| "Tacky" | |
|---|---|
| Song by"Weird Al" Yankovic | |
| from the albumMandatory Fun | |
| Released | July 15, 2014 |
| Recorded | April 2014 Bedrock L.A. (Los Angeles,California) |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:53 |
| Label | RCA |
| Songwriter(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
| Music video | |
| "Tacky" onYouTube | |
"Tacky" is a song by American musician"Weird Al" Yankovic from his fourteenthstudio album,Mandatory Fun (2014). The song is aparody of the 2013 single "Happy" byPharrell Williams. The song mocks questionable style in fashion as well as activities considered gauche. Yankovic recorded the song as one of the last onMandatory Fun, and received Williams' approval directly, through email. He remarked he was "honored" to have his work spoofed by Yankovic.[1]
The song'sone-shotmusic video parodies "Happy", and was the first in a series of eight videos released over eight days in promotion ofMandatory Fun. It features cameo appearances byAisha Tyler,Margaret Cho,Eric Stonestreet,Kristen Schaal, andJack Black, and was produced byNerdist Industries.
As usual for him, Yankovic sought permission from the original artists for his parodies onMandatory Fun; in contrast to previous albums, he had few difficulties in obtaining these. Yankovic stated "This is the first time where I've gotten everybody that I wanted, and I couldn't be happier about it."[1] He was able to getPharrell Williams' permission for three of the songs he represented on the album, Williams' "Happy",Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" (which was also parodied, as "Word Crimes"), andDaft Punk's "Get Lucky" (which was part of the "Now That's What I Call Polka!" medley), through a personal email to the artist after Yankovic's manager had difficulty working this with Williams' manager; according to Yankovic, Williams was "honored" to have his work used by Yankovic.[1] The song was recorded in April 2014.[2]
The song mocks people whose actions and style are generally considered gauche.[3] The singer boasts of having no shame; he seems proud of his gaudy attire (fluorescent-orange pants with anEd Hardy shirt, pinkCrocs with sequins,Ugg boots with glitter), as well as his breaches of deportment (example: asking a woman whether she's fat or pregnant; gorging an entire bowl of after-dinner mints at a restaurant; and using coupons on a date). Reviews noted that the song lists various disruptive acts associated with social media, referencingInstagram,Twitter, andYelp.[4][5] Yankovic mentions printing hisrésumé inComic Sans, a much-reviled font, and states that he would live-tweet during a funeral and takeselfies with the deceased.[5]
Themusic video for "Tacky" debuted on July 14, 2014, as the first in an eight-video series. Produced byNerdist Industries, theone-shot video shows Yankovic mimicking Williams' own style used in his video for "Happy": It features comediansAisha Tyler,Margaret Cho,Eric Stonestreet,Kristen Schaal, andJack Black dressed in tacky clothes and purposely dancing badly whilelip-syncing to the song's lyrics about a person who brags on about his questionable style choices.[6][7] The video was filmed atPalace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, previously featured asJulianne Moore’s character's apartment in the 1998 filmThe Big Lebowski.[8] Yankovic specified that during each of the six continuous takes, he would have to rush down five flights of stairs while changing his outfit in order to appear in the beginning and end of the video.[9][10]
Rolling Stone reviewed the song "Tacky", stating that "Weird Al is in fine form throughout the track".[11] In their review ofMandatory Fun, the publication wrote: "Sure, there’s a touch of hypocrisy in a guy as gloriously tacky as Al taking shots at the shameless but who really cares when it's this much fun."[12]ABC News wrote that "the parody and musicianship are spot-on, aided by an instantly classic music video".[13]Billboard noted that the song had the potential of being a "one-joke affair", but exceeded these expectations.[5]
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Comedy Digital Tracks (Billboard)[14] | 2 |
