Wiki
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Release Date
26 September 2006
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Length
12 tracks
Straight Outta Lynwood is the twelfth album by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on September 26, 2006 in the U.S. by Volcano Records, on September 30, 2006 in Australia, on October 3 in Canada, on October 6, 2006 in New Zealand, November 13, 2006 in the United Kingdom, and November 24, 2006 in Germany. The album was released as a DualDisc, with the DVD side including the album mixed in 5.1 digital surround sound, instrumental versions of all songs (with optional on-screen lyrics for karaoke), a nine-minute documentary, six animated music videos, and a twenty-four-page full color booklet.
Four singles have so far been released: "Don't Download This Song", "White & Nerdy", "Trapped in the Drive-Thru", and "Canadian Idiot". All songs can be heard at Yankovic's MySpace page. Music videos for the first three can also be seen at the same page.
Straight Outta Lynwood is Yankovic's most successful chart album in the U.S. and his first top ten album ever, entering the Billboard 200 at number ten. "White & Nerdy" has also become Yankovic's first ever top-ten single, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Both the album and the single were certified gold by the RIAA. (His previous highest-peaking single was 1984's "Eat It", which peaked at number twelve). "Canadian Idiot" also entered the charts, peaking at eighty-two in the U.S.
The title is a reference to Straight Outta Compton, the second album of rap group N.W.A, with Lynwood being a nod to Yankovic's hometown of nearby Lynwood, California.
Yankovic's teaser campaign for his twelfth album started on April 6, 2006, with a large "27" on the official site's splash page, which was later revealed to signify the then-planned June 27, 2006 release. However, the album was delayed as troubles had arisen with one of the recorded parodies. "You're Pitiful", a parody of James Blunt's hit "You're Beautiful", was recorded for the album, but was removed at the request of Blunt's label, Atlantic Records. The song was then released as a free-for-download single on the Internet in June 2006. Yankovic then went back into the studio and recorded two new songs, "Do I Creep You Out" and "White & Nerdy", to make up for "You're Pitiful".
Yankovic had wanted to record a parody of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" for the album, but Powter initially refused. Powter then changed his mind "literally the day before went into the studio to record 'White & Nerdy'", at which point, according to Yankovic, "the train had left the station".
Besides his "Bad Day" parody, "You Had a Bad Date", Yankovic claimed to have several "mediocre" parody ideas such as "Holodeck Girl" ("Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani), "IRS" ("S.O.S." by Rihanna), and "Hairy Back" ("SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake).
Even though Straight Outta Lynwood was released on September 26 in the U.S., apparently because of a mix-up at the label it was not released in Australia until September 29 and not until October 3 in Canada.
The PAL and Canadian release versions of the album are not on a DualDisc, but rather a separate CD with a DVD showing only the music videos and the Making Of featurette. However, the DVD side of the U.S. DualDisc is region free, so it may be imported without region problems.
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