I'm a Weird Al fan. The man has been going on
since 1979 - he's outlived most of the artists he has parodied. Now, I don't
give a damn about charts and hits and pop music in general – my readers know
that I'm much more interested in what DOESN'T chart – but the news that Mandatory Fun is entering the Billboard chart at No. 1
makes me all warm and fuzzy.
Why? 'cause this is a first in Weird Al’s
career. And ‘cause Weird Al delivered a strong opus in Mandatory Fun, and he
delivered it using a clever no-frills marketing campaign that should teach a
few lessons to the music industry. But most of all ‘cause right before
the album was released, Weird Al went on record saying that Mandatory Fun will probably be his last
album – he said he would continue to make music, but release it as singles and
EPs, feeling that the album format doesn’t suit him anymore.
Al being the nicest person in showbusiness, I’m
sure he will be capable of admitting his mistake here. Al, please keep making
ALBUMS. Mandatory Fun’s success
proves that if there’s one individual in commercial pop who can still make the
album format work out, it’s you.
