The King of The 80s Returns

Consider: Among musical acts, who 'won' the 80s? Who hit huge in the 1980s - at least as big as, say, The Thompson Twins, just as a baseline - and kept an active, relevent career the longest (ie, Night Ranger's perpetual "Sister Christian" tour on the state fair circuit
doesn't count)?

I say they still haven't cut down nets, but we have our finalists:

The Beastie Boys
Wierd Al

(And I'll entertain George Strait nominations. But hasn't he put out the same song about 30 times since 1992, and UHF trounces Pure Country anyway)

So Weird Al's latest album, Straight Outa Lynwood, hit yesterday.

If his last album, Poodle Hat was an A+, and the one before, RUnning With Scissors was an A-, then this one is B- at best.

Truthfully, he doesn't really get hit any of the songs in the sweet spot. Best is probably Canadian Idiot, based on Green Day's American Idiot. Funny (and dead on), but the jokes don't really crack or pop. The same could be said for the other 11 tracks. The jokes, unlike the last two albums, are tired and strictly junior high.
The single out now, White and Nerdy, is pretty good, but then, what does that song that Prety Fly For a White Guy didn't?
The closest to really laugh-out-loud funny is probably Close But No Cigar, which chronicles meeting three perfect women and dumping them for inconsequential details ("she was always using the word 'infer' when she obviously met 'imply'/... I told her, 'are we playin' horseshoes, honey, no I don't think we are/ You're close - but no cigar")
But even the polka medly - usually a bankable homerun - comes up a little slow (maybe because I'm unfamiliar with a large percentage of the songs parodied in it). Compared to Angry White Boy Polka from Poodle Hat, its not even close.
So its a good album, but as Al puts it "Are we dong Government work here? No I don't think we are - You're close, but no cigar."