Music

Alpocalypse by "Weird Al" Yankovic

I don't recognise most of the parodies on Weird Al's latest (his first in half a decade), which either shows I'm out of touch or how lacklustre modern music is. Even this album's polka -- normally full of recognisable snippets from the biggest songs of the past few years -- is a wet affair of unfamiliar lyrics. Shame.

For me, then, this album is at its best when parodying a style rather than a specific modern song. Craigslist takes on the Doors, for instance; Ringtone is a riff on Queen; and, best of all, Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me emulates the work of Jim Steinman to marvellous effect.

Of the direct spoofs, only opener and single Perform This Way -- which lampoons everything about Lady Gaga via her recent hit Born This Way -- sounds familiar and, therefore, and more importantly, works.