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"Pancreas" is a song by American musician Weird Al Yankovic from his 2006 album Straight Outta Lynwood. It is a pastiche of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and Smile albums.

Overview

The final original song recorded for the album, it is mainly about the biological functions of the aforementioned organ.[1][2] Yankovic joked that the reason the song was written was because "my pancreas has given so much to me over the years, I felt like I needed to give something back to it".[1]

"Pancreas" is in the style of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, specifically his band's 1966 album Pet Sounds and their aborted follow-up, Smile, which Wilson had completed as a solo record in 2004.[1]

Music video

Jim Blashfield created a video for "Pancreas" using stock footage from the Prelinger Archives.[citation needed]

Critical reception

In his review of Straight Outta Lynwood, Scott Shetler of Slant praised "Pancreas" as "an exquisitely crafted homage to Brian Wilson featuring the layered harmonies and fun instrumentation (toy piano, sleigh bells, ukulele, vibraphone) characteristic of the Beach Boys. The purposefully absurd lyrics prove that Wilson’s classic sound would be great even if he were singing about nonsense."[3] In 2014, LA Times contributee Randall Roberts rated "Pancreas" among Yankovic's eight best parodies.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Moss, Corey (September 26, 2006). "Track By Track: In Weird Al's Lynwood, Green Day's 'Idiot' Is Canadian". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on April 3, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
  2. ^ "Weird Al" Yankovic (2006). Straight Outta Lynwood (CD liner notes). Volcano Records. 82876-89951-2.
  3. ^ Shetler, Scott (September 26, 2006). "Review: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Straight Outta Lynwood". Slant Magazine.
  4. ^ Roberts, Randall (July 18, 2014). "Now that's what I call Weird Al: Watch eight of his best parodies". Los Angeles Times.
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