Alpocalypse Track Ranking

[Diva]

1. Skipper Dan. This is so melodically tight and the story in the lyrics is surprisingly poignant.
2. Party in the CIA. Currently my favorite from the parodies.
3. Craigslist. I remember Morrison. Al captured him sooooowell, although Morrison was a little more slithery.
4. TMZ. My second favorite among the parodies.
5. Perform This Way. A good parody and an unsettlingly good video.
6. CNR. I also remember Charles Nelson Reilly and the contrast between him and the images in ths piece are howlingly funny. I suspect, though, that I like it more for the video than the song, so I didn't place it higher.
7. Polka Face. Good polka although IMHO the Alternative Polka will always be THE polka.
8. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me. A reasonable approximation of a Meatloaf style song, but without the gutteral growl that would have capped it.
9. Whatever You Like. I remind myself that this was released in 2008.
10. If That Isn't Love. A good twisted love song in the tradition of Al's twisted love songs.
11. Another Tattoo. I like this one, but something has to be number 11.
12. Ringtone. Eh. This will be my skip-over song on this CD.

Except for Ringtone I like everything on the CD. Got one for me, one for Greg and i also downloaded the MP3s from Amazon. Once again, I'm Al's little mortgage payment.

Cheers, Diva
I already want the next CD too. All Al, all the time.

[Yankomaniac]

Okay, even though I hate ranking songs, this is what I think, remembering not to judge the previously released songs based on how many times I've heard them already, that wouldn't be fair!

1. Craigslist - Wicked vocals, Al really did a good job here. Jim's leads sound extremely awesome, especially live, song just rules and I think he should have waited and released it as the lead single even though its more original than anything and it would have done even better. The keyboard puts it over the top for me!

2. CNR
3. TMZ - Catchy as it gets, very country! Think they will LOVE doing it live.
4. Polka Face - Love finally having this on CD, awesome recording.
5. Skipper Dan
6. Ringtone - So awesome, undeniable guitar solo. Although Ive heard it so many times, I'd really like to hear it live.
7. Whatever You Like - Totally wicked, and catchy parody, I dont think I could ever get tired of hearing.
8. If That Isn't Love - Nothing bad to say 'bout this one, its funny and my second favorite of the newly released tracks.
9. Another Tattoo
10. Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me - Not as good as Dont Download This Song as somebody mentioned but I like it.
11. Perform This Way
12. Party In The CIA - Obviously my least favorite.

Still seems a bit early for ranking and Al is one of the hardest people to rank seeing as everything they do is awesome, and nothing they do should be ranked, but it was still fun.

[oddaustin]

12. Whatever You Like
11. Craiglist
10. Another Tattoo
9. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me
8. Party in the CIA
7. Ringtone
6. Perform This Way
5. TMZ
4. Polka Face
3. Skipper Dan
2. CNR
1. If That Isn't Love

[weirdal27]

1. Party in the CIA
2. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me
3. TMZ
4. Polka Face
5. CNR
6. If That Isn't Love
7. Another Tattoo
8. Perform This Way
9. Craigslist
10. Skipper Dan
11. Whatever You Like
12. Ringtone

[just2good]

Sorry to bump up an old topic, but here is my rankings...
The first three I can listen to constantly...
1.) Party in the CIA (pretty underrated IMO, fantastic, funny, and creative song)
2.) Polka Face (I love polkas, and this one is probably in my top 5 polka list)
3.) Skipper Dan (really catchy and quite a creative concept)
Now onto the pretty good ones...
4.) Another Tattoo (pretty catchy and funny, but a bit on the short side)
5.) Preform This Way (funny and catchy, but something doesn't seem right about the song)
6.) TMZ (cool idea and pretty funny)
Now onto the meh ones...
7.) Whatever You Like (okay I guess)
8.) Ringtone (okay, but I don't know, something just isn't right about it, like Preform This Way)
9.) If That Isn't Love (decent but kind of annoying, seems like I'm in the minority on this one, maybe because I can't relate to it?)
10.) CNR (funny but I can't see myself going back to listening to it, another one where I'm in the minority)
11.) Craigslist (ugh, I barely remembered this one, lots of potty humor, and I had to go back to listen to it)
12.) Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me (ugh, I don't even remember this one, and I had to go back to listen to it)

[mrmeadows]

Thought I'd revisit this topic and do a re-ranking of the songs. Especially now that the dust has settled and the novelty of newer songs competing against the IL songs for my affection has been neutralized and I can better judge each song on it's own merit. Also, I'm getting bored waiting for news about Album 14, so why not?

