My Wishlist

Runner-Up Best Overall Blog of 2005!

I'm a down to earth girl who loves to laugh at others...I mean make others laugh.
View my complete profile
Blogroll Me!   Review My Site   Site Feed MySpace Profile Facebook Profile   Friendster Profile

Enter your email address below to subscribe to The Art of Getting By and get new posts delivered to your in-box daily!


powered by Bloglet
Subscribe with Bloglines

 

"This is the most exciting day of my life...and I was pulled on stage once to dance at a Bruce Springsteen concert."
30 Rock

 

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us


This blog has been chosen
as a 2005 BEST

 

 

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Write Back Weekend "Make 'Em Laugh"

While prolific songs are perfect to pull at one's heart strings, sometimes sad songs satire says so much. So last week's TITMT asked you for your favorite funny/satire songs. I wanted to simply say "Show Me The Funny" but to me, things that are funny are often not obvious. If you don't believe me, just think of Don Johnson's video for his song, Heartbeat and you might know what I'm aiming at.

Just to be different, I decided not to include anything Weird Al. I know, I know, I was shocked by this decision, too. But when we think satire, most of us think Weird Al. So really, those of you who participated covered that for me. Plus it's like Dick Van Dyke once said in a filmstrip I saw in elementary school about smoke alarms, "Choosing one is just not enough".

After skimming my musical files I came up with the rather lengthy list you're about to read. I'm also trying, for the first time, to upload some of the songs using Send Space for the first time.

1. Cause I'm a Blonde and Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun- Julie Brown As some of you have already surpisingly stated, Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun is just about one of the funniest original songs ever written. Equally amusing is another song by Julie Brown entitled, Cause I'm A Blonde, featured in the eighties movie, Earth Girls Are Easy.

I couldn't possibly pick one and not the other so instead I lumped them in together. With the cult success of both of these tunes and the soon to follow cable tv success of the show Just Say Julie, it looked like comedic actress Julie Brown was well on her way to being the female answer to Weird Al. But soon after her turn as a lesbian gym teacher in Clueless, Julie Brown seemingly fell off the face of the Earth, "easy" to forget her though, it's not.

2. She Ain't Pretty- Northern Pikes She Ain't Pretty is a song that perfectly captures all the beautiful people out there that are really ugly on the inside. You knew them. I knew them. Everyone knew them. My favorite line of this tune was always, "She said, 'take me home and I won't make a fuss. I said sure you got some change for the bus?'"

3. 1985 and High School Never Ends- Bowling For Soup In the past few years, Bowling For Soup has done a pretty decent job at bringing tongue in cheek lyrics to the mainstream. First they did it with the eightiesriffic, 1985. Then lightning struck twice when they released, High School Never Ends. Both of these songs are funny, simply because they carry nuggests of truth in them. High School...talks about how Hollywood mirrors all the superlatives you hated back then. "Reese Witherspoon, she's the prom queen, Bill Gates, the captain of the chess team. Jack Black, the clown, Brad Pitt, the quarterback. Seen it all before. I want my money back!"

4. A Song For The Dumped- Ben Folds Five Ben Folds, both with the "Five" and solo (whatever that means) made a lot of great satire songs. This was always my favorite in the funny department though. I linked to the video, though for some strange reason they change to another language mid lyric. If nothing else, it's educational. This is a great, fun break-up song, which is hard to do since break-ups are rarely fun.

5. Hook- Blues Traveler In their day, Blues Traveler had a good run. Hook is one of my favorites by them because it makes fun of the industry by creating a song that does exactly the same thing it's making fun of. Pure genius. The beauty in Hook is its lyrics. It totally pokes fun at 90% of the hit songs out there and their theory still holds true. "It doesn't matter what I say. As long as I sing with inflection....the hook brings you back. I ain't telling you no lie. The hook brings you back. On that you can rely."

6. Parents Just Don't Understand- DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince Before Will Smith was a super-powerful movie star, he was just little ol' Fresh Prince, hanging out with DJ Jazzy Jeff. He also proved that "clean" rap could still be cool. The timeless message of Parents Just Don't Understand is foolproof evidence of just that.

7. It's A Hit- Rilo Kiley Nothing Rilo Kiley does is funny in an obvious way. They are funny in a, "think about it for awhile, laugh instead of crying" sorta way. The lyrics to this song talk about the imperfections that exist in this world, with a healthy dollop of sarcasm thrown into the mix. It's not for those who don't have a bit of a jaded heart, and a tolerance for a different kind of humor.

