Reviewing In 3-d

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mrmeadows
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Post by mrmeadows »

EAT IT: Hey, you gotta give it up for this one. It's funny, it sounds pretty close to the real thing (no accordions!) and it's funny! Not to mention, it's the one that put Al on the map, and the #1 reason he's remembered today, for better or worse. Maybe not his greatest parody, but a harbinger of things to come. And it holds up pretty well, too. 8/10

MIDNIGHT STAR: Well, the "Midnight Star" newspaper doesn't actually exist, but tabloids sure as heck do. . .and thankfully so does this splendid Al original. It has a great hook, a piano line that Ben Folds would have killed to play, and hilarious lyrics. This remains a favorite Original. 9/10

THE BRADY BUNCH: Not bad. Not great, but not bad. Any parody that takes the words of an old TV show theme song and plugs them into a popular song is always amusing, I guess. . .but "Safety Dance"/"Brady Bunch"? It's admittedly a reach. 6/10

BUY ME A CONDO: I don't like Reggae to begin with, so that kinda puts a damper on this one. Plus, the lyrics aren't all that funny, and I'm not sure what the point is. As style parodies go, I think Al could write a funnier Reggae spoof. 4.5/10

I LOST ON JEOPARDY: Up until now, Al's parodies have mostly been about food, TV or vehicular transportation (cars & busses). Here's where I think we get our first glimmer of the genius that is Weird Al. Okay, so it's technically about a TV show, but it's such a brilliant spin on the original Greg Kihn song "Jeopardy", it tells a story, AND it features a riff by the great Don Pardo! This is where Al truly begins to come into his own, I believe. The best song on the album, and one of the best parodies of his career. . . 10/10

POLKAS ON 45: . . .followed by perhaps the best Polka of his career. And it's his first! Originally a play off of the briefly popular "Stars on 45" novelty act of the early 80's, it eventually spawned what we all have come to know as the Obligatory Polka Medley in each of his albums since (yeah, I know. . .except for Even Worse.) 10/10

MR. POPEIL: Solid style parody of the B-52s, and one of the first Originals that was immediately identifiable as a take on a specific artist. "I wanna shine some PENNIES!" Nice backup work by the Waters Sisters. 7/10

KING OF SUEDE: One of the few "sad" Al songs. I've always liked this one. A lot. It manages to be funny, while preserving the heartbreak and despair present in Sting's original lyrics. Quite a feat. 9/10

THAT BOY COULD DANCE: Hate to break the trend here, but I'm just not a big fan of this song. To me, any song where the best parts about it are the parts where Al isn't singing (in this case, the piano playing and sax solo) raises a red flag. A song about an outcast nerd who can dance? Maybe it would have made a nice inclusion on the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack, but it just doesn't have the comedy chops to be included with the hilarity on the rest this album, in my opinion. 4/10

THEME FROM ROCKY XIII: Still a food song, but also a movie song. We wouldn't hear another movie-themed parody until 10 years later with "Jurassic Park". A trend that I'm pleased has continued since. This one is especially good, as it is still relevant today, where I just read that Sylvester Stallone is planning on making a SIXTH "Rocky" flick where Rocky comes out of retirement. If the movie begins with him working in a deli choppin' up meat, then I think Al may have a case. 8/10

NATURE TRAIL TO HELL: This song is just plain awesome! The first "epic" Al song; the one that showed us he meant business! What else can I say? This one is a classic! And there's backmasking! 10/10

OVERALL: Some of his strongest stuff is on In-3D, but then so are a couple of his weakest. Still, MS, ILOJ, KOS, NTTH and the Polka outweigh the blah. 7/10

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Post by Mystik Tomato »

This one is especially good, as it is still relevant today, where I just read that Sylvester Stallone is planning on making a SIXTH "Rocky" flick where Rocky comes out of retirement. If the movie begins with him working in a deli choppin' up meat, then I think Al may have a case.

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Post by mrmeadows »

HA! Wow...I hope there's a scene where he beats up the liverwurst!

