The Best Medicine #3: Conchords

I’m letting someone else do the hard work again in this feature. Here’s JC, The Vinyl Villain…

Once again, you've posted something that gets me thinking!

Maybe there is something real about 'grumpy old gits' in that the older we get, there seems to be fewer things we find to laugh about. Or is it just that what constitutes a sense of humour changes and evolves through life? I certainly 'don't get' a lot of what makes the younger generation(s) LOL these days, but then again, my parents 'didn't get' the political humour of the 80s that had me roaring with laughter.

I think one of the things about humour in songs is that all too often the music itself is not all that enjoyable... (the song you've posted [in my first post] being an example!!). It takes a real talent to be equally funny and musical.

JC hits the nail on the head here… because musical taste is such a subjective thing, once you try to add humour into the mix, it’s like trying to throw a dart and hit two separate bullseyes at the same time.  First you have to please the musical taste part of our brains, secondly you have to tickle our even more subjective funny bones. All in the same song. The intersection of that particular Venn diagram will often be very small, and it’ll be a different intersection for every listener. No wonder so few artists consciously go down the “funny songs” route… the whole thing’s a minefield.

I know that the way I appreciate music is very different to a lot of people. That’s down to my writer / English teacher brain. Well written lyrics will always win me over to a tune, regardless of genre. It’s no secret that I’m not the biggest fan of post-1987 dance music, for example. And maybe the biggest reason for that is that words aren’t really seen as important on the dancefloor. Yet when the words are given some consideration, dance music becomes a lot more interesting to my brain…

Death In Vegas featuring Iggy Pop – Aisha

LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge

Underworld - Born Slippy (Nuxx)

All of which brings me back to JC’s nominated band, Flight of the Conchords, with their amazing ability – as JC puts it – “to be equally funny and musical”. What’s incredible about the work of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement is that they’re not just very funny guys… they’re also extremely talented musicians and songwriters, capable of mastering any genre they turn their hand to… and making it look easy.

They do funky r ‘n’ b…

Flight of the Conchords - The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)

…80s electronica…

Flight of the Conchords – Fashion Is Danger

…hip hop…

Flight of the Conchords - Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros

…straight up rap…

Flight of the Conchords – Hurt Feelings

…and fuzzy 70s rock…

Flight of the Conchords – Demon Woman

They can be the Pet Shop Boys…

Flight of the Conchords – Inner City Pressure

…Air Supply…

Flight of the Conchords – I’m Not Crying

…The Police…

Flight of the Conchords – You Don’t Have To Be A Prostitute

…or even Peter Sarstedt.

Flight of the Conchords - Rambling Through The Avenues Of Time

I have a question though - for those of you who approach music via sounds first, rather than words – for those of you whose specific musical tastes are tied to genres and won’t be interested if it’s a musical style you just don’t dig… do you prefer the FoC songs which focus on one of your favoured genres? The fact that JC chose the Bowie song as his example made me wonder this. Everyone in our little group loves Bowie – and if there’s anyone reading this blog who’s not a Bowie fan, don’t be afraid to speak up - so that’s the perfect synergy of sound and satire, music and merriment. Do the songs above which venture into ungainly genres still work for you? Or does the humour win you over… in the same way that the lyrics in my “dance music” choices make those tracks work for me?

Here's my favourite Flight of the Conchords tune… and I’m not even sure what genre it is.