For more than thirty years (I’m counting his earliest submissions to The Dr. Demento Show too) “Weird Al” Yankovic has influenced culture just as much as he’s parodied it. Sometime next year will come his thirteenth studio album. And while we’re waiting for it, I have to recommend that you run out and buy (but don’t illegally download, you hooligan!) The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic: a fantabulous two-disc set of 38 songs, all terrifically remastered, spanning Al’s professional career.

It came out this past week and on Saturday night I bought my copy (on Halloween incidentally, so I was wearing my Jedi Knight costume when I went into the store… which was all the more appropriate since “Yoda” and “The Saga Begins” are both on the album :-). I spent most of yesterday listening to this two and a half hour treasury of Weird Al goodness. Like, three or ...