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Post by Hope You Enjoy It »

Eat It - 10/10 Seriously, though it's been tried by many, nobody does Michael like Al. Nobody. Favorite line: "You're playing with your food, this ain't some kind of game"

Midnight Star - 7/10 I was pretty young still when I first heard this song, so a lot of the humor was lost on me. I mean, I understood what he was saying, but it was still mostly 'meh' to me. Today, however, I never skip this song, except for the drawn out ending, which is why this gets a lower rating. Favorite line: "Hear the story of the man born without a head." (I remember seeing this headline, or one like it, as a kid)

The Brady Bunch - 10/10 I can't justify my rating on this particular song except to say that I absolutely love every single parody of Al's. The way he captures the "feel" of the original artists is unlike any other parodist I've heard (and I've heard a lot). Favorite line: "And you can use TV Guide to help you decide with a capsulized review"

Buy Me a Condo - 8/10 It loses a couple of points for the repetition, but having been born/raised in Florida, this song absolutely nails down many of the stereotypes of the transplanted Jamaican. This was also one of my parents' favorite originAL. Favorite line: "Ain't gonna work in the field no more, gonna be Am-way distributor"

I Lost On Jeopardy - 10/10 This song was funny to me as a kid, but it wasn't until I heard the original that I really began to appreciate this song as a parody. As mentioned above, all parodies get a 10 rating from me, so... yeah. Favorite line: "That's right Al--you lost!"

Polkas on 45 - 10/10 My second favorite polka, losing out to Hooked on Polkas. Favorite line: "I'm an ordinary guy, burnin' down the house"

Mr. Popeil - 1/10 or 9/10??? This song is a total "mood" song for me. I either absolutely love it, or absolutely hate it. There is no rhyme or reason to my reaction, but I can either skip it or skip to it without a moment's notice. Favorite line: "You could even cut a tin can with it, but you wouldn't want to!"

King of Suede - 10/10 My mom was a big Sting/Police fan, so I already had a basis for this song long before I ever heard the parody. This is one of my all-time favorite parodies. Favorite line: "There's a sale on our double-knit slacks today. It's the same old sale as yesterday."

That Boy Could Dance - 5/10 A take it or leave it song for me. It has its moments, but not enough to make me resist the urge to skip it. Favorite line: "And you know I'd do anything if I could be just like him." (the classic 'nerd comes full circle' story nicely summed up)

Theme From Rocky XIII - 10/10 Just picturing a video for this parody is enough for me to laugh out loud when listening to it. Yo, Mick, you wanna peez o' rye o' kaiser wid dat? Favorite line: "Goes in the back and beats up on the liverwurst"

Nature Trail to Hell - 10/10 Nothing like a song that includes a great social commentary about society's ever growing desensitization to senseless violence packaged as a family movie released at Christmas with cutting-edge technology; 3D!!! Now where's that hacksaw, I thought I saw a rat... Favorite line: "So bring the kids along, it's good clean family fun."
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Post by L285 »

Eat It - I didn't like the original but the parody really does it for me - 9/10
Midnight Star - All it's doing is listing headlines - 5/10
The Brady Bunch - A quirky and original parody idea - 8/10
Buy Me a Condo - Funny and beautiful on the ear - 9/10
I Lost on Jeopardy - It didn't deserve single release, doesn't really have many jokes except for in the bit where the presenter speaks, I probably would enjoy it if it wasn't released as a single - 6/10
Polkas on 45 - Paved the way for other Polkas - 8/10
Mr Popeil - Not that funny but I like the music, it reminds me of Gay Bar by the Electric Six - 7/10
King of Suede - Love it, totally clashes with the original song - 9/10
That Boy Could Dance - It's alright, in my opinion it doesn't get the love it deserves - 6/10
Theme from Rocky XIII - Fantastic and funny, I loved the original - 10/10
Nature Trail to Hell - A rock and comedy extravaganza - 9/10

Overall - A mix of fantastic and mediocre, the true start of Al's career in my opinion - 7.8/10
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Re: Reviewing In 3-d

Post by Insomnia »

Eat It: 9/10 Pretty damn good but not as good as Fat
Midnight Star: 8/10 Not particularly funny but I really love this one
The Brady Bunch: 7/10 it's good but nothing great
Buy Me a Condo: 7.5/10
I Lost on Jeopardy: 8/10
Polkas on 45: 8/10 not nearly as good as the other good polkas
Mr Popeil: 6.5/10 this one has grown on me over time but I also think it goes on a bit too long
King of Suede: 10/10 One of my favorites
That Boy Could Dance: 7.5/10 Somewhat an underrated original
Theme from Rocky XIII: 10/10
Nature Trail to Hell: 10/10 fantastic original song very underrated
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Re: Reviewing In 3-d

