History Music / MandatoryFun

* DressedToOppress: The cover depicts Al as a comically serious dictator wearing a uniform including a Chest of Medals, a Badass Longcoat, and a baldric. Another image for the album shows him wearing a Commissar Cap as well.

** {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s in "Foil".

** "Sports Song" pokes fun at the intense rivalries often displayed between sports teams.

* DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch: "Word Crimes" caused a minor controversy due to the use of the line "You write like a spastic". Weird Al apologised on Website/{{Twitter}}, saying he didn't know it was a slur.

** At the beginning of "Word Crimes", a dictionary's pages are turning through the A's. The definition of "Accordion" has a picture of Al next to it. On a shot of a piece of homework paper, the homeroom teacher is listed as "[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Mrs. Krabappel]]". The Website/{{Reddit}} user goes by the handle [[Film/{{UHF}} George Newman]]. On the graphic for the lyric "lost cause", which uses a promo graphic from ''Series/{{Lost}}'', the print next to the Creator/{{ABC}} logo reads "learn your [=ABC=]s, doofus" instead of the network slogan.

%% ** When Al had finished recording "Mission Statement", a parody of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" with a touch of ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}''-style office humor, he encountered Graham Nash of Music/CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung, who had coincidentally asked Al to do a parody of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes". Al played "Mission Statement" over the phone, and Nash loved the song.

* Letters2Numbers: The narrator tells the student in "Word Crimes" never to write words using numbers ([[https://beatcreativemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Weird-Al-Yankovic-Word-Crimes-YouTube.png in the style]] of Series/{{Numb3rs}}). "unless you're seven... or your name is Music/{{Prince}}".

*** The "Write words using numbers" is [[https://beatcreativemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Weird-Al-Yankovic-Word-Crimes-YouTube.png in the style]] of Series/{{Numb3rs}}.

* Letters2Numbers: The narrator tells the student in "Word Crimes" never to write words using numbers "unless you're seven... or your name is Music/{{Prince}}".

''Mandatory Fun'' is the fourteenth and final studio album by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, released in 2014 through Creator/RCARecords and Way Moby Records. It's the first comedy album to debut at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts since Creator/AllanSherman's ''My Son, the Nut''.

''Mandatory Fun'' is the fourteenth and final studio album by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, released in 2014 through Creator/RCARecords and Way Moby Records. It's the first comedy album to debut at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts since Creator/AllanSherman's ''My Son, The Nut''.

With this album, Al fulfilled his contract to his record label and announced that he would no longer be releasing studio albums. Feeling that the landscape of satire had changed so drastically with the internet, he realized that waiting to have a whole album's worth of songs wasn't practical when his material relied so much on relevance. He has since said that all of his future recordings will be released through digital [=EPs=] and singles.

This was also Al's first album to utilize the internet for promotion. A week before the album's official release, eight of the album's twelve tracks had music videos released, each on a different website.

!!Tracklist:
# "Handy"[[note]]Parody of Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX's "Fancy"[[/note]]
# "Lame Claim To Fame"
# "Foil"[[note]]Parody of Lorde's "Royals"[[/note]]

# "Word Crimes"[[note]]Parody of Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams' "Blurred Lines"[[/note]]

# "Inactive"[[note]]Parody of Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive"[[/note]]

# "Tacky"[[note]]Parody of Pharrell Williams' "Happy"[[/note]]

* FourOneNineScam: In "Lame Claim To Fame", he claims that the email he got from the Nigerian prince certainly ''sounded'' legit.

** "Handy" parodies "Fancy" by Music/IggyAzalea and Music/CharliXCX to tell the story of a particularly boastful handyman
** "Foil" starts out as a food-based parody of "Royals" by Music/{{Lorde}}, but veers into a SelfParody of "Weird Al"s own music, segueing away from food and into bizarre conspiracy theories.