Funny how much my rankings have changed, for the most part. With the exception of my least-favorite song (still "Ringtone"), the standings have definitely shifted. My original list, from least favorite to most favorite (Page 2 includes my original post with longer explanations):

12. Ringtone
11. Polka Face
10. Whatever You Like
09. CNR
08. Perform This Way
07. Another Tattoo
06. TMZ
05. Skipper Dan
04. Party in the CIA
03. If That Isn't Love
02. Craigslist
01. Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me

And my rankings as of today:

12. Ringtone -- Nope. Still doesn't do it for me.

11. Whatever You Like -- Just mediocre. Main complaint is that the original song is so unpleasant sounding to me, so as funny as it is as a concept and as clever as some of the lyrics are, it all gets buried in the terrible source material.

10. Perform This Way -- Star has faded for me on this one, mainly because it's just one joke all the way through. Although this one is kind of the opposite of WYL, in that the source material is actually pretty good so the song at least has an enjoyable sound and is musically fun to listen to.

09. Another Tattoo -- I still say this may lyrically be one of the funniest songs on the album, but it just didn't go far enough. Al could easily have squeezed in one more verse. Just seems like a throwaway, concert-only bit (i.e. not a complete song) in its current form. This could have been Top 5 for me if he went the distance with it.

08. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me -- How the mighty have fallen. This was my #1 pick after my initial listen, and obviously at the time I was overwhelmed and delighted upon first hearing it. It's still okay, but it's ultimately too long and repetitive to warrant repeat listenings. I kind of have to be in the mood to want to listen to it, so it oftentimes gets skipped.

07. Craigslist -- Still think this is musically one of Al's best style parodies, but much like SFTCTM it's kind of a "right mood" kind of song these days. While he nailed the sound of The Doors, since I'm not really a Doors fanatic this is not one of my go-to songs anymore.

06. CNR -- This was always my favorite IL song, and as stated above I think it just lost some luster once I heard all the new material, but it has now settled into a higher, more deserved ranking for me. It rocks, and it's funny. What more could you want?

05. Skipper Dan -- My first impressions were pretty much spot-on with this one. Still rounds out my Top 5.

04. Polka Face -- Like most polkas, this one had to grow on me. Usually I'm not familiar with the original songs that make up the polka upon an ALbum's initial release, so it takes some time for me to catch up. Enjoyment of a polka is definitely enhanced once you know the originals that make it up.

03. Party In the CIA -- Just a fantastic parody. My initial review still stands, and with the shuffling around my original rankings it has bumped up one spot into Top 3 territory.

02. If That Isn't Love -- Another one that moves up a spot, as it might be one of my most-listened to songs on the album. It's a great song to turn on (and sing along to) when I'm driving long distances. Sometimes over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. I just don't seem to get tired of it. One of my all-time favorite of Al's "love" songs. Only thing keeping it from ranking #1 is just a LITTLE too much potty humor for my taste. We get a incontinence joke, a fart joke, and of course the "big fat turd" joke all in one song. I mean, I get that the character in the song is supposed to be crass, but I think it would have still been a great song--a better song--if he'd classed it up just a touch and cut out at least one of those three.

01. TMZ -- This one started out middling for me, but soon shot up to the top spot with a bullet. A great example of what happens when a strong target song and a pefect parody concept collide. This is Al doing what he does best, and is no question the best track on the ALbum for me.

Now, bring on ALbum 14!

[anthontherun]

Looks like I never officially did this, since my initial list was based off of my first listen. Here's what it was then, and then I'll go with the new ranking.

1. Party in the CIA
2. Skipper Dan
3. TMZ
4. If That Isn't Love
5. CNR
6. Craigslist
7. Another Tattoo
8. Perform This Way
9. Polka Face
10. Ringtone
11. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me
12. Whatever You Like

NOW...
1. Party in the USA
2. Skipper Dan
3. TMZ - No changes in the top 3. These remain the three songs I listen to most from the album, by far.
4. Ringtone - Huge jump here. No, it's not laugh-out-loud funny, but I like it as a song. As a Queen homage, I still think Al could have done more with it, but it still works well.
5. Another Tattoo - I predicted it would drop in my ranking, but it actually moved up 2 slots.
6. CNR
7. Craigslist
8. Polka Face
9. If That Isn't Love - This one took a pretty big leap down. I still like the song and it's musically and vocally one of the best tracks on the album, but I think others have grown on me more. Really though, #7-9 are effectively tied.
10. Perform This Way
11. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me - I still find this one very lacking. It's too long and it sounds way too much like DDTS, but isn't as funny or catchy.
12. Whatever You Like - To paraphrase what he told Eminem...he could only change the words. Unfortunately.

