Running With Scissors Song By Song Review

[childofthespiral]

I just have the image of me acting it out in my mind...like a crazy person...

You're not the only one. I've said for months now that if there's ever a talent show around here, I'm gonna enter it and do that song. Because I can look pretty good as a goth.

[Keir]

1. Saga Begins 9/10
When I bought RWS 7 or 8 years ago, this was my favorite song on the album and I definitely would have given it a 10/10. However, I’ve now heard the song so many times it’s starting to get boring. I’m tempted to give it 8 stars but to be fair it isn’t the song’s fault that I’ve heard it so much. I’ll still take one point off for “failure to withstand repeated play”.

2. My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder 9/10
One of the reasons I love RWS so much is that it covers so many different styles of music. I mean, who knew Al was going to do zydeco? Lots of accordion is always a plus, and Al’s voice is fantastic on this song.

3. Pretty Fly for a Rabbi 6/10
I like The Offspring but I’ve always hated “Pretty Fly for a White Guy”. I actually used to skip this song because I couldn’t stand the music. Now that I’ve given it a chance I can appreciate what Al did with the song and the lyrics are funny.

4. The Weird Al Show Theme 5/10
Good song, but it seems really out of place here. I’m glad it was released but it would have made more sense as a CD-single bonus track.

5. Jerry Springer 7/10
A good song, but one of very few where I actually like the original better. OK, maybe the only one.

6. Germs 7/10
A very good and weird NIN style parody.

7. Polka Power! 8/10
Nothing fancy, just a regular polka medley but I think it’s one of the better ones.

8. Your Horoscope for Today 10/10
Best song on the album and one of Al’s best originals.

9. It's All About the Pentiums 7/10
Like PFfaR this one used to be a skipper but it’s grown on me. The Commodore 64 line is a personal highlight for me.

10. Truck Driving Song 9/10
Best parody of the truck driving music genre since .

11. Grapefruit Diet 5/10
Can’t avoid comparisons to Fat and I’m in the category of people who find this song to be inferior and redundant.

12. Albuquerque 9/10
I took a point off for the length. Sue me.

Overall: 9/10
Greater than the sum of its parts, mainly due to the great diversity on the album (something seriously lacking on SOL).

[toenailbob]

1. The Saga Begins - 9/10 The song itself is pure genius, probably Al's best writing. A classic song, parodied to become about a classic movie series. So why not a perfect rating? Initially, I would have given it a 10. But over time it has degraded.

2. My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder - 9/10 There's nothing that really stands out to me about this one. Just an overall solid effort.

3. Pretty Fly for a Rabbi - 7/10 Just seems too obvious of a parody. And some of the lyrics seemed a bit forced. Maybe if I liked the original better...

4. Weird Al Show - 8.5/10 I love to sing along with it. But it's hamstrung by the fact it's a TV show theme.

5. Jerry Springer - 9.5/10 Pretty clever parody. I like the fact that I had no idea what song I was about to hear based on the title. Nicely done.

6. Germs - 9/10 A great "style parody" of NIN. Nice musical execution here.

7. Polka Power - 9/10 It's really hard to rate Polka medleys because so much depends on song selection. Based on that criterion, I thought this one was pretty well executed. Spice Girls and Hanson, plus ending with Closing Time? Nice touch.

8. Horoscope for Today 10/10 Terrific original song. I love the musical arrangement, and the lyrics are top-notch. It's a great "pick me up" song. Maybe it's the tempo, or maybe it's because I can take joy in all the terrible things that are about to happen to everyone.

9. All about the Pentiums - 10/10 This one would not have worked as well if he'd not had the foresight to use the remix of the song. Lyrics seemed to flow perfectly.

10. Truck Driving Song - 9/10 Initial reaction: What the heck is this? A song about a cross-dressing trucker? Nevertheless, it's decent for what it is.

11. Grapefruit Diet - 7/10 Just not my type of song. I guess there aren't many words that rhyme with "riot", but the parody still seemed a bit obvious and forced.