* BadassBoast: The "Word Crimes" video has "'Weird Al' Yankovic has a big dic[[spoiler:tionary]]." Meanwhile, "Handy" is just one long boast about the protagonist's {{Handyman}} skills.

* {{Bathos}}: "Jackson Park Express" has a number of them:

Until the staff at Sea World kicks us out"''

That's what Music/KanyeWest keeps telling me

** The video for "Tacky" brings together [[{{WesternAnimation/Archer}} Aisha Tyler]], Creator/MargaretCho, [[Series/ModernFamily Eric Stonestreet]], Creator/KristenSchaal and Creator/JackBlack!

--->''Be aware! There's always someone that's watching you!''

* DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch: "Word Crimes" caused a minor controversy due to the use of the line "You write like a spastic". Weird Al apologised on Twitter, saying he didn't know it was a slur.

* FirstWorldProblems: The title of the song on this album, in which the singer complains about the most insignificant of such problems. Things like his apartment being so big he can't get wifi in the kitchen, or buying too much food to fit in his fridge.

** At the beginning of "Word Crimes", a dictionary's pages are turning through the A's. The definition of "Accordion" has a picture of Al next to it. On a shot of a piece of homework paper, the homeroom teacher is listed as "[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Mrs. Krabappel]]". The Website/{{Reddit}} user goes by the handle [[Film/{{UHF}} George Newman]]. On the graphic for the lyric "lost cause", which uses a promo graphic from ''Series/{{Lost}}'', the print next to the Creator/{{ABC}} logo reads "learn your [ABC]s, doofus" instead of the network slogan.
** After Al starts singing about TheIlluminati in "Foil", there's a few red frames of Al's face looking the worse for wear.

* HypocriticalHumor: In the video for "Word Crimes", a song about proper grammar, one of the degrees on the wall is a "Bachelor of Writing Good". [[note]]Proper grammar would make it a "Bachelor of Writing Well".[[/note]]

--->''That really makes me '''want to "literally" smack''' a crowbar upside your stupid head!''\\

** "Lame Claim To Fame" - Southern Culture on the Skids
** "My Own Eyes" - Music/FooFighters
** "Mission Statement" - Music/CrosbyStillsAndNash, particularly "Carry On" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"
** "First World Problems" - Music/ThePixies, particularly "Debaser" and "No. 13 Baby"
** "Jackson Park Express" - Cat Stevens
* IntimateMarks: The video for "Tacky" has Kirsten Schaal living up to the title by wearing a black top with hot pink handprints over the breasts.

* Letters2Numbers: The narrator tells the student in "Word Crimes" to never write words using numbers "unless you're seven... or your name is Music/{{Prince}}".

-->''I knew we had a special connection the second I saw her smile''

%% ** When Al had finished recording "Mission Statement", a parody of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" with a touch of ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}-style office humor, he encountered Graham Nash of Music/CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung, who had coincidentally asked Al to do a parody of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes". Al played "Mission Statement" over the phone, and Nash loved the song.

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: The lyrics of "Mission Statement" are strung together from all sorts of overly-sophisticated corporate buzzwords which roughly translate to "We need to make more money."

*** There's also visual references to Doge and the "Get a brain, morans!" memes.

** "Handy" has the line [[Music/JayZ "I got 99 problems but a switch ain't one!"]]
* SixDegreesOfKevinBacon: In "Lame Claim To Fame", with 6 degrees, no less.

Who knows a guy who knows Kevin Bacon.''

* SpiritualSuccessor: "Handy" is this to "Hardware Store". And more directly to the unreleased "I'll Repair For You".

Unless you're seven\\

--->You should never write words using numbers, Unless you're seven or your name is Music/{{Prince}}.
** [[ConspiracyTheorist Conspiracy theorists]] in "Foil".

To [[AnalProbe probe your butt]] or read your mind
* TitleOnlyChorus: "First World Problems".

