CD Review: Running With Scissors by Weird Al Yankovic

Running With Scissors
by Weird Al Yankovic [Compact Disc 781.66 Yan]

In the 36 years since Weird Al Yankovic put out his first, self-titled, album in 1983, he’s released 14 full albums of original music, complete with dozens of parody versions of other popular artists’ works, polka medleys of contemporary hits, and many, many quirky and memorable completely original songs. Running With Scissors was his 10th album, released in 1999, but remains one of the best.

Weird Al albums are both timeless, and tied to particular times in pop-culture history — in many ways, they’re kind of a “time capsule”. Running With Scissors is no exception. The opening track, and one of his most popular of all-time, is “The Saga Begins”, which pairs the plot of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace with Don McLean’s “American Pie”. “The Weird Al Show Theme” (track 4) was from Al’s short-lived 1997 TV series (which was “recent” at the time of the album’s release. “Jerry Springer” is a fast-paced explosion of lyrics about Springer’s tawdry confrontational talk show, which began in 1991 and was at the height of its bizarre popularity in the late 1990s. “It’s All About the Pentiums” (a parody of Puff Daddy’s “It’s All About the Benjamins”) contains lots of technology references that seem quaint and ancient now. The “Polka Power” medley includes tidbits of 14 hits that were popular in the late 90s, but which current younger audiences may not “get”. Al’s fast-paced lyrics are at their best in “Pretty Fly for a Rabbi”, “Your Horoscope For Today”, “Grapefruit Diet” and the 11-minute track that ends the album, “Albuquerque”, which feels like a stream-of-consciousness experience.

Al’s music isn’t necessarily for everyone — I’ve got several friends who just don’t get his appeal — but if you like song parodies, fast-paced music, and sharp wit, I highly recommend his work. And Running With Scissors is an excellent example, with “The Saga Begins” being one of my all-time favorites of all his songs — I’m so happy he now uses it as the finale for his live shows, including his appearance at Pinewood Bowl on July 31st!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try any other albums by Weird Al, including the many videos available for viewing on YouTube or his websiter, or WeirdAl: The Book, by Nathan Rabin.]

[ official Weird Al Yankovic web site ]

Read Kristen A.’s review of Weird Al Yankovic’s Mandatory Fun album from Mar 2015
Read Scott C.’s review of Nathan Rabin’s Weird Al: The Book from March 2013

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!