Weird Al Yankovic is back, and it's a good thing for us. Given the sorry state of global affairs these days, we're about due for a belly laugh. Who better to give it to us than the man responsible for setting the song parody bar high with hits like, "Eat It" and "Amish Paradise"? Now - roughly twenty-five years after the clever lyricist-comedian was said to have passed his musical prime - the 54-year-old California native is proving more genius than ever, with the delivery of his career's first chart-topping album. "Mandatory Fun," a cache of all-new songs and videos released over eight days which features the likes of fellow comedians Margaret Cho, Patton Oswalt and Eric Stonestreet of "Modern Family," quickly went viral earlier this month, racking up hefty views on YouTube. "Foil," a parody of Lorde's pop hit "Royals," has been watched over 13 million times. Then there's the 785 percent upshot in Spotify activity and his No. 1 ranking on iTunes.

For his part, Weird Al is enjoying the renewed interest in his work that's currently at a white-hot level. But despite similar intense periods of fame - first in 1984 and again in 1996 - he admits to being more surprised than anyone about it. HNGN sat down with the comedy veteran to discuss his long career, 14th studio album, and to learn how the Internet has played in his favor.

HNGN: You're number one on the Billboard charts right now. How does it feel to finally achieve that honor this deep into your career?

Weird Al Yankovic: Good! It's mindblowing. I never anticipated such a reception. There's sort of a glass ceiling with comedy albums, a limit comedians can reach. It's hard to wrap my head around it; it's overwhelming.

HNGN: How has the response been in the past week?

WAY: The response has been great. I usually read every single tweet on my Twitter feed, but that's been impossible the last week and a half - it's just been such an outpouring of love and support from the fans, and reactions from everybody. It's far beyond anything I ever anticipated.

HNGN: How did you decide which songs you were going to parody for this album?

WAY: Like I normally do, I look at the billboard charts. I listen to the radio, I try to see what's making a buzz online, and I make a master list of songs that I think would be good candidates, good targets for parody. And then I go down that list and I try my best to come up with a good parody idea for each of them. Sometimes I can think of a decent idea, and sometimes, not so much. So if all the planets align correctly, and I'm able to find a popular song and come up with a funny idea and the artist approves that, then I'll move ahead.

HNGN: So the artist does have to give their approval.

WAY: Well, they don't necessarily have to - I can get away with doing it without their approval - but that's not the way I've ever done business. I think historically, I've always gotten the blessing of the artist because I just think that's taking the ethical high road. I've always respected artists, and I want to make sure they feel like they're in on the joke. And I think that might be part of the reason why I've been able to hang around in this industry as long as I have: I don't burn any bridges. I want to make sure that everybody is OK with what I do.

HNGN: Are there any old songs that you look back on and wonder, "What was I thinking?! Why did I do that?"

WAY: Listening to all my old albums is sorta like looking at old baby pictures. I think I'm a much better singer, I'm a much better songwriter, I'm a much better producer, just through sheer practice and effort, I've improved. But there's certainly charm to the early things. I don't have the George Lucas impulse to go back to my early albums and re-record them, or remix them. They're a product of their era, and people have a nostalgia for it.

HNGN: And now, are you looking to do any further work in comedy? Maybe a mega comedy compilation with other comedians like The Lonely Island, or Kevin Hart? Do you want to collaborate?

WAY: I'm not actively looking for that, but if the Lonely Island wanted to do anything with me, I'd be there in a heartbeat. I love those guys. I don't know what my next step is. I said this is more than likely going to be my last conventional album, meaning that I don't think the album is the best format for me anymore. This is the end of my record deal, and now I have a lot of other options before me. I think the most likely scenario is that, going forward, I'll be more of a singles artist and just release tracks as soon as I write and record them. But you know, the industry is always changing, our culture is always changing, and it's important for me to always follow along with that, and figure out what makes sense at any given moment.

HNGN: When you're talking about a video vs. a song, how much importance do you place on the video, or the song? Which one is more important?

