. "Amish Paradise" caused a small controversy after rapper Coolio expressed dislike for the song parodied by Yankovic, although both were later changed.
Bad Hair Day was met with positive reviews, with many critics praising the "Amish Paradise" in particular; "Amish Paradise" later became one of Yankovic's most famous singles. The album peaked at number four on Billboard 200. Bad Hair Day sold 1,317,000 copies in the US in 1996 alone, the highest sales count for any comedy album in one calendar years since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. Bad Hair Day is Yankovic's sixth sixth record in the United States, and later certified Platinum for the sale of over one million copies in the US by Recording of the American Industry Association ( RIAA). The album is also certified Platinum in Canada by the Recording Industry Association of Canada (CRIA).
Video Bad Hair Day
Production
Recording
In November 1994, Yankovic entered Santa Monica Sound Recorders in Santa Monica, California to start the first session of Bad Hair Day, which he produced himself. Records with Yankovic are Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz on drums, Steve Jay on bass, and Jim West on guitar. The album was recorded in five sessions. The first session began on November 30 and produced two original: "Callin 'In Sick" and "Everything You Know Is Wrong". The second session started the next day and produced original songs: "I Remember Larry", "The Night Santa Went Crazy", and "Since You've Been Gone". The third session took place on November 5, 1995, and produced the original "I'm Very Sick" and a parody of "Cavity Search". The fourth session produced a medley of "The Alternative Polka", and two parody "Gump" and "Phony Calls". The fifth and final recording sessions resulted in "Amish Paradise" and "Syndicated Inc.", both parodies.
Original document
"Callin 'In Sick" is a popular musical style parody in Seattle, Washington, especially grunge. "Everything You Know Is Wrong" is the language style of The Might Be Giants. Yankovic explained that he "tried to write some kind of song in their style, but maybe even a little more crooked". For fans They're probably Giants, he puts a "little reference here and there, a bit of an allusion to the other songs of them". Yankovic later admitted that it was "a little more difficult, I think to elaborate exactly where the inspiration came from." The title track is taken from the 1974 Firesign Theater album of the same name.
"I Remember Larry" is a parody of Hilly Michaels style, and tells the story of an environmental bully who, after various jokes, was brutally killed by the narrator. At the 3:10 mark, the song contains a message in the backmask, which when flipped back and forth reads, "Wow, you definitely have a lot of free time in your hands". "The Night Santa Went Crazy" tells the story of Santa snapping, commenced mass murder, and was finally arrested. Originally, the song had a different third verse, different in the fact that, at the end of the song, Santa was killed by the SWAT team. The "Extra Gory" version was finally released on the single for "Amish Paradise". Another version was written for the Touring with Scissors tour in 1999, combining elements from the album version and the "Extra Gory" version. "Since You've Been Gone" is a generic doo-wop a cappella song detailing the torment of a lover after the object of affection breaks up with him. Yankovic performs most of his own vocals, and to ensure that he retains the key, a scratch guitar track is recorded; when the song was mixed, the guitar song was removed. Bassist Steve Jay gave a low voice in the song. Finally, "I'm So Sick of You," a parody of Elvis Costello's style in which the singer tells his girlfriend all the things he hates about her.
Parody and polka
The first parody recorded for the album was "Cavity Search", a hit parody of U2 "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me". The song, which tells the horror of having to go to the dentist, displays the sound of a real dental drill. To improve the dental theme of the song, Yankovic summoned his real dentist, who brought a real drill and human teeth, both of which alternately drilled while recording to create the original sound effect. The second parody is the pastiche of TLC "Waterfalls" called "Phony Calls", about prank calls. During the bridge, a clip of The Simpsons second season episode "Blood Feud" is played on top of music. Since the sound clip comes from a pre-existing episode, Yankovic notes that "it's a very sweet deal for the Simpsons voice actor - they each got a good bunch of money, and they did not even have to come to the studio!" The next parody recorded for the album is "Gump", a parody of "Lump" by the President of the United States. The song recounts the basic plot for the 1994 film Forrest Gump about a naÃff and a very athletic quiet woman from Alabama who witnessed, and in some cases influenced, some of the decisive events of the second half of the twentieth century. 20 in the United States. "Gump" was released as the second single from the album, and received the video.
On January 15, 1996, Yankovic began recording lead singles for the album, "Amish Paradise". Yankovic feels that parodying Coolio will work, because Coolio has "an identifiable picture that many things can be done [with]". She notes, "I like to play with people who have some-you know, a lot of style compared to somebody who's somewhat homogeneous and bland and has no personality, and Coolio must be a bit prominent in the crowd." Yankovic feels that juxtaposing the song " gangsta "original theme with Amish lifestyle will produce a funny end result. After Yankovic revealed on his label that he would perform a Coolio parody, they requested that the album's artwork for release was also a parody of Coolio. Yankovic has been playing with the name of Bad Hair Day for some time and feels that he can use Coolio's name and lampoon - known for his different hairstyles - at the same time. The last parody recorded for the album, "Syndicated Inc.", is a parody of "Misery" by Soul Asylum, a loving ode for syndicated television.
Just like the previous Yankovic album, Bad Hair Day featured a polka medley of the hit songs of the time, "The Alternative Polka". "The Alternative Polka" originally contained a choir of Weezer's song "Buddy Holly" performed by Yankovic, but songwriter Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo requested his removal shortly before the album was released. Yankovic was forced to physically cut off a bit of the master tape, but Weezer was still given credit in liner notes because the note had already been printed. On June 25, 2010, more than fourteen years after the album's release, Yankovic released an unmixed and unmixed "Buddy Holly" clip on his official YouTube channel.
