How did I not know this existed?
I just discovered this insane music video of gloriously raw punk... surf... rock. I'm not sure what it is, but I dig it.
Less recently, some metalhead acquaintances introduced me to Psychostick's Numbers parody of Drowning Pool's Bodies. This version is objectively better in every way.
I'd like to present myself as a connoisseur of weird music, but I know I have only scratched the surface. Weird Al Yankovic is pretty mainstream nowadays, but there's a lot that used to be heard only on shows like Dr. Demento. My uncle introduced me to this track, though.
While planning a one-shot Dungeons & Dragons game for @generikat's husband, a friend of his, and that friend's kids, I did get props from the pops when I introduced his kids to Green Jellÿ's Three Little Pigs. Apparently that earned me points of esteem somehow, along with some surprise I knew about it.
But this addiction to oddities goes way back. The Mother Thing began corrupting my innocent youthful mind with silly songs. She had a record called "Looney Tunes," unrelated to the Warner Brothers cartoons. It included a variety of novelty songs, including "Transfusion" by Nervous Norvus. Can you believe this tune was controversial once upon a time?
She also introduced me to the prophet of parody, Tom Lehrer. I just wish people would let his songs stop being relevant some day.
What are your favorite silly songs, parodies, and novelty tunes? How did you get introduced to these musical oddities? Do you blame your parents, disreputable friends, twisted teachers, or your own exploration of dark corners of the internet? Share your stories and a link to some bizarre music in the comments!
Ahhh memories. So many silly songs from the early days of punk and metal that I wish there would be a lot more of now days. I have always loved Green Jelly.
How about The Dead Milkmen? Bitchin Camaro is another one of theirs that was slightly known.
They used to be called Green Jellö! But they got sued or something.
Yeah, they apparently ran afoul of Big Gelatin, but the 'ÿ' is apparently pronounced like 'o.'
Are you familiar with 'outsider art'? I was reading about it while down in a wikipedia rabbit hole a while back when I discovered the Legendary Stardust Cowboy , his tune Paralyzer is one of my favorite musical oddities. He didn't quite get his full 15 minutes of fame but David Bowie was a fan and apparently got the 'stardust' in Ziggy Stardust from him.
That's a young T-Bone Burnett playing drums on that. They call it psychobilly now but that didn't really exist then but it's something beautiful.
I have run across that before. It isn't my style, but it is definitely A style! I know there's a lot of outsider art and dada-influenced weirdness out there. Most of it isn't for me. I find this oddly appealing, though:
That first cut was pretty deep. Never heard the Mummies before myself. The Psychosticks raped my childhood.
I've been a big fan of the Offspring since forever, although I hear they fell right off after Covid, as so many others did too, like RATM. Really curdles my yoghurt. Probably my favorite band that didn't make it until it was too late was Sublime. Then there was the band I only liked because of one pic of Seth Putnam using a guitar cord in flagrante delecto, but I'm not even gonna name AXXL CXXT on your blog. Terrible music, worse name, awesome disrespect for all that was ever good and holy.
Thanks!
Edit: a band I really liked and that you will too, even though it's bluegrass, is called Psychograss. Pretty obscure. I can't even find them anywhere anymore. @r0nd0n turned me on to them. He's got great taste in Dark Country music, if you have a hankerin' for more.
Bluegrass is among my favorite genres. I like acoustic folk music. And some of it is not very serious at all. Doc Watson's Tennessee Stud comes to mind.
Low fi time capsules of music videos eh?
That doesn't have anyone dancing around the stage with a keyboard though!
Never heard of The Mummies before, and don't feel as if I missed out on anything. The Psychostick song cracks me up,although the music isn't my style at all. I love the Ballad of Irving, which I had heard before. The genre of music for the Three Little Pigs gave me an instant headache, but the pictures made up for it. The building at the end looks a lot like three pig faces. Probably no coincidence there.
My brother introduced me to Tom Lehrer when I was too young to understand half the lyrics. I figured it all out later. A boyfriend introduced me to Looney Tunes. Our relationship was short-lived, but my enjoyment of those songs lasted much longer. Pretty sure my kids corrupted me with Weird Al songs.
Except for Tom Lehrer, my childhood was largely devoid of silly songs, unless you count Sweet Violets, which was on a Mitch Miller and the Gang record we got from the library.
Darn those evil librarians and their corrupting influence! 😁
Allow me to continue the tradition, although you may know this related song:
Yep, that's familiar!
the mummies is a classic!! come on! And that green jelly song remembers me the time that I was watching a lot of MTV lol