12. Albuquerque - 10/10 Finally figured out why I'm such a big fan of Al. I hate sauerkraut too!


Overall - 10/10. This is one of his best albums, if not the best. The order of the songs enhances the "listenability" of this CD. To me, the originals make or break a Weird Al CD, and I really like the collection of originals here.


"I sued Keir... 'cause he took a point off his rating for Albuquerque due to its length...

I sued Bowflex... 'cause I bought its machine, used it a couple times and gained no strength..."

[weirdalfan1000000]

The Saga Begins - I love it, very relaxing and awesome. 10/10

My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder - I like the music, but I can't understand some of the lyrics, which really annoys me, but when I read the lyrics, I liked it. 9/10

Pretty Fly for a Rabbi - The things at the beginning are really annoying, but the rest is really good, even though I know nothing about the Jewish. 9/10

The Weird Al Show Theme - I like it on the show, but I never listen to it on the album for some reason. 8/10

Jerry Springer - Great song, I love the part where he sings really fast, I had no idea what it was a parody of until I heard it. 10/10

Germs - I only like the chorus, and for some reason that makes me like the whole song. 8/10

Polka Power! - The best one EVER! I like the Closing Time at the end, and Tubthumping, and I actually heard all the original songs first, so I could understand it better. 10/10

Your Horoscope For Today - Really fast and awesome, grat lyrics, especially, "The stars predict tomorrow you'll wake up, do a bunch of stuff, and then go back to sleep"
10/10

It's All About the Pentiums - I really like this, but before I couldn't understand a thing he was saying, then I watched Al Live w/ the subtitles, and thought it was great. 10/10

Truck Drivin' Song - I don't really like it much, probably because I don't like country music, but the lyrics are okay. 7/10

Grapefruit Diet - Very clever lyrics, but like in Fat, there are inconsistencies with how fat he is. 9/10

Albuquerque - Amazing, really funny, great lyrics, uhm... I kind of lost my train of thought... 10/10

Also, did he do Albuquerque as an encore on the Live DVD, and did they just not tape it?

[Big Spoon]

No. Albuquerque didn't become the encore until the SOL Tour.

[ludovica64]

There is no weak song on RWS theyre all 10/10 (except Pentiums which has to be at least 20/10)

[Sharizzle]

The Saga Begins - I really like this song. My husband, kids and I are all Star Wars fans, so it is one of our favorites. Plus Al gets bonus points for his "new" look in the video. 9/10

My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder - I love the accordion, but the lyrics aren't great, imo. (not to mention that Eddie Vedder always had that goofy look on his face.) 7/10

Pretty Fly for a Rabbi - Cute song. Not his best parody, but it's good.8/10

The Weird Al Show Theme - Cute theme song, but I agree with everyone who says that it doesn't feel like it should be on the album. 7/10

Jerry Springer - As far as parodies go, it's good. It's just not my favorite. For me, it's just kind of... meh 7/10

Germs - I love this song! 9/10

Polka Power! - I love all of Al's polka's. This one is definitely one of the best. 10/10

Your Horoscope For Today - Cute song. Better than I was expecting it to be when I read the lyrics sheet. 8/10

It's All About the Pentiums - This song is so awesome! I love, love, love the video. The only reason why it doesn't get 10/10 is because Drew Carey annoys me. 9/10

Truck Drivin' Song - Haha! This is brilliant. I am not a country fan by any means, but I laughed so hard when I heard this. It reminds me of an episode of Cops that I saw once. They pulled over a trucker and when he got out, he was wearing heels and fishnets. I love that his voice is so low in this too. The man has a heck of a vocal range. I wish more people would hear that. 10/10

Grapefruit Diet - I like it. I liked Zoot Suit Riot though. 9/10

Albuquerque - GENIUS! I will never tire of listening to this. infinity/10

[algonacchick]

Looks like we're in agreement, Louise.

See?

*I have the image of Al saying that from "Germs" in my head now*

[ludovica64]

Looks like we're in agreement, Louise.

See?

*I have the image of Al saying that from "Germs" in my head now*

Yep we agree... except I think Eddie Vedder is pretty steaming hot!! LOL

[algonacchick]

No. Just...no. He scares me. Must be the Jeremy video. He was pretty creepy in it. That's the image that's stuck in my brain.