Post by DiegoMcArthur »

1. Eat It - Between the MJ parodies, I'd probably have to say "Fat" is a little better, but this one is very funny and fun to listen to as well, Al takes a serious issue and makes it about food! Oh boy! (9/10)

2. Midnight Star - A classic 80s sound, Al tells us about The Midnight Star, a tabloid and all of the stories and smurf that it shows. A very funny song with great instrumental performances and a very catchy chorus. (9/10)

3. The Brady Bunch - One of Al's weakest parodies in my opinion, it's not too funny, not much different then several songs about flipping through channels and being a "Couch Potato", if you know what I mean. (3/10)

4. Buy Me a Condo - A song that overall just bored the crap out of me, an unfunny concept with boring lyrics, but a decent recreation of the reggae sound, besides that, don't expect too much from this one. (4/10)

5. I Lost on Jeopardy - One of the most genius parodies Al has ever created, by far the best parody on this album, Al even gets Don Pardo himself to speak on the track, great writing and very good performance from Al, vocally. (10/10)

6. Polkas on 45 - An absolute carnival in your mind, Al's first recorded polka medley is one of the best of his entire career, featuring several classic rock tunes all arranged and performed in the wonderful Musial style of Polka, with Al leading the band rocking out with his Accordion. (10/10)

7. Mr. Popeil - Another track that seems absolutely filler, it pretty much sounds like the B-52s doing an infomercial for a man's inventions, the lyrics aren't too funny or original for that matter and it's overall just a big bore that kills the flow of the album. (2/10)

8. King of Suede - A parody of King of Pain, a beautiful song by The Police, Al turns a song about despair into a song about The best tailor in town, and Al owns every minute of it, he really rocks this track, which by the way sounds almost identical to it's original. (9/10)

9. That Boy Could Dance - This song is so underrated, Al fans need to talk about this one more often, I think it's great, Al tells us about a loser who nobody can stand but when he gets on the dance floor he blows minds, and The writing for this is hilarious, the music is super fun and it's just a very enjoyable track. (9/10)

10. Theme from Rocky XIII - Al turns a song about never giving up into a song about a retired Rocky Balboa who owns a deli and often suggests that people try "The Rye or the Kaiser", sounds stupid, but it's a very good kind of stupid, I enjoyed every second of it. (8/10)

11. Nature Trail to Hell - A very original musical concept with great writing and a very haunting tone, complete with backwards messages too! A fun song for Halloween and a great closer for this album. (10/10)
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Re: Reviewing In 3-d

Post by Muldernscully »

Great reviews, people! Here is my own:

1. Eat It
I'm pretty sure Eat It was my introduction to Weird Al. Loved the song and loved watching the video on MTV. I don't love this song any less than when I first heard it 30+ years ago. I still sing a long to it every time I hear it. Awesome, awesome, awesome! 5 out of 5 stars.

2. Midnight Star
Midnight Star is still a great song. Still a worthy #2 single. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

3. The Brady Bunch
What's interesting is that the singer doesn't like The Brady Bunch, even though that is the title of the song. Also, interesting is that The Brady Bunch isn't mentioned until almost half-way through the song. Then Al practically finishes off the song by merely singing the theme song to The Brady Bunch. I find The Brady Bunch to be a unique song because of the things that I mentioned and interesting because of its uniqueness. It's by no means a classic, but it's a very catchy tune and I find myself enjoying it every time I hear it. It's still an ok song for me. I give it a 3 out of 5.

4. Buy Me A Condo
Great song in the reggae style. Thoroughly enjoyable. 4 out of 5 stars.

5. I Lost On Jeopardy
Awesome song. It's probably my second favorite off of In 3-D. I didn't start watching Jeopardy until the Alex Trebek years, but it's still just as funny, not knowing the original host and announcer. 5 out of 5!

6. Polkas on 45
I skip the polka medleys a lot. I have nothing against them. It depends on the mood I'm in. They are kind of meh for me. Their greatest use is to show a snapshot in time of the popular songs during those few years. 3 out of 5 stars.

7. Mr. Popeil
This is a good song. Even though the song is about Samuel Popeil, I remember watching the Ron Popeil infomercials as a kid. I know I wanted to buy his stuff. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

8. King of Suede
This is a very fun song. I love the lyrics, especially the second grade line. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

9. That Boy Could Dance
I cannot extol the virtues of this song. It seems to be uncreative, monotonous, uninteresting, repetitive, and ultimately skippable. 2 out of 5 stars.

