HERE COMES EVERYONE POST: Playlist of the Week - Comedy Songs

There was a point in time when the mere thought of “the comedy song” would send much of us sane folk into fits of uncomfortable shivers. Definitely music that fell into creepy uncle territory, most comedy songs had a simple melody, drab instrumentation, and were merely vehicles for funny words and ideas. They were fine to watch within the concept of the film or TV show they originated in, but once they were removed into the realm of records, CDs, i-pods and other audio-only devises their humour and quality slipped away like a wet cake.
Over the past few years though, the comedy song has been experiencing a bit of a renaissance, with TV shows like The Mighty Boosh and Flight of the Conchords re-establishing the concept as an intelligent, funny and musically competent medium. Below are my favourite tracks from recent shows and stand-ups, as well as an older classic. Each of these tracks are obviously very funny, but I have also chosen them for their musical and lyrical prowess, which are also obviously of a high quality.

1. Flight of the Conchords – ‘Leggy Blonde’
An excellent concept for a song based around a simple idea – that when you fancy someone from afar, knowing little about their personality, your obsession often focuses on key attribute of their appearance (e.g. being a leggy blonde). The music is great too, as all Conchords’ music is, although this is particularly special as it uses a lot of found sounds for percussion, such as typewriters, staplers and hole-punchers.
2. Tenacious D – ‘Tribute’
A fantastic ‘Tribute’ to rock, this song is primarily an awesome track, with great instrumentation and excellent vox. Jack Black’s vocal performances throughout lend a subtle dry humour, and the general lyrics and concept of the track itself is fucking funny. It develops to a great climax as well.
3. David O’Doherty – ‘Text Song’
This is such a funny song about a really simple yet universal observation, delivered in an equally funny fashion that is musically competent and well reflects the lyrical content. And O’Doherty uses really cool analogue synth timbres in the song too. Yum, Casio.
4. The Mighty Boosh – ‘Nanageddon’
Developed in collaboration with 80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster, this track is first and foremost a great tune. It is punchy, aggressive and massively distorted with a cool, hard edge. It’s also very funny, simply because of the concept of an Armageddon where nanas are battling on the side of the devil. A lot old people a racist though, so perhaps the thought of them being evil is not so far fetched…
5. Flight of the Conchords – ‘Sugalumps’
Musically this is a great song and a really accurate parody of the dance-hop genre, and also turns a key concept of the genre on its head by bragging about atypical aspects, shall we say, of the male anatomy. Lines like “all these bitches checkin’ out my britches – I put ‘em in a trance when I wear track pants” and “my dungarees make them hungery” are special highlights.
6. Tim Minchin – ‘Some People have it Worse’
Minchin is fantastic pianist, and there is a certain pleasure in simple unadulterated tracks such as this, which feature just piano and vocals. This song deals very aptly and eloquently with the feeling we all get of despondency and dispassion with life in general. Lyrics such as “I wake up in the morning at 11:47 and I can’t believe I have to face the horror of another fucking day” exemplify this well, and are they delivered with a subtle humour and ultimately positive conclusion.
7. Bill Bailey – ‘Love Song’
A very funny song that perfectly captures our relationship with relationships, and how very great and very awful it can be to fall in love. As many critics have previously mentioned, the great thing about Bill Bailey’s work is that often the music is the joke itself, and this track simultaneously has jokes in the lyrics and also offers the perfect humorous parody of post-grunge music.
8. Spinal Tap – ‘Big Bottom’
Ah, Spinal Tap – perhaps the heavenly fathers of comedy rock. Throughout their eponymous film (and the subsequent album releases), Spinal Tap managed to create both music and lyrics that at first glance appear to fit the hair metal concept precisely. However, underneath their expertly exacted facade are gratuitous and humorous lyrics that parody and ridicule the metal genre in equal measure. With lyrics like, “the bigger the cushion the sweet the push-in – you know what I mean?” and “my baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo, I want to sink her with my pink torpedo” make ‘Big Bottom’ my favourite example of this.

See this at HCE at http://t.co/ZrOMY38