April 26, 1983 - "Weird Al" Yankovic and Another One Rides The Bus

A month after my last release a new artist joins my library when "Weird Al" Yankovic released his self-titled debut album on April 26, 1983, of which I have only one song, the lead single "Another One Rides The Bus". But who is "Weird Al" Yankovic? He is a parody artist from Downey, California and in addition to lead vocals he plays his signature instrument: the accordion! Weird Al is joined by bassist Steve Jay, drummer Jon Schwartz and guitarist/producer Rick Derringer. This album actually spawned three singles, but I have only the first one, a parody of "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen. Weird Al plays the catchy bass riff on his accordion and while it definitely doesn't sound as cool, you can at least tell that it is the same riff! It's just Weird Al and a light drumbeat for this song as he plays his accordion and sings the verse. As you'd expect, the lyrics are about how smelly and disgusting a public bus can be when it's packed with so many people. The pace is a bit faster than the original, but I think he does a pretty good job of coming up with funny lyrics that fit the vocal melody quite well! After we hear a pretty basic chorus it's back for another funny verse as Al.seemingly loses a contact lens and his wallet on the crowded bus. After another chorus where they usually break for a cool space-y part, we instead hear a chorus of fart noises and Al adding in some deep "yeah"s in this strange section. The accordion returns and we hear a final verse, and I like the line "I haven't seen a crowd like this since I went to see The Who". He plays a final chorus and the accordion finishes out this parody. I thought it was interesting and funny for the most part, but accordion is certainly not my musical cup of tea. We'll hear from Mr. Yankovic again though! For now it's back to full albums...

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