One thing that’s so maddening about exquisite parodies like those created by Flight of the Conchords is that the works seem oh, so, familiar, but it’s so hard to pin down the exact reference, just out of reach. It leaves you with an ongoing, on-the-tip-of-the-tongue feeling.
So, please, let’s get together and figure these out:
“Rock the Party” - this is the song you hear bits of every time they have a gig - I suppose it’s supposed to be a generic pop-rock party song
“Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” - the speaking parts are very Barry White-ish. On “Fresh Air,” they said this was supposed to be a parody of Prince, but I don’t hear it
“Robots” - “In the Year 2525”?
“I’m Not Crying” - something by Roland Gift? Wikipedia notes “I’m Not in Love” by 10CC, “Cry” by Godley and Creme, and “All The Things She Said” by Tatu
“Inner City Pressure” - very obviously “West End Girls” by the Pet Shop Boys
“She’s So Hot Boom!” - Well, I can tell it’s reggae
“Hip-Hopopotamus vs. The Rhymenoceros” - generic rap braggadocio?
“Think About It. Think, Think About It” - sort of like “What’s Going On?” by Marvin Gaye?
“If You’re Into It” - ?
“Pencils in the Wind” - Well, the title is obviously referencing “Candle in the Wind,” but I’m not sure about the style
“Business Time” - it’s definitely a soul-funk type thing
“Song for Sally”
“Bret, You’ve Got It Going On”
“Bowie” - well, this is easy. This is a parody of Bowie, “Space Oddity,” “Ashes to Ashes”
“Albi the Racist Dragon” - “Puff the Magic Dragon,” with heavy doses of Barney the Purple Dinosaur
“Mutha Uckas” - Again, I know this is rap parody, but I don’t know enough to place it more specifically
“Leggy Blonde” - For some reason, this reminds me of “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton
“Foux Du Fafa” - some kind of '50s or '60s French pop, but does anyone know more specifically what it could be?
“A Kiss Is Not a Contract” - something by Janet Jackson maybe?
“Mermaid”
“Ladies of the World”
“Prince of Parties” - “Sunshine Superman”?
“Cheer Up, Murray”
“Frodo”
“Bret’s Angry Dance” - Well, the dance is straight out of Footloose
“Rejected”
“Angels”
“Sugalumps”
“You Don’t Have to Be a Prostitute” - “Roxanne” - they do a reasonably good mimicking of Sting’s voice
“The Tough Brets”
“Hurt Feelings”
“Stay Cool” - something from West Side Story
“Like in My Dreams”
“Friends”
“Too Many Dicks On The Dance Floor”
“Carol Brown”
“We’re Both In Love With a Sexy Lady”
“Love is a Weapon of Choice”
“Demon Woman”
“Oh, Dance, Baby”
I don’t think they’re doing parodies of anyone specifically (outside of Bowie). Various styles yes, various artists no. They’re just a comedy band that make references to other groups. But stuff like “Bret, You Got It Going On” is fairly original.
“Demon Woman” seems like a parody of (or a tribute to) Electric Light Orchestra. Not any specific tune of theirs, but the general feel of the backing vocals, guitars, strings and lyrical style.
Foux du FaFa is very similar to the theme song from the movie “Le Mans”, which consists primarily of “dadadadada-dadadadada-dadadadaaaa”, repeat as necessary. But yeah, French 60s-70s pop music in a nutshell. Isn’t “foux” the word for “fuck”?
Tough Brets is West Side Story, as was the face-off between Murray and the Aussie Consulate guys.
Too Many Dicks made me think of current techno-pop ala Cher.
Rejected reminded me of stage musicals with the over-the-top voice.
All this time I thought it was “Foofoo Fafa.” I feel such a fool.
Babelfish translates “fuck” as “baise,” which it re-translates as “kiss.” There must be a lot of delightful misunderstandings in France.
I think the genius of Flight of the Conchords is that their songs parody entire genres in one original song, rather than the (to me) far less-interesting Yankovic model of taking an existing song and inserting food references.
Sugalumps: Blackeyed Peas (mostly Fergie); My Humps Love is a Weapon of Choice: The video is definitely parodying the video for Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, so I’m going to assume the song is, too.
Mostly, though, I would agree that their works parody genres, rather than specific songs.
Enalzi, I agree that they are parodying styles generally, but I think each piece also parodies particular artists, songs, and videos. Those are the references I’m trying to discover.
One thing about their music in the TV series that makes me laugh is that most of the songs are sort of taking place in little fantasy worlds/music videos. These songs are great, catchy, well written, etc…
As opposed to the only song I think you ever hear them actually play in “Real Life” on the show, which is Rock the Party, which isn’t very good at all.
No wonder they’re struggling.
(I hope Mel doesn’t read this and flame me for it! Take it to the Pit, Mel!!! :))
I don’t think so, they really have nothing in common other than being about the “future”.
On the show the Conchords say they wanted their robot costumes to look like those worn by Daft Punk, so I think that’s a more likely inspiration. Daft Punk has a lot of songs about robots and technology, like the Conchords they’re a two-man group, and in particular their “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” features robotic voices and seems to be a boast about how robots are superior to humans.
The title at least is a clear reference to ELO’s “Evil Woman”, though it’s not in the style of that song.
The West Side Story song for “Stay Cool” is just titled “Cool”.
I think there’s a little Queen in “Love is Your Weapon of Choice” as well.
“Bret You’ve Got it Going On” might be Jason Mraz. “Song for a Friend” is a love song “from a man to another man … but in a good way”[?!]. Mraz has other songs that have the same quick flow of words and rhymes as the song for Bret.
If I’m remembering this one, it’s when Bret has a new girlfriend, Coco, and Jemaine is jamming out a bass riff while singing some witty lyrics. I’m of the opinion that this is paying homage to Spinal Tap. It just reminds me of them.