Bad Hair Day

Recording In November 1994, Yankovic entered Santa Monica Sound Recorders in Santa Monica, California, to begin the first of the Bad Hair Day sessions, which he produced himself. Recording with Yankovic were Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz on drums, Steve Jay on bass, and Jim West on guitar. The album was recorded in five sessions. Originals "Callin' In Sick" is a style parody of music popular in Seattle, Washington, most notably grunge. "Everything You Know Is Wrong" is a stylistic pastiche of They Might Be Giants. Yankovic explained that he "tried to write a song sort of in their style, but perhaps even a little bit more twisted". "I Remember Larry" is a style parody of Hilly Michaels, and it tells the tale of a neighborhood bully who, after myriad pranks, drives the narrator to kidnap him and leave him for dead in the forest. Another version was written for the Touring with Scissors tour in 1999, combining elements of the album version and the "Extra Gory" version. "Since You've Been Gone" is a generic doo-wop a cappella track that details a lover's torment after the object of his affections breaks up with him. Yankovic performed most of the vocals himself, and to make sure that he stayed on key, a scratch guitar track was recorded; when the song was mixed, the guitar track was removed. Bassist Steve Jay provides the low voices in the song. Finally, "I'm So Sick of You", a style parody of Elvis Costello in which the singer tells his girlfriend all the things he hates about her. The second parody was a pastiche of TLC's hit "Waterfalls" called "Phony Calls", about prank calls. Before the call you hear a phone number being dialed. The number is 372-5806, which at the time was guitarist Jim West's home phone number. The next parody recorded for the album was "Gump", a parody of "Lump" by the Presidents of the United States of America. The song recounts the basic plot to the 1994 film Forrest Gump about a naïve and slow-witted yet athletically prodigious native of Alabama who witnesses, and in some cases influences, some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States. Yankovic felt that juxtaposing the original song's "gangsta" themes with the Amish lifestyle would produce a humorous end result. After Yankovic revealed to his label that he would be doing a Coolio parody, they requested that the album artwork for the release also parody Coolio. Yankovic had been toying with the name Bad Hair Day for a time and felt that he could adequately use the name and lampoon Coolio – who was known for his distinct hair style – at the same time. The final parody recorded for the album, "Syndicated Inc.", is a parody of "Misery" by Soul Asylum, a loving ode to syndicated television. Unused parodies In addition to the five parodies on the album, Yankovic had several parody ideas that were turned down. Originally, Yankovic wanted to turn the Offspring's hit "Come Out and Play" into an ode about doing laundry called "Laundry Day". Yankovic also wanted to record a parody of the Beatles' Anthology hit "Free as a Bird" titled "Gee, I'm a Nerd". Yankovic asked Paul McCartney, a supporter of Yankovic's work, if he could parody "Free as a Bird". Yankovic had also intended to record a parody of the U2 song "Numb" and a parody of the Rembrandts's hit song "I'll Be There for You". Likewise, Yankovic had wanted to turn "I'll Be There for You" into "I'll Repair For You", and write it about the popular 1990s sitcom Home Improvement. All of the rejected parodies were later performed in concert. ==Controversy==

File:Coolio.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Coolio felt that "Amish Paradise" "desecrat[ed]" his song|250px The album's lead single, "Amish Paradise", caused a minor controversy after rapper Coolio said that Yankovic had never asked for permission to record the parody. A series of photos taken at the XM Satellite Radio booth at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, as well as a post on the "Ask Al" feature on Yankovic's website, suggested that Yankovic and Coolio made amends. He later joked on his site's Q&A feature that, "I doubt I'll be invited to Coolio's next birthday party but at least I can stop wearing that bulletproof vest to the mall." ==Promotion==

Scotti Brothers Records developed a promotion strategy for Bad Hair Day, which included Yankovic dressing up in exaggerated Coolio-styled hair and presenting an award at the American Music Awards in January 1996. According to Billboard, this was "a hint as to who would be the next victim of a Yankovic parody". To promote the album, Yankovic undertook the "Bad Hair Tour", which spanned from May 24, 1996, to October 19, 1997. The tour was largely centered in the United States, although the first half saw Yankovic perform in Canada. Yankovic performed over 130 shows during the tour. Initially, there were preliminary plans to have Yankovic tour Europe, based on whether All American Music Group would secure the album's international release, although this venture never came to fruition. ==Reception==

Critical reception Mike Joyce of The Washington Post wrote that "Amish Paradise" was "by far the cleverest and funniest track that Bad Hair Day has to offer [and] it ranks right up there with such Yankovic classics as 'Another One Rides the Bus', 'Smells Like Nirvana' and 'Eat It'." A record review from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette concluded that "'Weird Al' Yankovic's ninth collection of original songs and parodies reinforces his reign as pop music's King of Comedy", and that the record "showcases Yankovic's unparalleled ability to capture the styles of other bands and turn boring pop songs into fun tunes." J. D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun noted that while Yankovic's music can be "sophomoric and silly", Yankovic himself "can also be pretty smart". Not all reviews were positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic criticized the lack of humor on the album saying "the music on Bad Hair Day not only lacks the humor, it lacks the impish energy that made Weird Al's first albums such fun." The Rolling Stone Record Guide awarded the album two out of five stars. However, the book later referred to the album's lead single, "Amish Paradise", as "gut-busting." In 1996 alone, the album sold 1,317,000 copies in the United States, setting a record for the most copies a comedy album sold in a year during the Nielsen SoundScan era. On May 15, 1996, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Bad Hair Day gold, and then on June 11 of the same year, it certified the record platinum. In May 2014, it was announced that the album had sold 2.025 million copies in the U.S., making it the fourth best selling comedy album of the Nielsen Soundscan era. On October 3, 2019, the album was officially certified double-platinum by the RIAA. ==Track listing==

Credits adapted from CD liner notes. Band members • "Weird Al" Yankovic – lead and background vocals, keyboards, accordion • Jim West – guitars, banjo, background vocals • Steve Jay – bass guitar, background vocals • Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz – drums, percussion Additional musicians • Rubén Valtierra – keyboards • Warren Luening – trumpet • Joel Peskin – clarinet • Tommy Johnson – tuba • Gary Herbig – baritone saxophone • Lisa Popeil – background vocals • Nancy Cartwright – voice of Bart Simpson • Hank Azaria – voice of Moe the Bartender Technical • "Weird Al" Yankovic – producer, arranger • Tony Papa – engineer, mixing • Colin Sauers – assistant engineer • Doug Haverty – art direction • Command A Studios – design • Carl Studna – photography • Roseanne McIlvane – bad hair • Bernie Grundman – mastering ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==

Bad Hair Day: The Videos is a VHS release of four of "Weird Al" Yankovic's music videos, directed by Jay Levey and Yankovic. It was released by Scotti Brothers Records on June 4, 1996. Track listing Charts Certifications ==References==