"Weird Al" Yankovic has been a staple of modern satire and comical music since he debuted in 1979 with a re-write of Knack's "My Sharona" entitled "My Bologna. Over time, the singer/songwriter has been known to gently and sometimes harshly attack various pop issues with his music in a fashion that would make Geoffrey Chaucer proud. Three years after releasing "Poodle Hat," Yankovic is at it again, punching out a new collection of lyrics in his upcoming album (the release date is September 6, 2006) "Straight Outta Lynwood," named "Don't Download This Song."

Yankovic's satire over the course of his career has covered a variety of issues like the obsessive purchases of some eBay users in "eBay," couch-glued television viewers in "Couch Potato," overweight folks in "Grapefruit Diet" and the Amish in "Amish Paradise". He has also written comical re-tellings of popular Hollywood films such as "Ode to a Superhero," "Jurassic Park" and "Gump." In "Don't Download This Song," Weird Al throws in his two cents in the music piracy debate and on a side that most would not suspect.

Being a songwriter/singer, Yankovic's income comes from music purchases, whatever they may be - iTunes, CD's, etc. - and thus, it would make sense for him to attack music pirateers out there. Oh, but that is not the case in "Don't Download This Song." Instead, Yankovic takes on the music industry for its Gestapo-esque crackdown on those who give and get their music for free.

In the single, "Weird Al" uses his gentle satire to mock Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who took a harsh stance against the music piracy industry back in the time of Napster and KaZaA, as well as the rest of the music industry. Early in the song, he sets up a hilarious slippery slope, singing "But deep in your heart you know the guilt would drive you mad/And the shame would leave a permanent scar/'Cause you start out stealing songs and then you're robbing liquor stores/And sellin' crack and runnin' over school kids with your car" before satirically referring to the listener as the "evil hard-bitten criminal scum you are."

The harshest bit comes right after that, when Yankovic goes all out against his fellow singers, "Don't take away money from artists just like me/How else can I afford another solid gold Hum-Vee?/And diamond-studded swimming pools?/These things don't grow on trees." It's enough to wonder if Yankovic has already received calls from his fellow music artists wondering what has gotten into his head.

Without question, "Don't Download This Song" is a laugh-out-loud parody of the music industry and is sure to be talked about among music sources for quite a while as a result. Is/was the response the industry, which is already loaded enough in the Benjamin's ("How else can I afford another solid gold Hum-Vee?"), taken against music piracy a step too far when one could easily take a tape recorder and collect as many songs as he or she wants off of the radio for free or is "Weird Al" acting a bit too weird this time around? Time will tell.

Nevertheless, what is perhaps most comical is that the song is available to download at "Weird Al's" official MySpace.com page. Download it now and show the music industry, with "Weird Al" Yankovic at your back, who really is the boss. And check out some of "Weird Al's" stuff. The guy is amazing at taking good songs and making great parodies of them.

(Photo Credit: http://www.weirdal.com/images/solcvrms.jpg)