[Uncle Erik]

With Weird Al in the news recently, how about a novelty/comedy song thread?

I spent a good part of my youth tuning into Dr. Demento's radio show and still remember when Weird Al broke out with "Eat It." I still love the old Spike Jones, Allan Sherman, and Steve Martin recordings, too.

It used to be popular to spin a few of these discs with friends over and novelty/comedy artists were known by everyone. Seems quaint in the Internet era, doesn't it? But it was a lot of fun at the time.

Also a bit strange to see Weird Al as today's elder statesman of the genre. He deserves it, but he was just a kid having a good time when I became a fan. It would be nice to have a few others - so much of popular culture is deadly serious these days. Even comic books are treated like sacred texts. Where's the levity, camp, and fun? Does everything have to be so earnest? So much deserves to be poked fun at in today's culture. They've even sucked the humor out of Batman and James Bond. For shame.

So, are there any other novelty/comedy aficianados on Head-Fi?

 

[Rhor]

i would say that the comedians are still making music - if you talk to any 20-something, and say "I'm on a boat!", i would say its a 50/50 chance they would catch "the lonely island" reference. (link might not be SFW. . . ) they are a group formed from the actors on SNL, and get popular rappers and singers (like T-pain and Justin Timberlake) to sing with them. and they poke PLENTY of fun at pop culture to boot : ) Not to mention  Stephen lynch released a few albums, Dimitri martin plays guitar and . . .. talks on stage? (still funny). i think this idea isn't dead at all!

 

[Lou Erickson]

I'm a fan of "novelty" albums.  I think you're right in that there is less than there used to be.  I'd pretty much gotten used to the idea that there wasn't any left until I looked at the Comedy section at Big Al's Record Barn... lots of stuff there.  Spike Jones, Firesign Theatre, Allan Sherman... and I'll have to go get some more.
 
I just remembered this... a friend of mine used to DJ dances, and he'd end the dance with a novelty song.  Regulars learned to tell "This is the end" and that was cool, but the response to the songs was always fantastic.  People loved them and the dance floor would be filled with dancing, laughing people.  The Weird Al medleys worked well, as did the Nine Inch Richards.  He often had to raid my collection for something new and strange to end with, and I was happy to help.

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Definitely comedy and one of their lesser known songs, Monty Python's Medical Love Song