Running with Scissors

( 24 )

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Dr. Demento
"Weird Al" Yankovic has sold more albums of purely humorous music than anyone else, ever. His last outing, 1996's Bad Hair Day, was his biggest yet, giving this new one a lot to live up to. Can Running with Scissors cut it? Yes. Track for track, it's the best Weird Al album yet. The opener, and the first single, "The Saga Begins," retells the story of "The Phantom Menace" to the music of "American Pie." It's very nicely done, but Al's just getting started. "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" is self-explanatory, and just as funny as Bad Hair Day's "Amish Paradise." Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" becomes a smashing ode to Jerry Springer, while songs about astrology, the Grapefruit ...
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Dr. Demento
"Weird Al" Yankovic has sold more albums of purely humorous music than anyone else, ever. His last outing, 1996's Bad Hair Day, was his biggest yet, giving this new one a lot to live up to. Can Running with Scissors cut it? Yes. Track for track, it's the best Weird Al album yet. The opener, and the first single, "The Saga Begins," retells the story of "The Phantom Menace" to the music of "American Pie." It's very nicely done, but Al's just getting started. "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" is self-explanatory, and just as funny as Bad Hair Day's "Amish Paradise." Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" becomes a smashing ode to Jerry Springer, while songs about astrology, the Grapefruit Diet, and a transvestite truck driver prove that Al's humor isn't just for kids. "It's All About the Pentiums" contains my favorite single line -- "You're just about as useless as JPEG's to Helen Keller!" -- and there's a medley of recent chart-toppers in polka time. The fact that Yankovic can keep this old gag fresh time after time is a tribute to his musicianship and that of his backup band he's had the same three guys with him for 16 years. The grand finale, "Albuquerque," is an 11-minute roller-coaster ride, with a surrealistic surprise around every bend. There's never been anything else like it in the history of comedy music. After all these years, Al Yankovic is still discovering new ways to be funny.
All Music Guide - Steve Huey
Like many of Weird Al's 1990s albums, Running With Scissors is something of a mixed bag, although devoted fans will definitely find enough of interest to add it to their collections. As usual, the highlights tend to be song parodies: "The Saga Begins" is a retelling of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's point of view set to the tune of "American Pie," while "Jerry Springer" is a clever rewrite of the Barenaked Ladies' "One Week." Not all of them quite hit the mark, though: "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" has the same borderline ethnic condescension of the Offspring's original, and Yankovic's mimicry of the sound of his source material on the Puff Daddy takeoff "It's All About the Pentiums" isn't quite up to his usual standards. The originals tend to come off as forced, as though Yankovic is trying way too hard to live up to his nickname; although the snarky rip of "My Baby's in Love With Eddie Vedder" hits pretty close to the mark, the 11-minute closer "Albuquerque" is interminable. Overall, there are some songs worthy of adding to Yankovic's next best-of, and some more that no one will miss.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 6/29/1999
  • Label: Volcano
  • UPC: 614223211848
  • Catalog Number: 32118

Album Credits

Performance Credits
"Weird Al" Yankovic Primary Artist, Accordion, Keyboards, Vocals, Background Vocals
Kim Bullard Keyboards
Tom Evans Saxophone
Steve Jay Bass Guitar, Background Vocals
Thomas "Snake" Johnson Tuba
Warren Luening Trumpet
Joel Peskin Clarinet
Dan Regan Trombone
Marty Rifkin Pedal Steel Guitar
Tom Sauber Fiddle
Ruben Valtierra Keyboards
Lee Thornberg Trombone, Trumpet
Jim West Banjo, Guitar, Background Vocals
William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr. Trombone
Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz Percussion, Drums, Background Vocals
Tavis Werts Trumpet
Mary Kay Bergman Vocals
Technical Credits
Bernie Grundman Mastering
Tony Papa Engineer
Richie Wise Engineer
Doug Haverty Art Direction
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 24 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(22)

4 Star

(2)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 24 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Sweet

    This is the best Weird Al Yankovic CD EVER!!!!!!!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    This Rocs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

    Any 1 who likes a funy song will like this .

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    THIS ALBUM SHOULD BE DOUBLE PLATINUM!

