Weird Al's newest album, "Alpocolypse" is yet another one of those records that heralds a kind of "come back" for the storied musician.

I don't really understand this-- It's as if, because Yankovic is a novelty act, he's not allowed to have a significant musical staying power. As his medium is the musical tapestry of the cultural place it was born from, the continual reinvention of his musical playground is merely a manifestation of his work, not a symbol of some kind of reinvention.
It's not so much that Yankovic is making a come-back, it's that he's always been there. Like Oxygen. Oxygen is always there. You really only notice it when it's not. So goes Yankovic's career.

I, for one, am grateful to appreciate it for what it is at each step-- a musical slice of social commentary tied directly to the collective conscious.

This isn't just another Weird Al album; Alpocalypse is different. This is Yankovic's most revealing, introspective album; a delightfully real and sometimes raw look into Yankovic's world.

There is a seething self-awareness laying just under the surface of this album. Like the legendary (and, sadly, fictional) "Me Myself and I" album, this may be Yankovic at his most introspective. The songs are daftly anchored around the experiences of Yaknovic's celebrity. "Perform this Way" (a parody of "Born this Way" by Lady Gaga) is, sure, something of a pot-shot at Gaga's "over-the-top" celebrity du-jour. But, I've seen Yankovic's work on stage. He, too, has an "over-the-top" savior-faire that he brings to the stage.

The fact is, Yankovic has been climbing into a fat suit as part of his stage shows for longer than most of Gaga's fans have been alive. It would have been easy for Yankovic shift the perspective of "Born This Way" to be about "her" instead of "I," but he sings the parody proudly in the first person. The fact is, baby, Yankovic performs that way, too.

TMZ, the parody of Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me," is also overtly self-concerned with celebrity. It's not hard to imagine that Yankovic has certainly been dogged by paparazzi from time to time, has found himself thinking "Doesn't anyone think this is creepy?"

"Party in the CIA" features first-person songs about living a artificial life behind the mask of heartless CIA assassin. In the song's final lyrics, Yankovic manages to subtly blend in a few poignant jabs at the United States' torture policies.

"Ringtone" is all about the allure of cheap and easy short-term gains that ultimately fill the narrator with regret. "Another Tattoo" is about the challenge of carrying the baggage of adopting the evolving face of pop culture with you for the rest of your life. Who but Yankovic, a connoisseur of pop culture by trade, is so rightly positioned to comment on these themes?

Yankovic has poured the essence of himself into this album; bringing with it perspective only available to a man on the long side of a near 40-year career on the fringes of pop culture. It's a great album, not just on the scale of "novelty records," but as a piece of musical work comparable with the all-time greats.