* TomatoSurprise: A minor one in "Jackson Park Express". The woman on the bus is assumed to have no anomalous features, and more than halfway into the (9-minute) song:

-->''"By the way, I cracked the code"''

[[TheStinger ''The pervasion of fun exists except for the lack of fun.'']]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

''Mandatory Fun'' is the fourteenth and final studio album by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, released in 2014. It's the first comedy album to debut at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts since Creator/AllanSherman's ''My Son, The Nut''.

** One of the two handymen dancing in the backgrounds of the "Handy" music video wears [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros Mario's]] red-overall-blue-dungarees combo.

* TakeThat: In "Word Crimes", Al mentions
-->You should never write words using numbers, Unless you're seven or your name is Music/{{Prince}}.

* BadassBoast: "Word Crimes" has "'Weird Al' Yankovic has a big dic[[spoiler:tionary]]." Meanwhile, "Handy" is just one long boast about the protagonist's {{Handyman}} skills.

** "Scream & Shout" by music/WillIAm featuring Music/BritneySpears

* BestialityIsDepraved: The narrator of “My Own Eyes” saw a stripper kiss a duck behind a dumpster in Aruba.

--> Well, now I'm dropping names almost constantly\\

-->''We’re gonna kick your collective posterior\\

We’re gonna grind up your guys into burger meat\\

* TheFunInFuneral: Mentioned in Tacky.

--> "I'd like to remove all your skin, and wear your skin, over my own skin... [[BlatantLies but not in a creepy way]]!"

* LongestSongGoesLast: The album ends with "Jackson Park Express" (9:05)

* TheOner: The "Tacky" music video. Which is an Homage to the song it's parodying, Pharrell's "Happy", as most of the segments of his "24 Hours of Happy" are Oners.

--> ''I want to scream'' (Suzanne Yankovic screams), ''and shout'' ('''HEY!''') ''and let it all out'' ('''BLUGH!''')\\

* FaceOnTheCover: "Weird Al" in military dictator garb, parodying propaganda posters.

** "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People

** "Gangnam Style" by Psy
** "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen
** "Scream & Shout" by will.i.am featuring Music/BritneySpears
** "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra
** "Timber" by Pitbull featuring Kesha
** "Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO
** "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz
** "Get Lucky" by Music/DaftPunk featuring Pharrell Williams

*** There's also visual references to Doge and the "Get a brain, morans!" picture.

** The rivalry between Weird Al and Prince was so tense that when they were assigned to seats in the same row at the American Music Awards, Al received a telegram from Prince's management [[DontLookAtMe demanding that Al was not to make any eye contact with Prince]].

* WhamLine: "Foil" sounds like Al's usual food parody song until the second verse, when Al reveals it is a SelfParody.

** At the beginning of "Word Crimes", a dictionary's pages are turning through the A's. The definition of "Accordion" has a picture of Al next to it. On a shot of a piece of homework paper, the homeroom teacher is listed as "Mrs. Krabappel". The Reddit user goes by the handle [[Film/{{UHF}}George Newman]]. On the graphic for the lyric "lost cause", which uses a promo graphic from LOST, the print next to the ABC logo reads "learn your [ABC]s, doofus" instead of the network slogan.

** "First World Problems" - Music/ThePixies

** The song "Tacky" includes the line "If I'm bitten by a zombie, I'm probably not telling you." In the video, Al accompanies this line with a dance move taken from Music/MichaelJackson's "Thriller" video.

** Music/RobinThicke's infamous "Blurred Lines" (featuring Music/PharrellWilliams and Music/{{TI}}) was spoofed as "Word Crimes," a song about grammar on the internet. Yankovic admitted to probably being the only person to make a "Blurred Lines" parody about grammar, since every other parody of the song he was aware of was about the original song's UnfortunateImplications.

* {{Medley}}: "Now That's What I Call Polka!" Songs featured in it are:

** "Mandatory Polka" by "Weird Al" Yankovic

* RantInducingSlight: "First World Problems" contains a long list of utterly trivial annoyances that induce mouth-foaming rage in Al.