8. The Sweater- Meryn Cadell- I don't remember exactly how I discovered this song and to be honest, I didn't even know the name of the woman who "spoke" it until I was writing this post. It's a song because it's set to music, but really it's a spoken word montage to getting the perfect boy to notice you. Picture My So-Called Life set to music. My favorite lyric is, "Now if the sweater has, like, reindeer on it or is a funny color like yellow... I'm sorry, you can't get away with a sweater like that. Look for brown, or grey, or blue. Anything other than that, and you know you're dealing with someone who's different, and different is NOT what you're looking for. You're looking for those Alpine ski-chiseled features and that sort of blank look which passes for deep thought or at least the notion that someone's home. You're looking for the boy of your dreams who is the same boy in the dreams of all your friends." http://www.sendspace.com/file/5s6xyc

9. Teenage Dirtbag- Wheatus This song was featured in the Loser starring former American Pie bigwigs, Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari. But that was then, this is now. The careers of the American Pie stars, sans possibly Sean William Scott and Alyson Hannigan have not seemingly stood the test of time. However, this song about teenage loserdom, somehow has.

10. If I Had A Million Dollars- Barenaked Ladies- BNL had a lot of classic songs that matched satire and sentiment nicely. If I Had A Million Dollars just might be their most popular though. It lists all the things you could do if you were rich, only to realize that you really don't need all of that to be truly happy.

11. Jim Henson's Dead- Stephen Lynch- Growing up, I loved The Muppets. this song perfectly captures all that is wonderful about them. Yet it has to be said, any song that attempts to be serious about something so silly falls into a funny category for me. My favorite lyric is, "Jim Henson's dead and gone but his Muppets will live on. And Kermit's still hot, cause it's still not, easy being green."

12. Fight For Your Right To Party- Beastie Boys To even think about creating a funny song list without including old school Beastie Boys is sacrilege. Not only is this song a classic in an anthemic "damn the man" sorta way, it's video is just as classic, if not more. "Your pops caught you smoking and he said, 'No way!' That hypocrite smokes two packs a day."

13. Stacy's Mom -Fountains of Wayne FOW just might be one of the most underrated bands from the last 10 years. They have a lot of songs that have classic cult potential. Stacy's Mom was one of their biggest hits, it's lyrics paying homage to one of the hottest mom's ever, Stacy's mom.

14. No Scrubs- TLC At first, anything by TLC might not seem like an obvious, comedic choice. But if you think about the lyrics to No Scrubs, you would get why I chose this song. No Scrubs is a song dedicated to all the dead beat, no good "homies" out there. It's surprising, given this day and age, how so little lyrical content has been devoted to this subject. I didn't know what a scrub was before this song either. So I also expanded my vocabulary in the process, too.

15. No Sex In The Champagne Room- Chris Rock Up until a few years ago I didn't see the appeal of Chris Rock's humor. I thought he was only mediocre on SNL. But since then I haven't changed my tune, as did he when he released a semi-hit with his spoof of the graduation hit, Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen). This song is really silly spoken word, but it's still very funny. "Cornbread. Ain't nothing wrong with that!"

16. Rollin' with Saget- Jamie Kennedy with Bob Saget A few weeks ago I discovered a new comedic favorite of mine, Rollin' With Saget as performed by Jamie Kennedy featuring Bob Saget. Anyone who grew up with Full House has to appreciate the sudden depature of Bob "just call me Howard Stern part two" Saget. Only God knows what plans he had for Mr. Saget prior to Full House. Let's just say I haven't been as shocked at a transformation since the days of Robert Reed. Night Michelle!

17. Girlfriend In A Coma- The Smiths- Girlfriend In A Coma is a great song in great Smiths bipolar tradition that keeps you saying, "Damn, did he really just say that?" Most of the songs are really about nothing, except seemingly pure hatred for the world around you. In Girlfriend In A Coma it's very serious as Morrissey exclaims, "There were times when I could have murdered her. But you know, I would hate anything to happen to her. No I don't want to see her. Do you really think she'll pull through?"

18. Joining A Fan Club- Jellyfish - Anyone who knows me know that Jellyfish, although they only had two measly albums, still remain one of my favorite bands of all time. Most of their music actually had some satirical element to that. Choosing Joining A Fan Club was a no-brainer though. It's all about being in love with an idol from afar. It even has a religious undertone that works on so many levels,while still managing to be snappy... like only Jellyfish could do. http://www.sendspace.com/file/4zz68c

19. Woman's Got A Mind To Change- Bacon Brothers It's a little known factor that the Bacon Brothers are rather good musicians and an even lesser known fact that they have a pretty good sense of life and silliness. Woman's Got A Mind To Change is an example of this, making a loving mockery to all the wonderment of women. http://www.sendspace.com/file/ywh58y

20. Rock N' Roll Lifestyle- Cake One of the best close to the vest, satire bands out there is Cake, hands down. The first song I fell in love with was Rock N' Roll Lifestyle. It speaks volumes to the people out there who try so hard to be on the "cutting edge" of the music scene. "Is it you or your parents in this income tax bracket...How much did you pay for your rock n' roll t-shirt, to prove you were there, that you heard of them first?!"

