Weird Al's anthem for music pirates

With his 12th album, "Straight Outta Lynwood," set to release on Sept. 26, parody artist "Weird Al" Yankovic yet again is up to no good (which is, after all, why we like him). His first single off the album, "Don't Download This Song," tackles the all-too-apparent (and oh-so-1999) MP3 piracy matter. The music video depicts an animated crazed youth drawn to his computer to "break international copyright laws."

The lyrics imply that downloading music is the gateway to bigger crimes such as robbing liquor stores, selling crack and running over kids with your car. Weird Al's song, of course, hyperbolizes the issue and sides with us (ahem, the downloaders). "Don't Download This Song" says we should go buy CDs so that artists can buy more ridiculous items, like diamond palm trees.

Yankovic has been known for songs that parody hot issues to the tunes of popular songs. What popular music melody is Yankovic ripping this time? The 1985 pop composition, "We Are the World." Interestingly enough, "We Are the World" united artists to raise funds for famine relief in Africa. Perhaps Weird Al is trying to express to music artists his dismay of their union against such an inane topic, rather than real issues like starvation in the Third World. Or perhaps this song will be the downloaders' anthem against the artists, like the lyrically mentioned drummer of Metallica, Lars Ulrich.

Ironically, you can download this song on Weird Al's MySpace.com page, or for a better-quality version, download the song here. Want to listen to it for a laugh now? Click here.