Mandatory Fun is "Weird Al" Yankovic's most recent album and probably his most influential. With this album, he was able to introduce people with many interests to his music and comedy music in general. Another thing that helped to make this so popular was the internet, especially Youtube. With a new video coming out every day this past summer on his website, he was able to make people eager to see the next one. This was the first time in over 50 years that a comedy album topped the Billboard chart, and the quickest a comedy album has ever taken to the top of the charts, making history by incorporating more original songs about everyday topics to relate to even more people; these songs even include titles like "First World Problems" and "Lame Claim to Fame," which are easily relatable for many people.
This album still follows the general trend of his albums, though. It is standard for Weird Al to include one or two longer "story-songs" in his albums, which he does, with his ever-present crude sense of humor. In addition to the "story song," he also includes a medley of popular songs in the style of polka music, putting his own spin on the songs with accordion and clever transitions. Every summer, there are hit songs, and Weird Al made parodies of these like he does with many of his other songs, which still use topics relative to everyday life. These songs are: Handy, Foil, Word Crimes, Inactive, and Tacky, which use hyperboles to create an almost fantastical idea of what the song could be. Lastly, the "Sports Song" and "Word Crimes" display Weird Al's intellect as well as his humor, as Tom Lehrer did in the 1950s.