    This CD rules. It has everything from Jerry Springer(Parody of One Week)to Albuquerque. I suggest you purchase this great album

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Weird al fan

    This cd rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!! ive bought all the tracks so far, and loved them. THis one is the best track yet. YEAH!!!!!!!!! YOU ROCK WEIRD AL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I had my choice of how many stars i'd give it, id give it 999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999 stars

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    THE BEST SINCE BEAT IT

    THIS ALBUM IS THE BEST, EVER BETTER THAN AMISH PARADISE. DEFINATLY BUY THIS EVEN IF YOUR NOT A WIERD AL FAN. ////oo\\\ THAT IS JOHN LENNON

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    GREAT

    This is a great CD. I really enjoy. It is a rating 5. You should buy it.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    JERRY SPRINGER AND WEIRD AL THEME SONG ARE GREAT!

    THIS CD DOES GREAT FOR ANYBODY AT ALL AGES!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    THIS CD IS AWESOME!

    Wierd Al is a really good artist in general... All of the albums I've gotten (or heard) have been great! As his name proclaims, he is very funny and very weird!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Al goes from downhill to way high up

    I wasn't too impressed with Al's previous 2 albums. But when I heard ''The Saga Begins'' on the radio, it thought it was a good song. Hearing it made me decide to buy the CD one year later while I was on vacation. I thought it was going to suck. But it didn't. In fact, I LOVED IT! I really loved it. Nearly every song was excellent. Let's not forget Your Horoscope For Today. Man, do I love that song! It's a got a good ska beat, funky horns and pretty funny lyrics. I just couldn't any song out of my head as long as I was on vacation. This is Al's finest hour.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    pretty good cd

    although this cd is not one of his best, its still very entertaining and good

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Running with scissors

    This is a great CD. It is defenitly one of his best ever!!! I liked all of the songs, especialy The Saga Begins, Pretty Fly for a Rabbi, Your Horoscope for today, and Albequrqe!! Buy this CD!!! You wont regret it!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Wierd Al, The Saga Begins

    Gotta love the CD Rom ''Secret Movie''. Grapefruit Diet Rules!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    12 SONG: ALBUQUERQUE

    ALBUQERQUE, ALL ABOUT THE PENTIUMS, AND POLKA POWER WERE MY FAVES ON THE C.D.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    OMG!!!! The Saga Begins is the BEST!

    well, first my cousin got me into weird al by reciting some lines from The Saga Begins. Then i found the cd in the mall and i bought it...I still listin to it daily.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    'Running With Scissors' is a CUT above the rest!

    RUNNING WITH SCISSORS is my first ever Weird Al Yankovic album. RUNNING WITH SCISSORS really is a great album! I really enjoyed listening to IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PENTIUMS--obviously, a parody of Puff Daddy's IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS. It's my favorite song on this CD (and, sadly, I never heard that song at all on the radio).

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Reviewing with Scissors

    I have every single one of Weird Al's albums, and this by far is the best! The ending track, 'Albuquerque,' alone was worth the three year wait. 'Your Horoscope for Today' is a hilarious tour-de-farce in which Al reads everyone's horoscope, Onion-style, while 'Germs' is a NIN-inspired original which I didn't really like at first, but which has definitely grown on me (no pun intended). As for parodies, 'It's All About the Pentiums' definitely ties with 'Amish Paradise' as the best Weird Al rap parody song ever, and 'Jerry Springer,' a One Week parody, contains a dialogue between two JS guests that has to be heard to be believed. Overall, a treat to Al fans everywhere. And if you claim to not be an Al fan, please listen to this album and see if you don't change your mind.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    This is the best!!!!!!!!1

    This is the coolest cd in the world! Al's best!!!!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Weird Al is the best!!!

    Anything by Weird Al is the best, especailly this album!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    When I leave a room, first I gotta grease the door!!!

    All the goyims say, I'm pretty fly for a rabbi!!The saga begins, pretty fly for a rabbi, jerry springer, grapefruit diet, and albu...whatever,are my favorite songs.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Awesome Album!

    This is my favorite CD. All of the titles are good, but my personal favorites are Pretty Fly For a Rabbi, Grapefruit Diet, and Your Horoscope For Today. Track twelve, Albequerque, is over ten minutes long and more of a story than a song, but twists at the end expressing that the whole story could have been said in three words: I hate saurkraut. This is a great CD. You'd be a fool not to buy it!!!!!!

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 24 Customer Reviews