WAY: I can't say one is more important than the other. They're both extremely important. My music needs to be able to exist on its own: the songs need to be entertaining and understandable, and funny, even without the visuals. But the music videos are an art form unto themselves. I try to add an additional layer of humor to the videos, and from a craft standpoint, they're marketing tools. They're the way most people consume this music. Chances are, the first time you were exposed to the songs from the new album, you saw the video of it. It's important to me to be able to introduce people to my music in the most entertaining way possible.

HNGN: And do you think that the Internet has bolstered your video presence?

WAY: Absolutely. The Internet is a two-edged sword. It's hurt a lot of people in the music industry, but I try not to look at the negatives. I try to look at the positive aspects of the Internet and the opportunities it allows me to promote my work. Certainly, that's worked in the last couple weeks. The "eight videos in eight days" promotion has worked beyond my wildest expectations and has gotten people extremely excited about the new album. So the Internet has been a wonderful tool for me in the recent past.

HNGN: What was it like to work with Coolio on "Amish Paradise"?

WAY: Well, I didn't really work with him on it, other than the fact that he wrote the original music for it. You know, there was a bit of drama when it first came out in 1996. There was kind of a miscommunication. He claimed that he hadn't given permission for it, my record label claimed that he had, and I still don't know what went on there. It was unfortunate just because that's sort of the one example of an artist not appreciating the parody. But having said that, Coolio has since apologized and said he made too big of a deal of it. And a couple years ago we met at a public event and we hugged it out. There's no beef with Coolio, it's all fine, it's all water under the bridge. But at the time - we're talking 20 years ago - there was a minor beef, apparently. But that's old, old, news.

HNGN: Let's talk politics. Do you think that Hillary Clinton is going to run for president?

WAY: Seems that way, doesn't it?

HNGN: Yeah it kind of does seem that way. Would you vote for her?

WAY: I try not to discuss politics, because it's a very divisive subject, and I want to keep whatever fanbase I've got.

HNGN: You don't talk politics? Not even with your friends?

WAY: Well, with my friends, yeah, but not publicly.

HNGN: I guess that's not really part of your public persona.

WAY: I try not to be divisive. You know, religion and politics and things like that are generally not things I incorporate in my music or discuss in interviews. I have opinions, certainly, but I don't feel compelled to share them with the world at large.

HNGN: And how did you come up with this persona? Where did the name "Weird Al" come from?

WAY: That was given to me by some people that I lived with in the dorms in college my freshman year. I'm not sure exactly why they were calling me Weird Al, but that became my nickname: "Oh, there goes Weird Al." "Don't mind him, it's just Weird Al." And I took it up professionally the next year, when I started doing college radio, and everybody had some kind of wacky nickname like "The Sheriff," or "Macho Mike" and I thought, oh, they're already calling me Weird Al, so that's a good air name, The Weird Al Show! And it definitely kind of stuck. I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, they had one of the best architecture schools in the country, and that was my major. I was getting a degree in architecture.

HNGN: What derailed that?

WAY: Well, nothing derailed it. I stayed all four years in college and got my degree. But while I was in college, my attention got turned toward the campus radio station, where I was doing my wacky radio show. And I realized I was having more fun during the three hours a week doing that show than the entire rest of the week. I wasn't really enjoying working in the architecture labs. Everybody else in my class was a lot more passionate about architecture; and, for me, it was just sort of like a job. And I just thought, do I want to spend the rest of my life doing something that I don't enjoy? Why would I want to do that? So I graduated, because I figured, why not, but then I immediately set about trying to pull a record deal. And it took a couple years, but I did. I really don't know what direction my life would have taken if that didn't happen.

HNGN: How do you think the music industry today compares to the music industry at the time you last released a record?

WAY: That's only three years ago. It hasn't changed a whole lot in three years, but it's always evolving. Social media plays a bigger part in marketing. The Internet is more important, and digital distribution is more important. The old models are slowly crumbling, and the people who are going to be successful in the future are the people who embrace the new technology.