"Weird Al" Yankovic's Mandatory Fun

This week finds "Weird Al" Yankovic finishing up his victory lap following the release of his latest album, Mandatory Fun. To celebrate his new release, Yankovic released eight music videos in as many days, ending with his "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" parody, "Mission Statement." As an album, Mandatory Fun finds "Weird Al" at his most mature and musically daring. Sure, he parodies all of the mega hits you'd expect, but he approaches them in a way that actually gives one insight into the way the man feels.

"Word Crimes" and "Tacky," in particular, accomplish more than their inspirations ("Blurred Lines" and "Happy," respectively). The former is a grammar nerd's dream, taking apart infuriatingly common mistakes in speech; "Tacky," meanwhile, breaks down just how garish and nonchalantly terrible and narcissistic people have become.

One of the most delightful songs on the album, "First World Problems," is interesting even apart from its social commentary. The song is a style-parody of the Pixies, which is an unexpected thing, even if you know that "Weird Al" has always been into alternative music. With jagged, surfy guitars and yelping lead vocals, it's as much of a dead-on homage as Yankovic's style-parody of the Doors ("Craigslist") was, last time around.

McG's Shel Silverstein

Now that your heart has been warmed by the resurgence of "Weird Al," it's time to balance that out with this catastrophic blow to your childhood: there is a Shel Silverstein biopic in the works, and, there's just no other way to say this, but McG is behind it. Yes, everyone's favorite absurdist children's book writer (not to mention gloriously profane and silly songwriter) is being teamed up with the man that brought us This Means War, 3 Days to Kill and the Charlie's Angels franchise.

I know there's no way to spin this as great news, but it is possible that this won't be the worst thing in the world. I mean, right? At least the notion that someone with as fascinating a life as Silverstein's is getting the film treatment is heartening. But there's a McG-shaped shadow that looms over this news, and that's just gonna be a hard one to shake. My advice: close your eyes, lock yourself in your bedroom, and recite "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout" as fast as you can, over and over again, until our long, national McG nightmare is over.