While we’re on the FuMP topic, Moneyshot Cosmonauts do a damn fine funny Bette Midler parody delineating all the woes of those poor little myths. Good stuff.
Category: paro”deus” (pop tunes into Xmas)
Toymakers Local 1224: arbitration-2
Let’s make fun of those poor little elves!
Robert Lund, big on FuMP (the Funny Music Project), underrepresented on Youtube, has many wonderful parodies starring the wee oppressed.
“Cookies for My Elves, Milk for My Reindeer” boogies down.
“Who Let the Elves Out” goes little beyond the obvious title.
“Undead Elves” is his new bit. It Fosters the People pretty well, but the video is too fanboy serious, and a bit gratuitous. And it’s mostly Santa who’s gonna eat you. Enjoy if you can. (Not the credit roll.)
Toymakers Local 1224: arbitration-1
In the fancy land of parodeus (parodies of pop songs into Xmas fun), Bob Rivers stands tall. Here he takes on the Beatles with “All You Need is Elves.” Despite the love, the ad libs indicate trouble in toy land.
You Auto Have a Merry Christmas: hot rods-3
Edging out of rockabilly, true country singer Toby Keith (‘Shoulda Been a Cowboy,’ ‘How Do You Like Me Now?!’) builds on the Harley Davidson image of the guy in red with “Hot Rod Sleigh.”
Coming in ahead by a novelty nose are Robert and Janita Baker with their fine fiddlin’ fun on top of ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’ entitled “Hot Rod Sleigh.” It’s one of those line by line parodies, but have you heard it before?
Wrap the Rainbow: (caucasian) white
White, as with all colors (and it is all colors in a light sense), means more than hue. Here it means power. A power that does not allow for others. Or ruins everything for its own selfish gain.
Tom Latourette responds to Fox News’ Megyn Kelly averring that “Santa Claus MUST be White” with appropriate lounge lizard style. Hey!
And then Lauren Mayer gets irving berliner with “(Megan Kelly’s Dreaming of a) White Christmas.” A homey singalong reminiscent of the opening of All in the Family.
Chiming in also are the drag cappella group Kinsey Sicks with “I’m Dreaming of a White Santa.” Well, of course you are with your daddy issues, dear.
Going pop country protest on the same topic, Greg Gower sings “Christmas White.” It’s catchy and only mildly angry. What musical fun!
Tweaking racism, Sean Hardin and Jared Mathis play the WASP rap game for the holidays in “White Boy Christmas.” They do know making fun of Caucasian ignorance foments the differences–don’t they?
This, sadly, leads us to the inevitable “White Trash Christmas” made a big deal by Bob Rivers. No redneck joke was left unturned. An actual white trash version is posted by Ryley Olsen. Laff trax! Exploding sound effects! More fun (with a Louisiana twist) is “White Trash Christmas” as posted by don’tlOOkback’s channel. Austin Church goes seriously gravelly country as if he had a message the liberals needed heedin’ with “Another White Trash Christmas.”
More on point, The Jody Dean Singers (as featured on KLUV) parody Wild Cherry with “Play that Christmas Music, White Boy.” It’s mass market radio humor like you like it! Satire about the whole culture of Christmas.
Manger Management: Avian Maria (2)
Turkeys come and turkeys go, but the Christmas goose was historically more important to the solstice table. Turns out, geese and ducks are not so easily domesticated and forage hither and yon. More importantly, they start putting on the fat when it gets icy–and that’s the part you want to eat to survive a frosty Winter.
The trad you might remember is “Christmas is Coming (The Goose is Getting Fat).” This is an underplayed carol, so we’ll notice a couple fun versions; one with a folksy almost-Caribbean rondele rhythm from the Muppets, one a ’70s bit o’ fun by The Manhattan Transfer, one multi-dimensionally millennialism by Jon Kennedy from those groovy Reindeer Room albums.
Fat geese have an option according to Johnny Bower (and the Rinky Dinks). “Honky the Christmas Goose” gets musical, and of course helps Santa. That’s always a guaranteed way out.
That tasty dish of goose as a special treat around the holidays is ages old as evidenced by Kate Rusby’s “Christmas Goose,” a rollicking barn burner. The same tune by Katherine Noyes smacks of old country sufferings and blessings and class struggle. Merry & Olde!