[Killingsworth]

Looking back at my original post, I realize I never did an overall ranking of these tracks. I ranked them by lyrical and musical value, but not just as songs themselves. Well, here's my overall ranking of the entire album since these last two posts have got me thinking about how well they hold up almost two years later. From best to worst...

1. TMZ
2. Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me
3. Party In The CIA
4. CNR
5. Polka Face
6. Skipper Dan
7. Another Tattoo
8. Perform This Way
9. Craigslist
10. Ringtone
11. Whatever You Like
12. If That Isn't Love

Now for a couple of brief side notes...

Even though I personally think "If That Isn't Love" is still the weakest track on the whole album, I can see the value in it compared to stuff like "Ringtone" and WYL. What it lacks in taste, it makes up for in characterization. It seems like Al worked harder to create a character song here (albiet a rather lame and garden variety one) than he did on other songs where he just beat one joke into the ground. Still, most of those songs (like Ringtone for example) are more fun to listen to as just songs and have more going for them musically than lyrically.

As most seemed to predict, the novelty value of "Perform This Way" has completely worn off by now. Mostly, this seems to be because Lady Gaga hasn't been in the news as much as she was two years ago when her album was out. She hasn't been as prevalent in the tabloid media lately as much as the two other female parody targets on this album which gives supporting parodies "TMZ" and "CIA" more legs. The less said about Miley, the better but there have been times this past year where I've felt like Taylor's slut shaming, damning comediennes to hell, possibly emotionally unstable cult of personality has kind of ruined "TMZ" for me but then I realize it can still be a great standalone parody if you disassociate her "new" image from it as much as possible.

[TMBJon]

Great topic starter, meadows. Can't believe it's been almost two years since Alpocalypse.

Here was my original ranking, after only one listen!:
1. Party In The CIA
2. Polka Face
3. Skipper Dan
4. Perform This Way
5. CNR
6. Craigslist
7. If That Isn't Love
8. TMZ
9. Ringtone
10. Another Tattoo
11. Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me
12. Whatever You Like


Here is the new ranking:
1. TMZ - I initially picked Party in the CIA as favorite, probably meaning it is actually the funniest song on the album lyrically or at least the most surprising after the first listen. However now I am also considering how excited I would be if the song came up on shuffle in which case I actually enjoy listening to/singing along with TMZ more. I think TMZ is clearly the best parody on the album.

2. Polka Face - This is still in second because the polka remains one of my favorite on any album.

3. Craigslist - All things considered this is my favorite original on the album now. The fact that there was a video and live performance adding to the Doors impression probably helps its case. Musically it's a perfectly executed style parody, actually features Ray Manzarek, nails the subject matter perfectly, and the ironic juxtaposition of Jim Morrison posting on CL is one of Al's best ideas of the last ten years.

4. Skipper Dan - I still enjoy this as much as the first time I heard it, maybe more. Most of the time when I listen to this, I don't even think about the comedy aspect at all; it's just a great tune.

5. Ringtone - I really do not understand the hate for this one at all. I think it's cool. And really catchy!

6. Party In The CIA - Still enjoy this one a lot. It has stayed exactly in place while the five above it got better.

7. CNR - What can be said about CNR that hasn't already been said?

8. Perform This Way - This was a great song but obviously not of the White & Nerdy caliber. Do you think this will be a concert staple for a while because of the great costumes involved? I expect it to stick around for another album cycle or more, but I wouldn't really miss it if it eventually went away or got medleyed somehow.

9. If That Isn't Love - Underrated, including by myself, and a good song but the "immature" lyrics are still kind of dumb but I've gotten used to it.

10. Another Tattoo - The last three are still the same as the first time I heard the album.
11. Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me
12. Whatever You Like - I still really like this. I like all twelve songs on this album a lot!

[Kevbo1987]

This is a really tough call for me, but I'll attempt it. I'm sure it will change as I listen to the album more.

1. Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me
2. If That Isn't Love
3. Skipper Dan
4. Polka Face
5. TMZ
6. Party in the CIA.
7. Perform This Way.
8. Craigslist.
9. CNR
10. Another Tattoo
11. Whatever You Like
12. Ringtone

I think I was smoking something when I did my original rankings, as Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me is now far from my favorite song on the album. Here are my updated rankings:

1. TMZ
2. Craigslist
3. Party in the CIA
4. Skipper Dan
5. Polka Face
6. CNR
7. Ringtone--This one has finally grown on me a little. I'm still not crazy about it, but I appreciate it more than I used to.
8. Another Tattoo
9. Perform This Way
10. Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me
11. If That Isn't Love
12. Whatever You Like