Unused parody
In addition to the five parodies on the album, Yankovic has some parody ideas rejected. Initially, Yankovic wanted to turn The Offspring's hit "Come Out and Play" into an ode about washing clothes called "Laundry Day". There are many conflicting stories about why the song was never recorded; neither Yankovic never approached The Offspring about releasing a parody, or the band refused permission. However, Yankovic performed the song simultaneously from 1996 to 2000. Despite not being able to parody "Exit and Play", Yankovic would then be given permission to parody their hit song "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" as "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi "on his 1999 album Running with Scissors. Yankovic also wanted to record a parody of The Beatles'
Yankovic also intends to record a parody of the U2 song "Numb" and a parody of The Rembrandts hit song "I'll Be There for You". Spoof "Numb" will be called "Green Eggs and Ham", a song in which Yankovic reads various lines from Dr. Seuss with the same name. U2 approves parody, but Yankovic can not get permission from real Seuss. Likewise, Yankovic wanted to change "I'll Be There for You" to "I'll Repair For You", and write about the popular 1990s Home Improvement sitcom. Rembrandts had also given approval when Yankovic asked, but the producer Friends did not want the theme song to be too light and refused permission. All parodies are rejected then performed in concert.
Maps Bad Hair Day
Controversy
The album's main single, "Amish Paradise", caused a small controversy after rapper Coolio said that Yankovic never asked for permission to record a parody. Yankovic has traditionally gained permission from the artist he parodies, though this is not legally required, since the parody is covered by fair usage guidelines, but when he asks about "Gangsta's Paradise", Yankovic is told by Scotti Brothers Records that Coolio has given permission. Coolio later claimed that he had not given the permission, making a statement at Grammys saying that he did not appreciate Yankovic "tarnishing" his song.
Speculation emerged that Coolio had actually given permission but later changed his mind, or that Yankovic's record label had lied to Yankovic in the hope that the song would become popular. Yankovic then declared to VH1's Behind the Music that he had written a genuine apology letter to Coolio that was never returned, and that Coolio never complained when he received a royalty check from the result of the song. A series of photos taken at the XM Satellite Radio booth at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, and a post on the "Ask Al" feature on Yankovic's website shows that Yankovic and Coolio made a mistake. According to Yankovic, he was very surprised when Coolio came to chat. He then joked on his site Q & amp; A feature was, "I doubt I'll be invited to Coolio's next birthday party but at least I can stop wearing a bulletproof vest to the mall."
Promotions
Scotti Brothers Records developed a promotional strategy for Bad Hair Day, which included Yankovic dressed up with an excessive Coolio hairstyle and awarded at the American Music Awards in January 1996. According to Billboard, is "a clue as to who will be the next victim of the Yankovic parody". "Amish Paradise" was later released in early March as radio and commercial singles, when "Gangsta's Paradise" still received radio broadcasts. Four days later, the video was released. The album's success was also supported by the release of "Gump" as a single on April 25th, and a video four days later. In addition, WEA, which has taken over distributing Scotti Brothers albums from BMG, helped with the initial release of the album.
To promote the album, Yankovic performed "Bad Hair Tour", which stretched from May 24, 1996 to October 19, 1997. The tour was mostly centered in the United States, although the first half saw Yankovic performing in Canada. Yankovic performed over 130 shows during the tour. Initially, there were initial plans to have a European Yankovic tour, based on whether All American Music Group would secure an international release of the album, although this effort never worked.
Critical reception
Mike Joyce of The Washington Post wrote that "Amish Paradise" is "by far the smartest and smartest path that Bad Hair Day has to offer and it's ranked there with the classic Yankovic such as 'Another Rides the Bus,' 'Smells Like Nirvana' and 'Eat It.' "He also enjoys" Gump ", but feels that the rest of the parody is weak, especially because" Cavity Search "as a" sophomoric attempt to extract the yuks ". However, Joyce noted that "some of the biggest laughter takers" on the album are original Yankovic. A review note from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette concluded that "The collection of the original song and the 9th parody of Weird Al" Yankovic strengthens his reign as the King of Pop Music Comedy ", and that the record" features an unrivaled Yankovic. the ability to capture other band styles and turn boring pop songs into fun songs. "JD Considine of The Baltimore Sun noted that while Yankovic's music can be" sophomoric and ridiculous ", Yankovic himself" can also be very clever. "This review is highlighted, among other songs," The Alternative Polka "and" The Night Santa Went Crazy ", as some of the best songs of the album.
Not all of the reviews are positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic criticized the lack of humor on the album saying "music on Bad Hair Day is not just a lack of humor, it lacks the evil energy that makes Weird Al's first album so much fun." The Rolling Stone Record Guide rewards the album two out of five stars. However, the book then refers to the album's main single, "Amish Paradise", as "bowel destroyer".
Commercial performance
Bad Hair Day was released on March 12, 1996, and eventually became Yankovic's best-selling album. Domestically, the album debuted at number 28 on Billboards 200 on March 30, 1996. It finally peaked at number 14. The album remained on the chart for a total of 56 weeks, making it Yankovic's longest-charting album. In 1996 alone, the album sold 1,317,000 copies in the United States, setting a record for most comedy albums sold in a year during the Nielsen SoundScan era. On May 15, 1996, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Golden Hair Day, and then on June 11 of the same year, he certified the platinum record. In May 2014, it was announced that the album had sold 2.025 million copies in the US, making it the fourth best-selling comedy album of the Nielsen Soundscan era. The album was also successful in Canada, where it peaked at number 9 on the Canada Album Ladder, and was then certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Canada (CRIA), for sales of over 100,000 copies.
Track list
Outtakes
Personnel
Adapted from album liner notes.
Graphics and certification
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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