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Weird Al takes on music piracy
By Jim Welte - MP3.com
August 22, 2006 at 02:46:00 PM | more stories by this author

Parody pro's first single off his new album, Straight Outta Lynwood, tells fans not to "Download This Song," but track is available for free MP3 download.

Weird Al Yankovic has recorded a song against music piracy called "Don't Download This Song."

Weird Al Weird Al

But in typical Weird Al fashion, the song comes with tongue squarely in cheek and is being offered as a free MP3 download at DontDownloadThisSong.com.

The track, set to the tune of "We Are the World," is the first single off Al's upcoming album, Straight Outta Lynwood, which hits stores September 26.

The song shows the parody specialist's knowledge of the digital music space as he name-checks Morpheus, Grokster, Limewire, Kazaa, and the Recording Industry Association of America in the track. The song includes the verse: "You don't want to mess with the RIAA/they'll sue you if you burn that CD-R/it doesn't matter if you're a grandma or a seven-year-old girl/they'll treat you like the evil hard-bitten criminal scum you are."

It also includes a subtle jab at the entertainment industry's comparison of illegally downloading music and movies to more traditional crimes: "'Cause you'll start out stealing songs/but then you're robbing liquor stores and selling crack and running over school kids with your car/So don't download this song/The record store's where you belong."

Straight Outta Lynwood also includes parodies of songs by Chamillionaire, Green Day, Usher, R Kelly, and Taylor Hicks. The album will come out on a dual disc that will include a nine-minute behind-the-scenes documentary and six music videos.

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12 Comments

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merrileejaffray
they have a great cms here
Posted 05/30/2009 5:47pm
shawanakoczela
Ik verontschuldig me voor het houden niet omhoog met uw guestbook.
Posted 05/29/2009 3:48pm
eleasecotton
J'appelle qui en cas d'une urgence?
Posted 05/22/2009 9:02am
eleasecotton
i been searching for this all week
Posted 05/22/2009 9:02am
Apokalipse
2 things i like: 1.cheese, 2.weird al. neither of these will change. ever. unless it involves a chicken, a leather strap, and something sharp.
Posted 10/08/2006 6:37pm
stormowl333
First I've heard of this, but I gotta say "Way to go Al." When they sued that little girl, it disgusted me so much I havn't purchased anything by way of music since, ( I used to buy something every week, their loss). Sticking to radio, winamp radio and barely accepting music cd gifts from family. But I'm definately buying this one irregardless. Two thumbs up.
Posted 09/06/2006 3:31pm
Vyse86
Love the song. One of my favorite bits states "How else can I afford another solid gold humvee?" Can't wait for the album.
Posted 08/29/2006 9:51pm
ProphetM
Anyone who truly thinks this song is "set to the tune of "We Are the World,"" needs to have their ears checked. I'm guessing Jim Welte is just repeating what he heard from someone else who didn't know what they were talking about. Did you actually listen to either song, Jim? Hint: this song is an Al original, although certainly in the style of We Are the World. Half of every album are original compositions.
Posted 08/24/2006 2:41pm
coreyb42
Ummmm, firebreathing, you kinda missed the point...
Posted 08/23/2006 2:24pm
chicken_dude_05
QUOTE Weird Al rules. I hope he does Chamillionaires' "Ridin' Dirty." QUOTE


He will. It's called "White and Nerdy".
Posted 08/23/2006 10:19am
firebreathing
We all know that after you d/l pirated content that "darkness" inside starts to take hold and you cant help but eventually subcome to the evil. Before you know it you'll be dealing drugs, stealing alcohol and punching babys. Of course if Weird Al wanted to actually give us a reason to not pirate material then maybe he could make the cd cost less Too bad for him he's just being a greedy douche hypocrite >_> I actually used to like this guy but when "artist" pull crpa like this it makes me lose 100% respect for them. This will probably actualy cause MORE people to download this very album just because he said not to do it. What a genius.............
Posted 08/22/2006 10:50pm
MikeAAA
Weird Al rules. I hope he does Chamillionaires' "Ridin' Dirty."
Posted 08/22/2006 5:17pm
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