The music business must find this droll and above them, because it really hasn't been very much a part of what's been produced lately. Weird Al Yankovic is still the reigning king of parody, although even he has been fading from the mainstream popular spotlight. Perhaps he will capture a new generation of fans, but his last video appearances were on VH1, not MTV. I don't even know where to find new Dr. Demento broadcasts anymore (perhaps Tim would know). He, of course, was a big supporter of Weird Al's music when Yankovic was first starting out (I believe "My Bologna," a parody of the Knack's "My Sharona" was the debut) and his radio show was all about this kind of music: parody and novelty. Last I remember, Dr. Demento was strictly syndicated and he wasn't doing a live show anymore, either by retirement or forcing from execs. Al Sherman, known for "Camp Granada"-- he was the parody king before Yankovic. Before that, there was Spike Jones, and he was more novelty than parody. There was also Harry Stewart, who did the Yogi Yorgesson, Harry Kari, Claude Hopper, and Klaus Hammerschmidt characters (http://www.yogiyorgesson.com/records.html for discography and digital samples. Main page includes biography, pictures, and trivia as well) Jock Blaney of 2nu was the last person I can remember that did something novelty in recent years, although he disappeared about as fast as he came in the very early 90s. "This is Ponderous," "Spaz Attack" and "Two Outta Three" were big hits for a little while, at least here in the Northwest; Blaney was a radio announcer in Washington and OK95 in Kennewick did a lot of promotion for his first album. It was different as Blaney didn't sing but told stories to music. The odd songs aforementioned worked; but others that tried to be more.. musical.. flopped, especially his cover of "Spill the Wine." Again, no singing. Eventually, Blaney recycled part of the lyrics to "Two Outta Three" into a spa commercial. So is the music business just taking itself waaaayyy too seriously? Most of these songs are hard to find outside of the Rhino label, which does oldies tunes as well as everything Dr. Demento.15 responses total.
Wasn't Ray Stevens into the comedy music stuff as well? I think I remember a song about a camel in the tent, and about a squirrel let lose at a revival.
Isn't Joe Black's side project (forget the name) all about parody?
The Capital Steps are a group that does nothing but parodies.
resp:1 Doh, I shouldn't have forgotten Ray Stevens. He serves up a lot of comedy songs, mostly ones that poke fun of Southern culture. Can't believe I forgot about him, and I'm a fairly big fan. The songs you're referring to are "Ahab the A-rab" and "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival." The _I Have Returned_ album has most of my favorites, including "Kiss a Pig, Hug a Swine," "The Armchair Quarterback," and "Vacation Bible School." The Harry Stewart site really is worth checking into. Don't believe I've never heard of Joe Black or The Capital Steps.
Capital Steps website: http://www.capsteps.com (yes, their material is almost entirely political in nature, but they still do some very good parodies)
a prince of parody, the great Luke Ski will be performing this weekend in Michigan at Top Secret ConTraption, a Science Fiction convention held at the DoubleTree Hotel. That's June 28-30th, 2002 to those reading this as history. I will be there to introduce him. http://www.contraption.org
Dr. Demento still does his radio show. No live performance
on the radio in the Los Angeles area anymore, he now does the weekly
show from his home studio. About 100 stations carry his show. Much
less than whose that signed on to carry DrD as the only way to
get the early Weird Al material.
To talk about thing Dr. Demento, join me in
mail://rec.music.dementia the newsgroup for those who love fun and
funny music.
I think it's helpful to distinguish comedy songs in general from parodies in particular. Back in my day, Tom Lehrer did comedy songs, Allan Sherman (not "Al" - ugh) did parodies.
I think someone meant Jack Black, not Joe Black.
DOH! Yeah, you know, that crazy actor dude.
*chuckle* Right, Tom Lehrer, who someone quoted last spring.. "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" with the first line, "Spring is here.."
Re #7: Uh, Tim, I think you meant news://rec.music.dementia ... Is there a website that shows which stations carry the show?
There were a couple of Allan (Allen?) Sherman LPs around the house when I was a kid. By the time I was 12, I had them memorized, but of course I've forgotten most of them by now. I haven't thought about him in a long time.
I read an article today that jogged my memory. Jack Black's band is Tenacious D.
Yeah, news://rec.music.dementia. Also gather Al the news when it comes
out from news:alt.music.weird.al.
Since 1992, the companies that syndicate the Dr. Demento show
have not provided a public list of stations that carry the show. My
speculation is that one person with one grudge against one song
could easily go on a rapage.
Anyway, go to http://php.indiana.edu/~jbmorris the web page
home of rec.music.dementia and the unofficial DrDemento web page.
(unlike the drdemento.com site, this has print that is readable size).
If the address is wrong, do a web search on 'demento' or 'The Doctor is in".
You have several choices: