Music as Comedy?

It is complicated, it’s audience narrow and its lifespan is greatly limited. I find it to be highly un-enjoyable on the whole, but yet it still chooses to exist regardless. Novelty music, Comedy Rock, advertising jingles, call it what you wish (but just don’t call me late for supper). I can’t stand Tenacious D, they mean nothing to me. An Adam Sandler CD is not for me; I would much rather climb the tallest pretty tree (tee-he!). Comedy records existed years ago, Bob Newhart and Richard Pryor, but of course, any real significant musical content was rather minimal. So, what I am talking about is generally a bit vague, but clear and obvious rules exist regardless. Take Emo Philips, for example, a few of his popular comedy records of the 80’s contained some highly goofy novelty cuts, like “The Animal Square Dance.”

Was the album Bruce Willis released years ago somehow comedy by error? Is the majority of commercial music accidentally quite funny indeed? I tend to think so, but perhaps you would disagree. Andy Kaufman had a strong flirtation with music and it was comedic, and in the case of Mr. Kaufman, ultimately rather effective. The Hudson Brothers were a different story, one that is not worth mentioning. Did you know that a great many comedic talents had highly impressive musical abilities? It is entirely true, just think of Chico or Harop Marx, both of whom were entirely impressive and ultimately played their musical numbers rather straight.

Both Jerry Lewis and Peter Sellers were fantastic Jazz-style drummers, and Larry from The Three Stooges played a mean violin. Does a direct correlation between music and comedy actually exist? Perhaps in some instances, but maybe you view it differently, my dear reader. A warning often exists in the Music as Comedy genre, just think of Jimmy Fallon, as the poor bloke is instantly very badly dated making Cheech & Chong look far more contemporary and forward-thinking in comparison, and no doubt twice as loved. However, I present Weird Al, as this is a chap that has made it work. Perfectly legitimate bands have a flair for the comedic, and either by accident or design, The Ramones and Devo come to mind, just to name a brief few. Comedy is a strange area in general, and it does not always work, and it can especially fail in the musical realm, but when it does work, it leaves us all laughing and thirsty for more…or does it?

Ponder like all get out:







It is not quite Gilbert & Sullivan, but it will do...