Year-round Yuletide oddities
Christmas lights are such a staple that any satirist worth his nutmeg can tune up a pop song with the mere allusion to them and create a knee-slapper.
Ducan G lights up Passenger with “The Candles Glow.”
Krazy Kyles play around with Blink-182 in “Tree Lights Stockings.”
The Withers go all out on Carl Douglas’s ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ as “Christmas Lighting.” Yeah, I’ve played you that before, but it still caught you off guard!
I guess a little ring-dingy is just what the comical ordered when it comes to trolling the tropes of Christmas. Santa + Bells = mad libs funny. Here, here, i’ll show you:
“Jen de Melo’s Jingle Bells” twists up Lady Gaga.
Jim Jim takes on Lizzo for FM 104 in “Santa’s Bell Song.”
Scrooty Mcboog modulates his flat stylings in “Sleighbells Ring.”
Joel Kopischke does more of an homage than an actual parody with “Ring a Ding Ding It’s Santa.” Still worth it.
Who needs a studio full of equipment?! The Withers deliver again with “Jingle Jingle Jingle.” Parody without the sauce still smacks my lips.
Some negative Nellies focus only on the impossibility of a great Christmas, so they sing the coal songs.
Bob Kramer of The Fource play little punk to frame how It’s too late! and You’re only gonna get “Coal.” Neat backbeat.
Alex Barbatsis has more talent than technique with his Black Eyed Peas ‘Humps’ parody “My Lumps (Of Coal).” You have been warned. About getting coal for Christmas.
Time to document your life with photos. Everything is photo ready and worth a million likes. I mean EVERYthing. (Not much of a novelty song topic, granted. Although i am Quite a Fan of College Humor’s Nickelback parody “Look at This Instagram.”)
From the album Christmas Party: Santa Goes Dancing drops the song “My Instagram.” Danceable, but Foxmelody has not given me much to Xmas about.
Webstar Malinda sings her one woman chorus (quit harmonizing yourself!) far an end-of-the-year parody of carols that ticks off the topic boxes, beginning with Instagram!, for a good/bad spectacle of aria-tic proportions.
You know you’ve made it when they parody you. Mrs. Claus has a couple song spoofs in her honor.
‘Greensleeves’ is sorta kinda Christmas, and it’s the lead-in for “Playing Mrs. Claus.” This showtune is about the out-of-work actress gig no one wants as portrayed by Natasha Barnes. If you’ve seen ‘A Christmas Story’ you know the tone.
Obvi, “Me and Mrs. Claus” the take on Billy Paul’s ‘Me and Mrs. Jones’ redoubles the hat mama-ness of that granny. I know this from Bob Rivers and have used it before. But Mmm did it a few years earlier than him.
Third Bass does an unrecognizable parang wild run at the whole thing.
‘Stacy’s Mom’ by Fountains of Wayne gets a loop de loop with Bob Ricci’s “Mrs. Claus.” This is a dead ringer for a ‘Weird’ Al bit, albeit deadpan adultery.
Man i love me some spot on hit song parodies that feature Christmas. So how could i have missed out on The Withers?! Time to rectify. (And sprinkle in a few other finds.)
1966: Buffalo Springfield releases ‘For What It’s Worth’ just before Christmas and it peaks on no. 7 of the Billboard charts, also becoming a big deal in the anti-Vietnam War movement. The Withers get hip with “What the Present’s Worth.”
1966: Hey, there are other parodiers! DeathTongue hits up the Johnny Rivers hit ‘Secret Agent Man’ from the TV deal with “Elf on the Shelf.” I spy with my little eye that that no.3 rocker is well served.</p>
1968: The Beatles rock softly with the Paul McCartney ‘Blackbird.’ The Withers play nice with their “Reindeer.”
1972: all-Rush mixtape has an adorable take on Bread’s ‘Guitar Man’ with an unapproachable “Santa Man.” The original hit number 11 on Billboard, but was no ‘Baby, I’ma Want You.’ And yet the parody is groovy gravy.
1974 Carl Douglas sold 11 million ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ singles and became one of the greatest one-hit wonders of all time. The Withers get kazoo crazy with “Christmas Lighting.”
