Dare to Be Stupid begins with what is perhaps Weird Al Yankovic’s best parody ever, the brilliant and cutting “Like a Surgeon.” Turning the tacky Madonna hit inside out and upside down, Yankovic comes up with a hilarious satire of the medical profession. Although the implications were probably missed by the none too bright Madonna, and may not have even been intentional on the part of Yankovic, it was a rich idea to use his parody to ridicule a serious subject rather than just take another poke at junk food or game shows. The record’s title track follows, and it is the best of Yankovic’s original songs that had been recorded so far. Any song that begins with a request to put down your chain saw can’t be all bad. One of the best tracks is the amazing medley “Hooked on Polkas” that concludes the album. Yankovic goes for broke here, his slick band barely keeping up with him as he drags all manner of hit parade schlock through the harmonic wringer washer known as the accordion. It’s a hell of a trip, including references to Z.Z. Top as well as disco and punk rock, and accomplishes more musically in less than four minutes than an entire evening with the likes of Brave Combo. Rick Derringer put the whole production together expertly. – Eugene Chadbourne