Weird Al Yankovic had one last parody to share from his new album today, a dive into pretentious corporate speak. The song is named, "Mission Statement," and it taps into the kind of puffed up jargon you would hear in a boardroom meeting.
Terms like Synergy, Monetizing and Core Competencies are thrown together into a string that has some coherence, as much as you can expect from such flowery terminology. It is all illustrated by a hand drawing on a whiteboard with markers, much like you would in an actual conference room in a million offices worldwide.
This video for "Mission Statement" was the eighth and last from his new album "Mandatory Fun." In a blitzkrieg of parody, Weird Al has been releasing a new music video each day since last week, each imaginative in their own way.
Last Monday, July 14th, saw the release of "Tacky." A parody of Pharrell's omnipresent song "Happy" and featured several comedians in terrible clothing describing a variety of fashion faux paus and moments of bad manners. Next came "Word Crimes," a take on Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" devoted to bad grammar and other common mistakes in the English language. The visuals are a copy editor's nightmare of words.
This was followed by "Foil," patterned after Lorde's "Royals," but covering the topic of using aluminum foil to wrap food, before going into more conspiratorial territory. The video feels something like an infomercial. Next, Weird Al spoofed Iggy Azalea's "Fancy," with the song "Handy" about DIY and home improvement. The video itself has the flavor of a low-budget local commercial.
On Friday, we got to see "Sports Song," a funny take on the typical rah rah rah speech regarding people's love of sports teams, complete with a marching band on a football field. Weird Al then took on a popular meme with "First World Problems," with various examples of said overblown issues being acted out by the singer/song writer in a tune reminiscent of the Pixies.
Penultimately, "Lame Claim to Fame" came out. Depicted via a collage of paper cutouts, we get a look at some of the silly things people proudly share about themselves. The song has a Southern Rock feel.
And lastly, comes the release today of the video for "Mission Statement," with corporate jargon running amok and whiteboard drawings. It is sung in the style of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" from rock legends Crosby, Stills and Nash.
All eight of these songs are on Weird Al Yankovic's album "Mandatory Fun," which was released on July 15. It is Weird Al's last album for his current record lable. He has said the album will probably be his last in such a format, with any future releases likely being self-distributed.
You can find the video for "Mission Statement" and the rest of the music videos from "Mission Statement" at Weird Al's official site.