21. Tangerine Speedo- Caviar Think of lounge music that is so fantastically bad that it's good and you've got Caviar's Tangerine Speedo. As if the song itself wasn't hysterical enough, it takes on a horrifying concept, those God awful men who walk around scantily clad at beaches and pools everywhere. It's a subject that someone had to speak to. Thank God Caviar had the "balls" to do it. http://www.sendspace.com/file/xk5tpy

22. Boyz In Da Hood- Dynamite Hack I could be wrong, but I think this is the only "true" cover to grace this list. I love how one hit wonder, Dynamite Hack, took a serious, street rap song and turned it into a white boy satire. It's funny but oh so true. There are far too many white boys out there playing themselves like fools. Believe it.

23. Popular- Nada Surf I realized after the fact that many of the songs on my list are really good at making fun of the awkwardness of the high school experience. Popular is just another song to explore an aspect of that time period. Nada Surf has gone on to make rather serious tunes given this satirical, one hit wonder type debut. Popular lists all the things you need to do to in the teenage guide to popularity. They're still under the radar though, of course. "Make sure to keep your hair spotless and clean. Wash at least every two weeks. Once, every TWO WEEKS!"

24. I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)- Sandi Thom-
- I just discovered this song thanks to Scooter's best of 2006 list he posted a few weeks ago. I debated about posting it here because while it's a bit tongue in cheek lyrically, I actually think it's lyrics are quite serious. I also relate to them completely. But it manages to take the serious and make it fun and light and that alone is the reason I included it here. To me, it's like the Imagine of a new generation.

Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair. In 77 and 69 revolution was in the air I was born too late and to a world that doesn't care, Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair.

When the head of state didn't play guitar, not everybody drove a car, When music really mattered and when radio was king. When accountants didn't have control, and the media couldn't buy your soul, and computers were still scary and we didn't know everything.

Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair. In 77 and 69 revolution was in the air I was born too late and to a world that doesn't care, Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair.

When popstars still remained a myth, And ignorance could still be bliss, and when God Saved the Queen she turned a whiter shade of pale. When my mom and dad were in their teens and anarchy was still a dream and the only way to stay in touch was a letter in the mail.

Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair. In 77 and 69 revolution was in the air I was born too late and to a world that doesn't care, Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair.

When record shops were on top, and vinyl was all that they stocked, and the super info highway was still drifting out in space. Kids were wearing hand me downs, and playing games meant kick arounds and footballers still had long hair and dirt across their face.

Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair. In 77 and 69 revolution was in the air I was born too late and to a world that doesn't care, Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair.

I was born too late to a world that doesn't care. Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair.


25. Banana Man- Tally Hall The video for this song actually scares me quite a bit, but damn if this song isn't one of the catchiest ditties to come along in a long while. What are they talking about beside bananas? Beats me. Weird? You betcha! But it gets me going every time I hear it, just like a good silly song should.

Honorable Mentions for your Googling pleasure: Barbie Girl-Aqua, Be My Yoko Ono-Barenaked Ladies, What's My Age Again?- Blink 182, Undone (The Sweater Song)-Weezer, I Love You Period- Dan Baird, Somebody Kill Me-Adam Sandler, Keep Your Hands To Yourself-Georgia Satellites, Punk Rock Girl-Dead Milkmen, Birdhouse In Your Soul-They Might Be Giants, Rockin' The Suburbs- Ben Folds, Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)-Cobra Starship, Detachable Penis- King Missle, Gold digger-Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx, Little Boxes- Malvina Reynolds, Glendora- Rilo Kiley, Emo Kid- Adam and Andrew, Fuel- Ani Difranco, My Hit Song- Melissa Lefton, Like The Movies- The Avett Brothers

 

 


Blog Roll [−]

Blogging Chicks [−]

Blogger Chicks [−]

Blog Linker [−]





Google
Futon Critic
IMDB
Melodic.net
80's TV Themes
Slyck
The Onion
Television Without Pity
Modern Humorist
Best Week Ever Blog
American Idol


Carnival-small

Who Links Here

Listed on Blogwise
Join BloggerChicks
Blog Flux Directory
ESL and EFL Blogs
Best news blogs

Nubbit Blog Directory

Bloggy Award

TFS 100 TopBlogs

Top Blogs Personal Personal Blogs Personal Blogs Top 

blogs

 

  online