Alapalooza – "Weird Al" Yankovic

This is the first "Weird Al" CD I ever bought – in Canada in 1996 – and its appeal hasn't diminished at all.

The opening track - Jurassic Park - is a parody of MacArthur Park. In '96 I smiled even though I hadn't seen the film back then.

Later we get his original composition Frank's 2,000" TV, which is one of my all-time favourites. It's such a feel-good ballad, all about a neighbour who happens to have a gigantic TV set, that it always gives me tremendous optimism for the future. I'm not joking – it's lovely piece of childish madness.

Everybody in the town,
Can hear those 90,000 watts of Dolby sound,
And I'm mighty proud to say,
Now I can watch "The Simpsons" from 30 blocks awayyyyyyyy!

That's followed by the crueller pleasure Achy Breaky Song, which is allowed because Al – God bless 'im – always gets permission from the original artists before he parodies them! Knowing that the original creator gets the joke too really does make a huge difference.

There's also the short TV theme parody Harvey The Wonder Hamster. I could go on, but I've already said about the same amount as the entire lyrics do.

But the very final track on here is the one that changed my life. I remember reading this title in the shop, and scarcely daring to suppose that it could actually be what it threatened. When I got back to the UK and finally played this CD, I'm happy to report that this track delivered exactly what I'd hoped for. It remains to this day one of my all-time favourite "Weird Al" numbers.

It's called "Bohemian Polka," and it delivers just about everything that it's possible to infer into the title.

Joy. Pure joy.