I don’t know about you, but I have spent the last couple of days anxiously waiting to see what top 40 song Weird Al parodied next. “Tacky” reminded us why he has stayed relevant all these years, but it wasn’t until “Word Crimes” that I felt confident in saying Al is delivering some of the best work of his career at this very moment.

The videos should have made this point clear, but Weird Al has a new album to promote. Mandatory Fun is Al’s fourteenth studio album, and according to the legendary performer it could very well be his last. Al knows the digital age has shortened the shelf life of popular songs, and he’s been very open about the possibility of only releasing singles or short EPs in the future. For now, however, there is one more full-length to enjoy, and you can stream the entire record right now on Spotify.

Al recently discussed his decision to move away from traditional album cycles while speaking with NPR. “Anybody can upload their videos to YouTube and you don’t have to get the blessing of some record executive somewhere to get your stuff heard,” he explained. “If your stuff is good, chances are people will hear it. I don’t know that putting out 12 songs at once in this day and age is the best way for me to get my music out there, because if I’m waiting that long, chances are a lot of the material is going to be somewhat dated by the time it comes out.”

We highly encourage you to enjoy Mandatory Fun using the link above. If you like what you hear, head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of the album for your personal collection. You can view the full track list, including the titles of the original songs, below:

Mandatory Fun Tracklist:
01. “Handy” (Parody of Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”)
02. “Lame Claim To Fame”
03. “Foil” (Parody of Lorde’s “Royals”)
04. “Sports Song”
05. “Word Crimes” (Parody of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”)
06. My Own Eyes” (Parody of Foo Fighters)
07. “NOW That’s What I Call Polka!”
08. “Mission Statement” (Parody Crosby Stills & Nash )
09. “Inactive” (Parody of Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive”)
10 .“First World Problems” (Parody of Pixies)
11. “Tacky” (Parody of Pharrell’s “Happy”)
12. “Jackson Park Express” (Parody of Cat Stevens)

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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