Funny Songs (Used to be:Who's funnier? Frank or Al)

[kegmcnabb]

Hello TubeNetters,

(Hi guys, I'm changing the heading for this thread. Don't get caught up in voting (although you can still vote), just tell me what songs have made you laugh. Give me funny songs and artists. Muchas Gracias!)

I am involved in a couple of research projects at the moment and thought I would draw upon the collective wisdom of TubeNet. I’ll start with the easy one. Please tell me about music that makes you laugh and why. I am primarily interested in music which falls into the popular realm, but that can include pop, rock, country, bluegrasss, jazz…whatever….just no classical please. Don’t get me wrong…I love music of all styles and eras but (a.) that isn’t the focus of this project and (b.) “Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranksâ€

[kegmcnabb]

Wayne,

Hey, thanks for responding. I'm not really so interested in the poll...that's just to get peoples attention. I want to know what music and songs people find funny and why...whoever it may be.

That said I find your observations very much to the point of what I am asking. And ya you betcha (as we say here in NE Wisconsin) Homer and Jethro are funny. Have you heard "Pal 'Yachi" by Spike Jones? Homer and Jethro sit in and sing about stumbing into an opera in the big city...FUNNY STUFF! Thanks for the reminder!

And...I agree "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" always makes me smile!

[MartyNeilan]

I think the absolutely funniest thing Weird Al ever did was the song "Dare to Be Stupid." I remember watching the video on U68 (yes, a UHF music channel MTV wannade) in the mid 80's. Hard to find that song these days. My favorite line was, "Put your head in the microwave, give yourself a tan."

[Mark]

Hello muddah, hello faddah...

Alan Sherman

[Mark]

I almost forgot The Rabbit Slayer (aka Kill the Wabbit) by Mark McCollum.

[Dylan King]

Weird Al is a good guy, but nobody can beat the satire of FZ. Well, maybe Phil Hendrie, but he isn't a musician.

The Jazz Discharge Party Hats
Frank Zappa from "The Man From Utopia"

Once upon a time, it was in Albuquerque, New Mexico
There were these girls that worked at the college
The were really cool . . .
(They thought so anyway)
They would be delighted to tell you how suave they were
At the drop of a hat
There was three of 'em . . .
One of them thought she was a Beauty Queen . . .
The other one was a Walking Bl-w Job . . .
And then there was this skinny girl . . .
Oh well . . .
Some of the guys in the band got together
With the girls from the college
They were having a good time . . .
We were in Albuquerque for a couple of days
But these girls thought they were Hot Sh-t
'N wouldn't pooch the guys in the band on the first day, so . . .
A couple of the guys in the band
Who were desperate for THAT KIND OF ACTION
Kept workin' on 'em for two days
(Which is a waste of f-ckin' time anyway . . . )
So, anyway . . .
But if that's your idea of a good time, what the hey . . .

Send those pants up here . . . here's some more
Okay, good-good!
Traditional cotton . . . oh, how sweet!
Umt . . . huh-huh-huh-huhhh . . .
HERE! Work these!

Anyway . . . we're in Albuquerque, New Mexico . . .
A couple of the guys in the band, who shall go nameless
Because their girlfriends might find out
Decided they were gonna work the wall on these girls
From the college
So, one night . . . it was the first night
When they were still trying to get it in there
(Ya know what I mean? Huh-huh-huh . . . )
The skinny girl, she says to one of the guys in the band
She says, well, to several of the guys in the band
And one of the T-shirt guys too . . .
"HEY! LET'S GO SKINNY-DIPPING!"
At two o'clock in the morning at the pool at the hotel
That's right, your heard right,
Two o'clock in the morning, pool at the hotel . . .
It was so fun . . .
But the water was very, very cold . . .
So they go out there and the girl who was really skinny
'N probably totally insensitive to climatic changes
Took all of her garments off and she jumped in the pool
And she says, "HEY GUYS! COME ON IN!"
Well, one of them did . . .
The other one was too smart for that sh-t . . .
So him and the T-shirt guy say by the edge of the pool
And when the girl who was really skinny
(And insensitive to climatic changes)
Took off her clothes and jumped in the pool
She threw her pants over there by the little table . . .

