All Your Favorite People Are In the New Weird Al Yankovic Video, "Tacky"

Obviously, "Weird Al" Yankovic no longer has any sort of monopoly on the pop song spoof; the internet has allowed anyone who wishes to make and distribute their own. What continues to set the veteran musical comic apart as he prepares to release his fourteenth (and possibly last) album, Mandatory Fun, on July 15, is the budget for meticulous production and professional-grade music videos. Yankovic released the first video from the album today, a reworking of Pharrell Williams' relentlessly cheerful hit "Happy," called "Tacky," and, like the work it spoofs, it's a satiating crowd-pleaser that hits all the spots.

Aisha Tyler spoofs Pharrell with her boobs

The video, filmed at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles, is a single continuous shot that follows Yankovic and a handful of exactly the other people you want to see strutting "groovily" like the aggressively charming Williams in the video(s) for "Happy" in hyperbolically loud, tasteless neon clothing. Aisha Tyler wears a wacky hat and plays with her boobs; Margaret Cho serves up her full-body character comedy with faces to match; Eric Stonestreet plays his Modern Family character Cam's nominally straight but probably more than bi-curious twin brother; Kristen Schaal does "airhead hedonist in elevator" with Janet Jackson/Lady Gaga-evoking pink handprints on her tits; Jack Black shimmies, leaps and twerks through the auditorium like Miley Cyrus doing West Side Story. That pretty much covers it all, right?

The lyrics are densely stuffed with as many examples of tackiness as possible, ranging from the obvious to the hysterically specific. There are at least four digital/social media references (Instagram, Yelp, live-Tweeting and selfies at a funeral), fashion faux pas (socks with sandals, etc), decorating fails (used liquor bottles on display, YOLO license plates), a double-whammy name dropping/Kanye West joke, and "Got my new resume; it's printed in Comic Sans!" Yankovic even manages to pull off an inevitable twerking reference that's actually funny rather than tired ("practice my twerking moves in line at the DMV"), which is a definite achievement.

There's a brief shout-out to the Lady Gaga monster claw near the end, which should delight anyone who remembers arguably Yankovic's greatest artistic achievement, the brilliant Lady Gaga exegesis "Perform This Way." In fact, while we're waiting for the seven additional music videos Yankovic plans to release over the next seven days, this would be a good time to take a look back at that video as well, don't you think?

Jack Black kicking up his heels

"Weird Al" Yankovic repping Lady Gaga

Margaret Cho wondering if you're pregnant or just fat

Can't nothing bring Kristen Schaal shame

Further Reading:

Get More of Your Weird Al Fix With the Iggy Azalea Parody "Handy"

Weird Al's New Lorde Parody Celebrates "Foil," Goes Hilariously Off the Rails

Rejoice and Sing, Grammar Nazis, for Weird Al's "Word Crimes" Is Here