Topic of discussion: joke bands that work as both humor and music. The three that immediately come to mind for me are the Rutles, Spinal Tap, and P.D.Q. Bach, all of whom are both funny and well worth listening to on their own merits.

I'm not sure who else fits the bill. The Dukes of Stratosphear? Well, they were a fake band, one that mimicked a certain style of music, but I don't think they were meant to be funny. Any ideas?

No Weird Al, please.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: odysseyandoracle,

When I saw "Best Satirical Music", first artist that came to mind was Tom Lehrer. Especially his 1965 classic, That Was the Year That Was. Not a parody act, but stand-up satire put to music.

Some say the Knights of the New Crusade might be in it for the laughs (supposedly fundamental Christian garage rock band). Either way, they're a blast.

Zappa.

I'll be the first to say Flight of the Conchords, a New Zealand folk duo with some hilarious bits and great (in my opinion) songs. Their live stuff on Youtube is a great place to start, and then you have the In The Future EP and the awesome if quirky HBO sitcom now on DVD.

Yeah Flight of the Conchords is quite funny, they I don't think their music is good at all. Really the only one I can think of who I listen to for the music alone is Zappa, whose Uncle Meat and Freak Out are both spectacular.

To be honest, I dig Zappa's fusion a lot but I can't get into most of his vocal music at all. Even We're Only in It for the Money just didn't do anything for me. Maybe I need to give Zappa another try, it's been years.

More on the musical side:

Violent Femmes
Cake
Presidents of the United States of America

The aforementioned aren't as highbrow as someone like Zappa or Lehrer but their serious sarcasm is amusing.

They Might Be Giants, the Young Fresh Fellows and Camper Van Beethoven.

There's a big difference between bands that are humorous and bands that are satirical. For a band to be satirical they've got to be criticizing or making fun of a band or style of music through parody. I think the Rutles and Spinal Tap qualify, but I don't think many of the others listed here do.

Have you ever listened to We're Only In It For the Money? The entire album is satire... and brilliant.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
They Might Be Giants, the Young Fresh Fellows and Camper Van Beethoven.

Camper Van Beethoven! Great pick.

RavingLunatic, you're probably right, but maybe I should have titled this thread "Best Humorous Music?" It's all good to me. There probably aren't very many straight satires as good as the Rutles and Spinal Tap anyway.

No one mentioned Ween yet? I would say that they are one of the best examples.

I agree with RL. I wouldn't qualify most of these bands as "satirical" at all. For instance, CVB and Violent Femmes were witty, offbeat and at times funny, but neither was parodying anyone. In fact, both were pretty groundbreaking bands.

Maybe a better title for this thread would be "Bands that occasionally write funny songs"

quote:

Originally posted by EricG75:
I agree with RL. I wouldn't qualify most of these bands as "satirical" at all. For instance, CVB and Violent Femmes were witty, offbeat and at times funny, but neither was parodying anyone. In fact, both were pretty groundbreaking bands.

Maybe a better title for this thread would be "Bands that occasionally write funny songs"

I have no objection to something like that, if you want to change the title. That was sort of my intention, to start a discussion about an aspect of music that rarely gets much attention: humor. Specifically, music that is both funny and substantially good. Ween is another great example.

You can change the title yourself by editing your first post. My three bands have certainly written satirical songs even if they aren't trying to satirize other specific bands or genres.

quote:

Best Comedic Music?

Once again I'll chose Tom Lehrer. And those Dr. Demento v/a collections.

Demetri Martin sings a couple of songs on his album These are Jokes which are pretty funny.

Nerf Herder is a little childish (ok, alot childish) but they are funny and have some catchy tunes. I always thought the Magnetic Fields had some tounge in cheek funny content, but I was never sure what was supposed to be funny and what I just found funny. At any rate, I love the Magnetic Fields.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the ultra-obscure Melicious by the beautiful and talented Melissa Lefton. Good luck finding that, it was never officially released.

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:
There's a big difference between bands that are humorous and bands that are satirical. For a band to be satirical they've got to be criticizing or making fun of a band or style of music through parody. I think the Rutles and Spinal Tap qualify, but I don't think many of the others listed here do.

I was hoping/expecting someone to reply in this way but then odysseyandoracle went and changed the title. You ruined my anticipation for a semantics argument .

quote:

Main Entry:
sat·ire Listen to the pronunciation of satire
Pronunciation:
\ˈsa-ˌtī(-ə)r\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin satura, satira, perhaps from (lanx) satura dish of mixed ingredients, from feminine of satur well-fed; akin to Latin satis enough — more at sad
Date:
1501

1 : a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn 2 : trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly
-Merriam-Webster online

Can I at least say then that Cake, Violent Femmes, Camper Van Beethoven, etc. at least had sardonic tendencies, if not direct satire of rock culture or things OUTSIDE of the world of music (c.f. "Rock and Roll Life Style" Cake).

Also, the Dead Kennedys and the Dead Milkman.

There are just too many unintentionally funny bands to be named, but I think that Shatner has to be their fearless captain...err leader.