Well, one of the guys from the band picked up her panties
(He told me later that the stuff in the bottom
Was like punching an eclair . . . )
Anyhow . . . there was nothing else to do . . .
It was Albuquerque, New Mexico . . .
It's two o'clock in the morning . . .
They're not going to get any nooky anyway . . .
So this one guy and the T-shirt guy
Started sniffing the girl's panties . . .
They were sniffing the fudge and sniffing the glue . . .
Sniffing everything that adhered to these
Delightful little morsels
(Some of you might think this is weird . . .
No wonder . . . it's not exactly normal, but what the f-ck?)
So, they're snorting it . . .
(Hey! It's the twentieth century . . .
Whatever you can do to have a good time, let's get on with it
So long as it doesn't cause a murder . . . )

So they're snorting the pants
'N then they put them on their heads . . .
They were having a good time . . .
The girl was in the water . . . she didn't even see
What was going on with her underpants . . .
They were wearing the pants
It looked just like a tiny little party hat . . .
Their ears were sticking out the side . . . it was so fun
Later on they discovered
This would make a great way of life for them . . .
They would go from town to town looking for panties
They would take the panties after they were hung up
On the clothes line . . .
Later on they would take 'em back in the dressing room
They would play with them . . .
They would fetish the underpants . . .
They would snort every little morsel attached to the underpants . . . and then . . . they would feel that
They were FULFILLED

And so you can see
That what we're doing here on stage
Is part of a great American Tradition
The tradition of the
JAZZ DISCHARGE PARTY HATS

[kegmcnabb]

Just a reminder folks...your answers don't have to be limited to the poll's choices.

MellowSmokeMan,

I graduated from the University of New Mexico and had the pleasure of actually knowing one the legendary three in that song. What a world!

[Chuck(G)]

Hello muddah, hello faddah...

Alan Sherman

Oh, a high-brow guy, eh?

M - I say M-O
M-O-P
M-O-P-P
Mop
M-O-P-P Mop Mop Mop Mop

R
I Say R-A
R-A-G
R-A-G-G
Rag
R-A-G-G-M-O-P-P

Ragmop
Doodlyboo-bah-dyadoo
Ragmop
Doodlyboo-bah-dyadoo
Ragmop
Doodlyboo-bah-dyadoo
Ragmop
Doodlyboo-bah-dyadoo
Ragmop
Doodlydoo-dah-dyadoo
R-A-G-G-M-O-P-P Raggmop

A-I say A-B
A-B-C
A-B-C-D
A-B-C-D-E
A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I

I say M-O
M-O-P
M-O-P-P
Mop
M-O-P-P Mop Mop Mop Mop

R - I Say R-A
R-A-G
R-A-G-G
Rag
R-A-G-G-M-O-P-P

Ragmop
Doodlyboo-bah-dyadoo
Ragmop
Doodlyboo-bah-dyadoo
Ragmop
Doodlyboo-bah-dyadoo
Ragmop
Doodlyboo-bah-dyadoo
Ragmop
Doodlydoo-bah-dyadoo R-A-G-G-M-O-P-P Raggmop Mop Mop

You tell 'im, Cecil!

This is an impossible poll. "Funny" is such an inexact word. How do you compare the tongue-in-cheek of, say, Tom Lehrer with Spike Jones? Where would you put Flanders & Swann? Or Anna Russell?

First you get down on your knees
Fiddle with your rosaries
Bow your head with great respect
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect

Do whatever steps you want if
You have cleared them with the Pontiff
Everybody say his own kyrie eleison
Doin' the Vatican Rag

Get in line in that processional
Step into that small confessional
There, the guy who's got religion'll
Tell you if your sin's original

If it is, try playin' it safer
Drink the wine and chew the wafer
Two, four, six, eight
Time to transubstantiate

So get down upon your knees
Fiddle with your rosaries
Bow your head with great respect
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect

Make a cross on your abdomen
When in Rome do like a Roman
Ave Maria, gee it's good to see ya
Gettin' ecstatic an' sorta dramatic an'
Doin' the Vatican Rag

[CJ Krause]

***

[kegmcnabb]

This is an impossible poll. "Funny" is such an inexact word. How do you compare the tongue-in-cheek of, say, Tom Lehrer with Spike Jones? Where would you put Flanders & Swann? Or Anna Russell?

Chuck(G),

Oh yeah, absolutely impossible...apples and oranges and all that... but you are getting right to the heart of what I want to know..what is funny to YOU and why? Tom Lehrer and Weird Al are planets apart but they both use music to make us laugh. I am very interested in anybody's ideas on this. Artists, aesthetics. Chuckles or belly laughs...Keep 'em coming. Come on folks, WHAT MUSIC MAKES YOU LAUGH?

But even better, Chuck, you have given me a name I wasn't familiar with - Anna Russell - a quick google revealed some pretty funny stuff...Thanks

CJ Krause,

Absolutely hilarious...I think Sheik Yorbouti is one of the funniest Zappa albums overall. I played the grooves off of my first copy.

