DrHGuy Channels Dr Demento

August 12th, 2006 at 9:33 am · DrHGuy · No Comments

In yesterday’s post, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Music, I covered the musical category of Pop songs I like that are, justifiably in most cases, held in low regard by folks with taste.

Today, we go from the ridiculous to the sublimely ridiculous; yep, we’re talking about novelty songs. And one can hardly consider this category without paying homage to Dr. Demento, can one?

Dr Demento

Since the 70’s the good doctor has played, promoted, and popularized the always zany and, not infrequently, funny songs by professional comics such as Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer, Stan Freberg, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Monty Python, and Frank Zappa, amateurs who send in homemade recordings, local DJs who have a knack (or believe they have a knack) for this sort of thing, and the occasional serious musician who enjoys a bit of slumming in the novelty neighborhoods. Lots of information about Dr Demento (including the schedules for his radio broadcasts) is available at the Dr Demento Web Site.

DrHGuy’s Novelty Preferences

While I defer to Dr Demento’s superior knowledge and experience, my personal tastes are not always congruent with his. For example, even before I could spell “psychiatrist,” I cringed at “songs about crazy people stereotypes” (e.g., They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! by Napoleon XIV). They just seemed too easy and not clever enough by half.

On the other hand, I have a special fondness for puns. For example, Camille West’s Viagra in the Waters,¹ which deals with the contamination of a town’s water supply by a truckload of Viagra, offers lines such as

Some stared in disbelief
As a pack of thirsty lawyers
Started filling out their briefs

But at the local college
Young men appeared much smarter
No chromosomal mystery
They simply studied harder

And he called out to his wife
She knew something was up
As he stood naked at the table
Holding two cups of coffee
And half a dozen bagels
It had been at least a decade
Since the last time he was able

I also favor inspirational themes. The instructional query, “What Would Jesus Do?” is, one supposes, all well and good, but, as they say, it’s been done. Check out the alternative, What Would Brian Boitano Do?, a parody from the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. In the song, Boitano defeats a grizzly bear or two, displays his magical fire breath, travels through to the year 3010 where he fights an evil robot king, and, it goes without saying, saves the human race. Oh, he also builds the Egyptian pyramids and battles Kublai Khan.

What Would Brian Boitano Do? Lyrics
What Would Brian Boitano Do? Video

And I give extra points to educational efforts, especially if they are unique. I suspect “James K. Polk” by They Might Be Giants is the only contemporary pop song about our 11th President.

While the lyrics can be found at James K Polk Lyrics, the James Polks Educational Page explains the history behind the lyrics.

The video is on YouTube.

And there is so much more:

Parodies of songs (e.g., Weird Al’s Eat It take off of Michael Jackson’s Beat It)
Covers by cartoon characters (e.g., Elmer Fudd singing Bruce Springsteen’s Fire and The Chipmunks singing The Time Warp)
Twisted fairy tales (e.g., Lil’ Red Riding Hood per Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs)
Outer space adventures (e.g., The Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley)
Sophisticated, subtle sexy funny stuff (e.g. Stan Freberg’s John & Marsha)
Sophisticated, less subtle sexy funny stuff (e.g., Don’t Marry Her (Fuck Me) by the Beautiful South)
Raunchy sexy funny stuff (e.g., Fuck Her Gently by Tenacious D)
Perversely sexy funny stuff (e.g. Bondage in the Morning by Dave Lasher)

DrHGuy’s #1 Novelty Hit

There is a song that has it all. It’s got puns (& guns), it’s got innuendo, it’s got genital references, it’s got a political agenda, and, most of all, it’s got heart. It’s unique, being the only song I know that could also be called “Militant Bovine Mariachi” (by its author, no less).

It’s pretty funny, too.

It’s Cows With Guns by Dana Lyons, and it speaks for itself more eloquently than I can.