When you think Weird Al Yankovic, you remember his parodies. From the Michael Jackson pisstakes to the lesser known Greg Kihn and Jurassic Park tributes, his knack for comedy is perfect.

His polka medleys are lesser known but still a good romp. However, I believe his best talent is hidden in the original tracks he writes.

Always a reflection of the decade he’s working on, Weird Al’s original songs have gone from Devo to ringtone rap. For Poodle Hat’s Hardware Store, we find Weird Al mixing the nerdy intensity of The Presidents of the United States of America with Lucky Starr’s I’ve been everywhere. Add a dash of Reunion’s Life is a rock (but the radio rolled me) and you got an ode to the B&Q / Home Depot aficionado’s love of all things DIY. The infamous bridge has only been performed once and Yankovic did struggle with the delivery, still nailing it.

It’s a rule of thumb that a good parody has to be adept as an independent work in its genre while still making fun of it. Weird Al Yankovic can do both the parody and the original. May he write more of the latter.

-Sam J Valdés López