1975: ‘Low Rider’ from War hit 7 on the Hot Singles chart, 1 on the R+B chart. Santa’s Elves fa la la it up with “Sleigh Rider.” Mr. Red’s got street cred.
1976: Blue Oyster Cult’s ‘(Don’t Fear) the Reaper’ barely broke the top ten, but had legs and was included in Rolling Stone‘s Top 500 Songs of all time. Dr. BLT’s “Don’t Fear the New Year” is not karaoke slavish to the original, it just putzes around having fun. (The Withers, natch, mock it up with “Don’t Feed the Reindeer.”)
1976: Starland Vocal Band adds to our slanglish with ‘Afternoon Delight.’ The Withers honor thy pop with “Christmas Delight.”
1978: Number 20 on Billboard’s Greatest Girl Groups Songs of all time, Sister Sledge takes ‘We Are Family’ to club levels. “We Got a Christmas Tree” by Santa’s Elves goes back to the musical roots.
2017: New contenders The Skorys take on mod pop tunes with Xmas twists. Love ’em, but they yet have room to grow. Portugal. The Man’s ‘Feel It Still’ charted strong and got swooped up for commercial and movie trailer backgrounds. Even better as the parody “Naughty List.”
2017: Selena Gomez’s ‘Wolves’ charted much better in Poland than here, but The Skorys have many funninesses with their parody “Christmas Time.”
1992: Better reviewed than bought, REM’s ‘Man on the Moon’ sparked the in-the-know party convo that alt snobs loved. The Withers get complicated with “Reindeer on the Moon.” C’mon, Rudolph.
Not well around Christmas? Let me feel your forehead with a nog-crusted back of my hand! You’re hot! (Not in the good way.)
Charlelie Couture funks up the American rock with a pop “Christmas Fever.” You listen, you catch it.
Nicovia and Larix actually name “Christmas Fever” with their list of Kringley symptoms. Soul pop.
Rob Vallier goes a bit jazz-easy listening with his “Christmas Fever” about his lovey dovey.
Carneta Geiss and Anita Sablik are simply pop with their “Christmas Fever.” It’s on the radio, every TV show. Find a cure!
Paul and Richard Freitas sang the parody “Christmas Fever” back in 1957, but got made into a Timmy Christmas doll for a 1981 rerelease.
Mopping up the repetition, we reach the bottom of the barrel–dense, rich muck. These songs all bear a re-listen. (It’s what you do with Christmas music.)
Erin Oeschel parodies Lourdes with “Carols.” Snarky kid hates it all.
Youth groups of the three Amish-Mennonite sister churches in the Huchinson, KS area, Center, Cedar Crest, and Arlington gether in the form of four young men who parody ‘O Christmas Tree’ with “Oh Christmas Tree Parody.” It’s apostrophe, but funny, ‘cuz they’re SINGING to a TREE.
98.7 KLUV’s Jody Dean Singers knock me out with “Play that Christmas Music White Boy.” Parody supreme.
Previously posted songs must be rementioned during this time of wrapping the presents.
Certainly the charmless Aquayemi-Claude Garnett Two Thousand Akinsanya’s “Wrapping Up Presents by the Christmas Tree” needed be repeated. But this party remix tries so much harder. Not sure anything got wrapped here….
Brilliant parodies from The Mistletones and an uncredited post by Leight Press mock M.C. Hammer with “Can’t Wrap This.” Now that’s funny.
Duncan G also retros the pop with a Devo spin on “Wrap It.” Har har har har.
First and second place, however, go to genius Joel Kopischke for “Hopeless Wrapper” (Mumford and Sons), and (drumroll, please) a parody of George Michaels that has to be heard to be believed.
Since we cry with a smile in our tragi-country, some flat out parodies of songs mock the paupers.
The obvious choice here is ‘I’ll be Home’ shortchanged into “I’ll be Broke for Christmas.” The best of these burdensome bits is from Robert Lund. Best here means well done, not good.
I do love the ‘Summertime’ takeoff from A Stone, “I’ll Be Broke for Christmas.” This is cool, fool, and you’ll rule the yule with just a molecule of this school.