"Tacky" is a song by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic from his fourteenth studio album, ''

Mandatory Fun ''Mandatory Fun'' is the fourteenth studio album by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. The self-produced album was released by RCA Records in the United States on July 15, 2014, and was the final album on Yankovic's recording contract. Yankovi ...

'' (2014). The song is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of the 2013 single " Happy" by Pharrell Williams. The song mocks questionable style in fashion as well as activities considered gauche. Yankovic recorded the song as one of the last on ''Mandatory Fun'', and received Williams' approval directly, through email. He remarked he was "honored" to have his work spoofed by Yankovic. The song's one-shot

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

parodies "Happy", and was the first in a series of eight videos released over eight days in promotion of ''Mandatory Fun''. It features cameo appearances by

Aisha Tyler Aisha Nilaja Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of ''Ghost Whisperer'', Dr. Tara Lewis in ''Criminal Minds'', Mother Nature ...

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

Eric Stonestreet Eric Allen Stonestreet (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC mockumentary sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporti ...

Kristen Schaal Kristen Joy Schaal (; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her voice roles as Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and Mabel Pines on ''Gravity Falls''. She's also known for playing Mel on '' ...

, and Jack Black, and was produced by

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Background

As usual for him, Yankovic sought permission from the original artists for his parodies on ''Mandatory 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." He was able to get Pharrell Williams' permission for three of the songs he represented on the album, Williams' " Happy",

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...

's " Blurred Lines", and Daft Punk's " Get Lucky", 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. The song was recorded in April 2014."Weird Al" Yankovic: Recording Dates
weirdal.com. Retrieved June 22, 2014.

Composition

The song mocks people whose actions and style are generally considered gauche. The singer boasts of having no shame and seems proud of his gaudy attire and his breaches of deportment (for example, putting used liquor bottles on display, wearing socks with sandals, mixing patterns, and gorging an entire bowl of after-dinner mints at a restaurant). Reviews noted that the song lists various disruptive acts associated with social media, referencing Instagram,

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, and

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.Ranking Weird Al’s 'Mandatory Fun' Parodies: Who Gets Skewered Best?
. ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

''. Retrieved July 15, 2014. Yankovic mentions printing his résumé in

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, a much-reviled font, and states that he would live-tweet during a funeral and take

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as ...

s with the deceased.

Music video

The

for "Tacky" debuted on July 14, 2014, as the first in an eight-video series. Produced by

, the one-shot video shows Yankovic mimicking Williams' own style used in his video for "Happy": It features comedians

, and Jack Black dressed in tacky clothes and purposely dancing badly while

lip-syncing Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

to the song's lyrics about a person who brags on about his questionable style choices. The video was filmed at Palace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, previously featured as

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, ...

’s apartment in the 1998 film ''

The Big Lebowski ''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken ...

''. 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.

Reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' reviewed the song "Tacky", stating that "Weird Al is in fine form throughout the track". In their review of ''Mandatory 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."

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

wrote that "the parody and musicianship are spot-on, aided by an instantly classic music video". '' Billboard'' noted that the song had the potential of being a "one-joke affair", but exceeded these expectations.

Weekly chart positions

Notes

External links

""Weird Al" Yankovic - Tacky" music video
on YouTube {{Authority control 2014 songs Music videos directed by "Weird Al" Yankovic Songs written by Pharrell Williams Songs with lyrics by "Weird Al" Yankovic "Weird Al" Yankovic songs