Word Crimes
| "Word Crimes" | |
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The title card for the "Word Crimes" video
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| Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic from the album Mandatory Fun | |
| Recorded | December 2013 Bedrock L.A. (Los Angeles, California) |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:43 |
| Label | RCA |
| Writer(s) |
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| Producer(s) | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
"Word Crimes" is a song by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic from his fourteenth studio album, Mandatory Fun (2014). The song is a parody of the 2013 single "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, featuring Pharrell Williams and T.I.. The song spoofs misuse of proper English grammar and usage, reflecting Yankovic's own rigor for proper syntax and semantics. Yankovic chose a topic that would be distinct from those used in many pre-existing parodies, and that would avoid the misogyny issues which had arisen from the source material.
"Word Crimes" received favorable reviews from contemporary music critics, with some describing it as a highlight of Mandatory Fun. The song's music video utilizes kinetic typography, and was compared to the earlier educational Schoolhouse Rock! musical cartoons. The song landed at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, granting Yankovic his fourth Top 40 hit, making him only the third artist in history (alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna) to have a top 40 hit in every decade since the 1980s.
The subject matter in "Word Crimes" was an extension of Yankovic's policy of writing "left-of-center" parodies, especially considering the number of parodies that surface on YouTube. Yankovic had surveyed his online competition and was disappointed that many parodies revolved around rape (due to the original song's controversy). To differentiate his version, he opted to make the parody about grammar; "I don't think anybody, to this point, had done a 'Blurred Lines' parody about proper use of grammar," he told NPR. Yankovic has considered himself a "grammar nerd," having previously posted photos and video clips to social media sites pointing out grammatical errors in everyday signs, and considered "Word Crimes" his opportunity to put this into song form.
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