The Korn Kobblers cornered the cornball backhills cornpone back in the ’40s (Spike Jones by then had lost his Homer AND his Jethro and their art form while solo (duo?) was too polished to be truly corny) and show it with their “Don’t Give Me No Goose for Christmas.” Grandma’s got some hands on her!
But you chust haff to check out Stan Boreson & Doug Setterberg whooping it up (with the same lowbrow humor) (yet updated to Anne Murray levels of parody) with “Christmas Goose (Snowbird).”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y8y6qsg_JI
The Future: Star Wars (3)
The kids call it mashups. I call it “singesthesia.” It’s that irresistible mix of tunes that get earwormed into your head. Because you feel the John Williams themes to Star Wars in your veins, you don’t need to hear all nine notes to know: ‘Darth Vader’s tune!’ But, then… when it turns into another song–holy fruit punch!
Side Notes tinker with their instruments and make “STAR WARS MAS.” Obvious, as they admit. But a good place to start.
Hoping to inspire high school bands, Jack Hopey posts sheet music with an electronic keyboard rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas/Star Wars Theme Mashup.” Fascinating.
In a high school band practice room Good Vibes Percussion play out their little “Christmas/Star Wars Mashup” as well.
Next on violin is Chris Woods’s mashup including ‘Jingle Bells’, ‘Rudolph’, ‘Silent Night’, ’12 Days’, ‘Three Kings’, and perfect segues into themes. Virtuosoistic.
Sam Simmons gets into the spirit with “Star Wars Christmas Carols” while playing in traffic. He may have won a comedy award for this video but he relies a bit much on Wookie noise (& what’s with the Golden Girls tribute during the last minute?!).
The students of Solomon Schechter Day School come together cross-legged on their mat and sing the “Star Wars Hanukkah Song” to the main theme, and remind me what the holidays are all about. Aww.
Mostly i like James Griffiths tuning up the various themes to carols’ lyrics. Kinda catchy acappella.
Rock Parodies Made Merry: “Oddity”
1970’s “Space Oddity” was David Bowie’s first chart hit. A subsequent US album got named for it. It’s as much about drugs as it is about Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (which is as much about drugs–mind expansion–as about space travel). Some will argue Mr. Jones’s music is not technically ‘rock.’ But i argue those who listened to the branchings of rock (be it progressive, psychedelia, metal…) listened to this.
Joel Kopischke makes some dang funny yule parodies. He’s done voice over for commercials and jingles as well. Since 2005 his comedy albums jingle my bells. Back then was “I Got Yule, Babe.” Now it’s “Ground Control to Santa Claus.”
Rock Parodies Made Merry: “Believer”
Confession time. I watched ‘The Monkees’ TV show every week. I was 10. It appealed to the iconoclast rebel in me. It barely fazed me to learn later that they were a corporate formula, a formulaic band designed by committee with songs bought from legitimately contracted musicians. They rocked. “I’m a Believer” was Micky Dolenz’s 1966 anthem about gettin’ some. He was the dumb drummer and rarely got paired romantically during the sitcom’s hijinx. Go Mickey D! I’m in your corner! (The Neil Diamond penned danceable–he’d already recorded it–became, for The Monkees, the biggest selling record of 1967. And it came out right around Christmas.)
And, yeah–this is pop. Not really rock. Go take out your tree or something, ok?
The Mistletones is a who’s-that a cappella group from the ’90s who suddenly went parodical in 2012 with their witty album Naughty and Nice. Sadly their attempt to orchestrate their funny takes on pop songs included only hand-bells. Musically these are a bit off. But a big Jingle for Effort, guys. “I’m a Believer.”
Rock Parodies Made Merry: “Vibrations”
Disturbed genius Brian Wilson released “Good Vibrations” with his Beach Boys in late 1966 as a single. It explored extra sensory connections with girls (or was written on/about drugs) and rocked a theremin. It’s an overplayed classic/cliche that broke ground back in the day. It was difficult to dance to, so later we called it progressive rock.
Bob Rivers was a kooky DJ in New England who masterminded stunts like staying on air for 11 days to protest an Orioles’ losing streak. (He got fired for his parody song ‘Hyundai, Hyundai’ [cf. The Mamas and Papas ‘Monday, Monday’] because of the protests of a sponsor.) Once in Seattle he began his career of funny Christmas song parodies over several albums. He’s not the only DJ to do this, folks! But he’s good at it.
So check out his ‘paro-deus’ “Decorations.” I know you’re getting tired of them and dreading the take down….