10. Theme to Rocky XIII
I love this song, and it's even better being a fan of the Rocky movies, except for Rocky V. That sucked big time. Plus, Eye of the Tiger is one of the better originals. I love that song too. Great sports song. Still awesome. 5 out of 5 stars.

11. Nature Trail to Hell
NTTH is a fun song. The horror/slasher movies of the 80's definitely needed to be made fun of. Weird Al sang about the Rocky movies going on indefinitely. What about the Friday the 13th and Elm Street movies? They never stop! this song is much stronger musically than lyrically. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Overall, the album averages out to a 3.7 out of 5 rating. Great album!
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Re: Reviewing In 3-d

Post by weirdalrocks »

1. Eat It - While this song isn't as good without the music video, it's still one of Weird Al's most memorable parodies nonetheless and the lyrics are still great with or without the video. 10/10

2. Midnight Star - This is a great original. The headlines he chose for the song are really funny and it has such an earworm of a chorus. It kind of drags on near the end, but other than that it's a great song. 9/10

3. The Brady Bunch - This song doesn't really appeal to me that much. The first verse is pretty funny and all and it's a pretty good parody of The Safety Dance until the second verse where all he's doing is singing the theme song to The Brady Bunch. I mean it is pretty impressive that he's able to sing the lyrics to the song to the tune of the song he's parodying, but the end result is just mildly amusing. It's a decent song, but not as good as I remembered. 7/10

4. Buy Me A Condo - Not a great song, but it's still pretty good. It's a funny parody on the whole reggae genre and the chorus is just hilarious. 8/10

5. I Lost on Jeopardy - As much as I love Eat It, I think this is the best parody on the album. It takes a boring, mediocre song into a hilarious song about the show Jeopardy which was a genius parody idea. The lyrics are great, but Don Pardo easily steals the show in this song. I just love how he goes to extreme lengths to tell him that he lost. 10/10

6. Polkas on 45 - The polka that started it all. While it may not be my favorite one, I still think it's a really fun polka and it has a great mix of songs. 10/10

7. Mr Popeil - Underrated! I think this is a hilarious song and I don't understand the hate it gets. 10/10

8. King of Suede - In this song Al turns in another parody that's better than the original. A hilarious song from start to finish. 10/10

9. That Boy Can Dance - Unlike Mr. Popeil, I can understand why people don't really like it. In a way it kind of feels like a song that belongs on his first album, but it's not really a bad thing. It still has it's funny lines and while it's one of the weakest songs on the album, it's still pretty good. 8/10

10. Theme to Rocky XIII - Not the biggest fan of this song, but it's still very enjoyable. I just don't think it holds up that much after repeated listens. 8/10

11. Nature Trail to Hell - While it's not the funniest song on the album, I still love the whole concept of the song, the instrumentals and the lyrics. It's the perfect parody of slasher movies and their cliches. 10/10

This album is a step-up from the previous one. It's got a ton of classic songs and the humor in the songs is much stronger than in the last album and I'd consider this to be the album when he really started to become a great parody artist. Even the weakest song on this album is good and while it's not a perfect album, it's still a classic. 9/10
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Re: Reviewing In 3-d

Post by YankoSwag 8888 »

Eat It 10/10 A Classic Parody.
Midnight Star 9.5/10 A typical bull***t magazine in its best.
The Brady Bunch 8/10 Funny but not his best.
Gonna Buy Me A Condo 9/10 Fun and underrated.
I Lost On Jeopardy 10/10 A staple parody.
Polkas On 45 10/10 The 2nd best polka I like it mainly cuz it's all classic rock songs.
Mr. Popiel 9/10 Infomercials and as seen on TV adds in a nut-shell.
King Of Suede 8/10 Same as Brady Bunch.
That Boy Could Dance 5/10 To similar of a beat to I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead and it has bad lyrics.
The Rye Or The Kyser 9/10 I can always visualize this song so I love it for that reason.
Nature Trail To Hell 9/10 A great song about a cheesy horror movie I could could do without the wind at the beginning or the blank 15 seconds at the end I still love it & who dosen't love the phrase "Satan Eats Cheese Whiz"
Last edited by YankoSwag 8888 on Mon Jun 06, 2016 5:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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