name songs which are funny which AREN'T comedy songs

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

.... responding to the lex on FT, who sez ALL comedy songs make him scowl (a not-unusual response to enforced jollity)

(and i guess i'm talking "laugh-with" funny rather than "laugh-at" funny)

to kick things off: i think Qb's OOCHIE WALLY is funny ---:0

Comments

[celentari.livejournal.com]

I love Flight Of The Conchords.

Though, see also the Stuff White People Like blog's take on music/comedy which makes me cringe a little in hideous self-recognition:

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/77-musical-comedy/

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

"Paperback Writer"

"It's a thousand pages give or take a few / I'll be writing more in a week or two"

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

- the line "this is for my peoples who lost they grandmothers" on Mariah Carey's 'Bye Bye'
- Mariah's Jamaican accent on 'Cruise Control' (she says "ting"! and "di gals pon di block"!)
- the line "you know just what it be / I'm like the lottery" on Mariah's 'I'm That Chick'
- YAHHH TRICK YAHHH and indeed the entire career of Soulja Boy
- Britney demanding "intoxicate me, I'm a lush" on 'Radar' (funny cuz it's true)
- Fergie Ferg's diction, generally

and many many more!

Funny songs which possibly are comedy

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

About half of Nellie McKay's back catalogue esp 'It's A Pose' and 'Clonie' - but I think the key here is that while she obviously means to be funny, and the way she presents her witticisms isn't unlike stand-up (or more aptly musical theatre, which is clearly a huge part of her background), she doesn't present it is STUPID OBVIOUS COMEDY YOU MUST LAUGH, it's wry and dry and lighter than that.

Sway's material works in the same way too. And that terrific Doctor/Davinche track on Run The Road 2, it's not unlike a comedy sketch but it works in so many more ways.

In a sense, there is nothing that is not comedy.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Pulp in general: "I said I'll see what I can do", This is Hardcore, I spy...

very loose fallible breakdown

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

rap inc.grime: has a lot of skit comedy, stuff done with "voice", cartoony characters, also use of speed of gag (pleasure in shared swiftness) (also true of some punk, except for the skits)
singer-songwriter (inc.some indie): can have witty lines or narratives
bosh and metal (and mariah): have this omg awesome exuberance don't-care-if-you-think-it's-silly thing goin
country, some indie: has a wry, self-mocking thing

can be found anywhere: just an observation you never saw elsewhere which makes you LOL

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Busted, McFly, Son O' Dork, Matt Willis On His Own etc. are often intentionally funny in quite a clever way.

Also of course Blink 182, Offspring and various wombs out of which the above developed. And their other offspring, Fall Out Boy etc. are (when they're not just being HORRIBLY WORDY) often funny. There's a Brand New song off 'Your+Favourite+Weapon' that has this really witty put-down I can't remember right now but which makes me laugh almost every time I hear it.

There's OutKast, too, although I don't know whether people would classify them as straight-out comedy. I personally wouldn't but I have heard it said.

And all the ones everyone else has mentioned. IMO, it shows a decent grasp of self to be able to be funny about something, lyrically, even if it's only an occasional line and the actual subject matter is very not-funny.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

The Reverend Elder Beck's "Rock 'n' Roll Sermon" which is an old sermon about R&R being the devil's music and a great evil facing today's youth. It's backed with an electric guitar which gradually gets wilder and wilder until it is playing thrilling R&R.

Willie Tee's "Walking Up A One-Way Street", for two reasons:
1. "I'm all alone and blue as can be and I'm walking, walking, walking up a one-way street." There is no difference between a one-way street and any other kind if you are walking.
2. It's a sad heartbreak song, with a horn backing that bounces along exactly as cheerily (yes I've measured it) as the Archers theme.

[koganbot]

"Comedy song" (e.g. "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport") seems rare in modern day popular music, while funny song is quite common, Ashlee's "Outta My Head" being the obvious recent example. And it's on a theme that's a truly serious one for Ashlee (and presumably for a lot of people her age, where social role is still relatively unsettled, and finding one's true voice is still an issue)(not to say it's no issue for writers in their 50s).

[koganbot]

What about Electric Six? Their first album is presented as if it is comedy, but the music definitely has a virulence that says "You can't just laugh this off."

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

I feel like dickmalone might be a good person to ask this of...

I'm a huge sucker for straight-up novelty songs, and most of the best ones that I've heard lately are coming from hip-hop, which can kind of have it both ways (e.g. YAHHHH not necessarily being considered a novelty/comedy song!).

I'd make an inclusion of Fiery Furnaces here, actually, just because their relationship to humor is very strange to me. It's maybe the only band I can think of where a sporadic connection to their music seems to be based mostly in different senses of humor. (Rare because it's hard enough to find ANY sense of humor, let alone one that I can't understand or click with -- I'm pretty open to hearing music as funny when it wants to be, provided it isn't trying way too hard [and failing].)

[http://users.livejournal.com/xyzzzz__/]

Laughter has been an important idea in much classical music, although its v self-consciously done -- you're never laughing but you're meant to twig that this section of a piece is meant to be funny.

Not explaining too well: its a particular idea of humour.

[andthatisthat.livejournal.com]

'Racy Lacey' by The Aloud is pretty funny.

'Sucka Mofo' by Northern State is hilarious, but since they're kind of a parody band anyway, I don't know if it falls into the "comedy songs" bracket...