[tubatooter1940]

Two current writers that I love these days are Pat Daily,who is well known in Cleveland and Key West,but is a unknown national treasure in the rest of the country and Rodney Carrington whose tunes have an extra hard edge.Both writers have material that can be cleaned up and played for the ladies.
tubatooter 1940
www.johnreno.com/

[elimia]

Zappa, no contest. I think 'Dancin Fool' takes the cake. And another fav 'why does it hurt when I pee?'.

People might not remember how good his doo wop music was (he was a big fan). Unlike Weird Al, he could do very good serious music. I remembe hearing him do a cover of one of the Beatles songs - the Mothers played it just like the Beatles.

[windshieldbug]

"Funny" is a relative worrd... just depends on the mood one is in!

I associate Zappa with social satire, Wierd Al with caricature

[Chuck(G)]

Eric Idle of Monty Python has written some fairly funny stuff--he of the Lumberjack song. Google "The FCC Song"--I can't even post a link to it here.

Then there's the kind of stuff that doesn't take words, but is a twist on musical technique. Mozart's "A Musical Joke", certainly much of the PDQ Bach stuff. Even the Ulrich Nehls concerto for orchestra and nose flute. Victor Borge made a lifetime career out of musical slapstick. The Portsmouth Sinfonia was a hit because it was so bad.

IMOHO, much harder to do than a song with words.

[ThomasDodd]

Hile Al's parodies are great, I think Ray's original stuff is better. Of course You left out many greats.

What about Roger Miller?

Or did you figure out how to roller skate in a buffalo herd?

[Chuck Jackson]

Hhm.... Wierd Al- covers tunes with lyrics any 6th grader could come with, Frank Zappa, maybe one of the most astute musical voices of the 20th Century. I find his lyrics acerbic, biting, and totally on the mark for calling many things as they should be. No wonder he scares the be-jezzus out of most people. The guy was genius, pure and simple. His music is complex and humable at the same time. Now, Ray Stevens is a funny cat.


Chuck"who likes Frank Zappa because he scares the polyester crowd with his wit"Jackson

[ThomasDodd]

[quote="kegmcnabb"]So what do you find funny and why? Goober humor from Ray Steven’s or Zappa’s social commentary? Weird Al? Jonathon and Darlene Edwards? Spike Jones?

Are funny songs funny because they are jokes set to music or because of odd subject matter for “rockâ€

[kegmcnabb]

Of course You left out many greats.

Yeah, and that's kinda the point. Tell me who you like and why.

What's happening is that I am putting together a band to play classic comedy music from "Little Nash Rambler (Beep, Beep)," to "Guitarzan," to "When Yuba Plays the Rhumba" (gotta be some tuba), to "Polka Dot Undies," and to "Dancin' Fool" and all points in between. Spike Jones, Homer and Jethro, Weird Al, They Might be Giants...anyone who makes you laugh with music. So I guess I'm asking for help with my song list. Maybe I'll change the topic name so folks aren't really concerned with rating Al and Frank.

What about Roger Miller?

Ya, you betcha (as we say here in NE Wisconsin).

Odd subject matter is great. As is a lyric that is out of place. A recent hit like that, was "I'm Gonna Miss Her" recorded by Brad Paisley. One of the funniest, non-parody, songs I've heard in a while.

I agree. The lyric twist at the chorus is clever and funny.

[Joe Baker]

A couple more funny acts: Alan Sherman (well, someone did mention "Hello Muddah", but they didn't attribute it) and a really very funny bluegrass banjo-player named Mike Snider ("If My Nose Was Runnin' Money, Honey, I'd Blow It All On You", et al). And don't forget Stan Freeberg!

Funny songs are like any other kind of humor; once you start dissecting them to figure out why they're funny -- they're not any more. You CAN place them on triangular scale to some extent, with "witty and urbane" at one point, "silly-arsed knee-slapper" at the second, and "shockingly vulgar" at the third. I personally prefer those at the "knee-slapper" end of the scale -- to draw an analogy, as Tom T. Hall (another funny guy) sang:

• Whiskey's too rough,
  Champagne costs too much,
  And vodka puts my mouth in gear.
  This little refrain
  Should help me explain,
  As a matter of fact I like BEER!

________________________________
Joe Baker, who has little use for Weird Al or Zappa, but likes pretty much everyone else who's been mentioned.

[ThomasDodd]

Joe Baker, who has little use for Weird Al or Zappa, but likes pretty much everyone else who's been mentioned.

I tend to prefer Al's version to the original. "Fat", "Eat It", and "Addicted to Spuds" are particular favorites.

Oh, I love Mike. But alway found his stories better than the songs
Kinda like Grandpa Jones and Minnie Pearl.

On to other artists and songs. Jimmy Dickens? "Out Behind the Barn", "May the Bird of Paridise Fly up Your Nose", "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed", and of course "Take and Old Cold Tator and Wait"