Following 2006's Straight Outta Lynwood, Yankovic decided to explore digital distribution as a means to promote his music.

In October 2008, Yankovic told Billboard that he had come up with the idea two weeks before and that, with the benefit of digital distribution, he would not "have to wait around while my songs get old and dated—[he could] get them out on the Internet almost immediately.

"[1] The single was recorded on September 29, 2008, and was exclusively uploaded to iTunes on October 8 before it was available to other digital distribution platforms two weeks later.

[2] On April 21, 2009, Yankovic entered the studio to record four original songs: "Craigslist", "Skipper Dan", "CNR", and "Ringtone".

[3] For "Craigslist", the singer reached out to Ray Manzarek, the former keyboardist for the Doors, in order to properly authenticate the sound of his tribute.

[2] The song describes a man who has a fine arts degree and dreamed of pursuing an acting career, but is forced to work as a tour guide on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland.

'"[10] On August 4, 2009, Yankovic released "CNR", a pastiche of the musical style of the White Stripes, with Rolling Stone specifically noting the influence of the 2007 single "Icky Thump".

[2][9][11] The lyrics are about superhuman feats that Charles Nelson Reilly could accomplish, retold in a style similar to Chuck Norris facts.

Billboard described the song as a cross between "Queen's operatic style [and] a tragic tale of a 'stupid ringtone' driving everyone nuts.

Yankovic dressed as Morrison, having to lose some weight to look like the singer at age 24, and performed in front of a green screen to allow effects to be added afterward.

Cat Blackard of Consequence of Sound praised the manner in which "Whatever You Like" was released, noting that it was a "bold move", "a great way to keep up with the times", and that the resulting parody was topical.

Andy Chalk of The Escapist magazine wrote that the music style of "Craigslist" was a "dead-on parody of The Doors",[21] and Marc Hirsh of NPR argued that the composition and performance of "Craigslist" is evidence that Yankovic is a "stealth pop musicologist", being able to deconstruct a genre of work and recreate it into something new without it being unrecognizable.

[7] Brian May, guitarist for Queen, felt that Yankovic "perfectly spoofed [the] vocal and guitar harmonies" of his band with "Ringtone".