Anyone who follows Lin-Manuel Miranda or "Weird Al" Yankovic on Twitter knows that the two are friends and mutual admirers. So it's not a huge surprise to hear that they've announced a collaboration of sorts: Yankovic and his band have recorded "The Hamilton Polka," a five-minute polka-fied distillation of Miranda's hit musical, released as part of the latter's "HamilDrops" series. (Here's another recent entry: The Decemberists' take on the Hamilton outtake "Ben Franklin's Song.")
Yankovic has been doing "Stars On 45"-inspired polka medleys since his second album, In 3-D, all the way back in 1984. They typically incorporate impeccably played, rapid-fire renditions of the biggest hits of the day, with an emphasis on silly (or, better yet, self-important) source material. As for "The Hamilton Polka," it provides what's essentially a CliffsNotes-style run-through of the musical's hooks and highlights — just enough to get the entire musical stuck in your head all over again.
[Disclosure: This article's author wrote the liner notes to a 2009 "Weird Al" Yankovic CD compilation, but did not request or receive payment.]
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