The Mike Flowers Pops have a lot of fun parodying Sixties lounge music, but they probably could have been a top lounge band on their own, if they didn’t have that tasty sense of humor. Here, they take the piss out of Wonderwall.
Senor Coconut has some fun with Kraftwerk’s "Showroom Dummies."I think their version has a darker, eerier edge than the original, for all it’s parody elements.
I think it takes some pretty decent musical chops to play a Crazy Train/YMCA mashup on bass and cello.
Rednex. Who, believe it or not, are Swedish.
Digital Underground. They were a rap group that Tupac was a part of before going solo. His best work was with the damn joke group.
If you’re going to include the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, how can you NOT link Shaft?
I’m sure if they’re a “joke” band or not, but I like the Californa Guitar Trio. Ghost Riders on the Storm
Ylvis is a joke band, and yet their songs have a certain snappiness. What does the fox say about that? I think we know.
I think the OP is using “Joke Band” to mean a group whose music is secondary to the comedy act. Tenacious D and Spinal Tap are excellent examples. Bands that try to be somewhat funny are not.
Not a band, but P.D.Q. Bach.
You don’t say! Mmm. I’ll have to carefully consider your interpretation.
Nah. Cake is funny, but subtle … very subtle.
I didn’t mean to give the impression that TMBG is a joke band, back in 2012. Just that you might get that impression if you’re not paying enough attention.
Definitely agree with that. I didn’t know what to make of them when I first heard them in the late 80s.
The Presidents of the United States of America?
Their solo careers had mixed reviews.
Puddles the Clown. And that backing band does a lot of humorous genre fusion in other youtube videos. Great stuff.
Metalachi. Go to youtube and check out their version of Ozzy’s Crazy Train. They can to mariachi, and covers of rock songs with a mariachi twist. Great party band.
Former local a capella group Da Vinci’s Notebook. Here’s a live performance of Sgt. Pepper/With A Little Help from My Friends from 2003.
I really like the work of Andy Rehfeldt. He takes popular songs and rearranges the music into a completely different style, the synchronizes his arrangement to a video of the original artist, isolating the original vocals and mixing them with his new arrangement. The best part of his arrangements is that he writes each part so that, when synched with the video, it looks like that’s exactly what the original artist is playing. And he plays all of the instruments himself.
My favorite: Metallica, “Enter Sandman”, Smooth Jazz Version.
Some other good ones:
Iron Maiden-The Trooper(Bossa Nova Version)
Adele-Rolling In The Deep(Jazz Metal Version)
Carly Rae Jepsen-Call Me Maybe(Metal Version)
And honestly … I think the results are an improvement on the originals in many cases.
If you read the liner notes of The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic, you’ll find an essay written by [editor’s note - get name of author before hitting “submit.”], who makes the case - and a convincing one, at that - that Yankovic deserves a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Among the reasons why is that he and his band are the “greatest cover band of all time.”
I think that The Red Hot Chili Pipers deserve a nod. While the name and demeanor show that they take themselves not to seriously, they’re quite good.
Of course, the main question is “What is a joke band?”
I’m almost ashamed to admit I own (or owned) cassettes by Big Daddy, Rednex, The Blues Brothers, and most by Ray Stevens