The Real "Weird Al" Yankovic

Listen to every Weird Al Yankovic song alongside the real songs he parodies.

It may be an Internet first: "Weird Al" Yankovic's entire library of songs, side-by-side with the original songs that he imitates. Listen to them all for free.

These are full length songs, not short sound clips, thanks to our affiliation with Napster.

The big play button starts the mix tape or jump to your favorite song (real or Yankovized) in the side-by-side list below.

We have just added "Weird Al's" second album, "In 3-D." Every month, we add another album in his catalog. Eventually, all 15 albums (excluding greatest hit) will be here.

After the list of songs, read about the less-than-perfect sound quality and share your thoughts on the mix tape.

We hope you enjoy Knowzy's first-ever Mix Tape.

 

 

Album #1, "Weird Al" Yankovic, 1983

Weird Al's first, self-titled album contains some of his classics: "Another One Rides the Bus," "I Love Rocky Road" and "Stop Draggin' My Car Around" to name a few.

The album contains a nearly equal number of original songs, which is uncharacteristic of his later albums. This is evident by the number of empty spots on the right side of the comparison chart- there's no song to compare it to!

See how Weird Al Yankovic got his start. In this first album, his style is still taking shape. The music is simpler and more reliant on the accordion and fart noises. These are his cream-of-the-crop songs he developed as he sought out a record label willing to sign him.

See Weird Al before he became reasonably wealthy and famous. Check out his first album: "Weird Al" Yankovic.

 

Album #2, In 3-D, 1984

"In 3-D," is a big improvement on "Weird Al's" first album. The sound is more polished and musically diverse. His style is more defined. And only one song is accented by fart noises. Only his lyrical wit and humor is consistent with his first album- "Weird Al" is as funny and sharp as he was in his debut!

In this album, Weird Al pokes fun at many of pop music's greatest performers. Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, The Police, The Who, The B-52's and more. Don Pardo even makes a guest appearance, berating the contestant who "Lost on Jeopardy."

This is the first album to feature a Polka where Weird Al pays tribute to some of pop culture's most memorable songs. His fast-paced "Polkas on 45" covers of 14 different songs in 4 minutes and 20 seconds! Weird Al weaves snippets of the original lyrics to form a semi-coherent thread, allowing the Polka to stand on its own.

In his first album, Weird Al featured a number of original songs. This led to large gaps on the "Real Song" side of the chart. Weird Al's second album has only one original, making a more interesting right side. (The original is even said to be in the style of the Kinks, though I'm not convinced).

"In 3-D" cemented "Weird Al" Yankovic's style and his pop star status. His parody songs match the originals more closely than his first album. Most of all the album is a lot of fun. Enjoy the 11 songs on the album plus the 27 original songs he parodies.

 

About the Sound Quality

You may have noticed the sound quality of the music featured here is adequate but not great. This is due to our reliance on the free version of Napster's site for music.

Napster offers over 2 million songs for free. The catch: Only paid subscribers get the high quality versions of the songs.

Note: Knowzy earns a commission from Napster and Amazon ads on this page.

 

Talk About the Mix Tape

Do you have corrections? Is there something you liked? Something you didn't? Do you have ideas for other mix tapes?

Visit our Feedback page and share your thoughts on the The Real Weird Al Mix Tape.

 

Special Thanks to "Weird Al" Biographers at Wikipedia

The "Weird Al" Yankovic entry on Wikipedia is a "featured article" and for good reason. The immense amount of detail and in particular the discography, were invaluable in creating this page. Great work!

 

 

 

 

Originally Published:  Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Last Updated:  Wednesday, August 05, 2009