The Essential Me

First of all, big thanks to everybody that bought (or still intends to buy) Internet Leaks – I've had a terrific time reading everybody's reactions to the new songs and videos.

Next up… Sony Legacy will be releasing The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic on October 27. This will be a jam-packed 2-CD collection featuring the best of my first 12 studio albums.

Essential

Long-time fans know that I'm extremely leery about releasing any kind of hits compilations, but this one is exciting to me for a number of reasons. First of all, my record label hasn't released a new hits package since 1994, so, well, it's about time. Also, frankly, it's a pretty great deal. The good folks at Sony Legacy managed to remove the 12-songs-per-disc ceiling that I usually have, and they've allowed me to cram each disc to near capacity. The MSRP is $15.98 – which I think is a darn good value for over two and a half hours of music! Of course it will be available at all the usual retailers like Amazon, and it's available for pre-sale right now at weirdal.com too.

As per usual, the track listing was left entirely up to me, and it was an extremely difficult process. I wanted to include all the hits, all the fan favorites, and all the historically important songs – but in making my list, I found that I painfully had to omit tunes in all three of those categories. I wanted this collection to feel like a true "best of" instead of just another generic Greatest Hits package.

Hardcore fans will probably be a little disappointed, because this collection is not specifically geared toward them. There are no basement tapes, hidden tracks or hard-to-find rarities (unless you count the alternate mixes of "UHF" and "The Night Santa Went Crazy"). If you already have most or all of my albums, this collection will probably hold little interest for you, unless you're a completist who just compulsively buys anything with my name on it (bless you, whoever you are). I should also point out that this collection doesn't include any tracks from Internet Leaks – it didn't seem right to include songs on a hits compilation before they had a chance to be on an actual studio album.

The Essential collection is more geared toward the cost-conscious consumer who wants a great "instant Al collection" without having to purchase an armload of my back catalogue. And of course, The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic makes a fantastic holiday gift for any and all of your sadly Al-deprived friends and family members!

As I mentioned, it was very tough narrowing down the tracks. At one point I asked my Twitter followers to help me decide between "Polkas On 45" and "Polka Your Eyes Out." The tally was very close… I believe that "Eyes Out" actually got a few more votes, but the fans of "45" in general seemed more passionate about their choice, so I went with that. Hey, it's not a democracy, it's art.

I apologize if I've left off any of your favorite songs. I know that I had to leave off some of mine. But in the end, I felt like the list below would please the most people… including me.

Thanks,

THE ESSENTIAL "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC

(Release Date: October 27, 2009)

DISC 1

1. Another One Rides The Bus

2. Polkas On 45

3. Eat It

4. I Lost On Jeopardy

5. Yoda

6. One More Minute

7. Like A Surgeon

8. Dare To Be Stupid