# The funniest acts in music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2011, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270 "2011-06-21T07:21:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/1 "2011-06-21T07:21:09Z")
Sadly, humour isn’t all that common in the music world. But the kings of comedy, for me, had to be The Tubes. I saw them on their White Punks On Dope tour, and I couldn’t stop laughing. An honourable mention has to go to Cheech and Chong for their wacky stoned humor. Humour crops up in odd places, though. The English prog group Renaissance suffered a power failure in one of their concerts and they filled in the time cracking jokes; very good at it, they were too. Who has made you laugh in the music world? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/2 "2011-06-21T07:29:11Z")
Tenacious D, before Jack Black was JACK BLACK. Zappa. The Lonely Island. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/3 "2011-06-21T09:03:52Z")
Are we talking mainstream music acts who are funny, or comedy musical acts? The latter include pretty much everyone who has ever been played on Doctor Demento (Weird Al Yankovic, Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, Barnes and Barnes, etc) and I’d definitely including Tenacious D and Cheech and Chong in that category. The former…maybe Robbie Williams or The Kaiser Chiefs. And They Might Be Giants fall between the two camps - they are a “real” act but are decidedly weird. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/4 "2011-06-21T09:57:36Z")
Tim Minchin. YouTube has lots of his stuff. Search for his Pope song, but not if “the F word” offends. Edited to add: I can’t link to it directly because it requires you to be logged in, due to its offensive nature. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/5 "2011-06-21T10:09:48Z")
Maybe Half Man Half Biscuit could qualify? Some of their songs are plain funny, others just carry a message (like most songs I guess) but it is plain they have a sense of (albeit very English) humour. Unfortunately many of their cultural references are very difficult to spot unless you have lived in England for the past 40 years. Their album titles include: _Trouble over Bridgewater_ (a place near the Welsh borders) _Back in the DHSS_ (former name for the Social Security office) _Four Lads Who Shook the Wirrel_ (one of their many Beatles references) \*Cammell Laird Social Club \*(Buena Vista like reference to close Birkenhead ship yard) ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/6 "2011-06-21T11:29:17Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > Tim Minchin. YouTube has lots of his stuff. Search for his Pope song, but not if “the F word” offends. > > Edited to add: I can’t link to it directly because it requires you to be logged in, due to its offensive nature. **Tim Minchin** big time. I just got tickets for his show in Minneapolis (and pretty much danced with glee when I saw he was coming, even though Bears don’t dig on dancing). **Cheryl Wheeler** is quite hilarious when she’s not being depressing. Check out [“Your God”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wlgWQwD_0Y) or [“Little Kids”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_w5EXen7qg&feature=related) **Jon LaJoie** has good but NSFW work songs. [“Alone in the Universe”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShTm8MnUAjo) is very Coldplay sounding. **Christine Lavin** ’s [“What Was I Thinking”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4DX9F3YSJo) is one of her gems. **Camille West** only released one CD (and one cassette that was never released on CD). She was with the Four Bitchin’ Babes for a while. “Viagara on the Water” was a minor hit, but check out [“Getting Raptured”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdRdwcgYjhs) \*\*Asylum Street Spankers \*\*are hit or miss for me, but [“Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmsOIjzQ1V8) **DaVinci’s Notebook** - [Liposuction](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOArCACRcC4) **Jill Sobule** isn’t generally going for humor. But["Under the Disco Ball"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Soh-K9W-3Mk) is great. The same with **John Wesley Harding** ’s [“Darwin”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ0FN7g6IyE) Stephen Lynch’s["Little Tiny Moustache"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFGr7KK-T4o&feature=related) always gets me. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/7 "2011-06-21T12:06:57Z")
John Prine and John Hiatt both have a fair amount of humor in their songs, and both add some humor to their shows with stories and ad libs. ---
**Author:** ![Biffer\_Spice\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@Biffer\_Spice\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffer_Spice_1)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/8 "2011-06-21T12:22:04Z")
richard cheese! he covers rock/rap/pop songs in a swinging lounge style (the band is called lounge against the machine). the kicker is that the band are actually good enough to make the music good, so it’s good to listen to and not just a listen once “oh i get it” joke. his stuff is superb. i recommend the albums “the sunny side of the moon” and “tuxicity” ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/9 "2011-06-21T12:34:22Z")
Leftover salmon… FTW [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gy-rZwgCcF0/hqdefault.jpg "The Mayor McCheese - DVD Extra") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy-rZwgCcF0) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/10 "2011-06-21T12:35:13Z")
These are amateurs. The champion funny musical act (in the rock eva) is and ever will be the [Bonzo Dog Band.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonzo_Dog_Doo-Dah_Band). Here’s “[Hunting Tigers Out in Indiah](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNmL1L3dF6g)” and their most famous song, “[[The Intro and the Outro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Bxv_HLwT7U).” The group is the musical equivalent of Monty Python’s Flying Circus (that’s a precise description: members of Monty Python worked with them, and members of the Bonzo Dog Band wrote songs for Monty Python). Prior to the rock era, it’s Spike Jones and his City Slickers, of course. Here’s “[Cocktails for Two](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0dw2UKRYSA).” (Wait for it). Both groups are unique in that they can make you laugh at _instrumentals_. For more subtle musical humor, you can go with Flanders and Swan. Here’s their classic “[Have Some Madeira, M’Dear.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW_zi8n4HDQ)” And, of course, there’s [Tom Lehrer.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY) ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/11 "2011-06-21T12:45:57Z")
I’m not very keen on opera (to put it mildly), but one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard is Anna Russell’s analysis of [Wagner’s Ring cycle](http://mostlyopera.blogspot.com/2009/05/anna-russell-nibelungen-ring.html). Try it: you won’t regret it. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/12 "2011-06-21T12:55:21Z")
I wouldn’t call Monty Python a musical act, necessarly, but they Did enough stuff to qualify, meybe. And what about Ray Stevens? ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/13 "2011-06-21T13:03:14Z")
My ex turned me on to Garfunkel and Oates, a two-woman comedy band. Lots of videos on YouTube… One of my favorites is [Pregnant Women Are Smug](http://youtu.be/tJRzBpFjJS8). (It also helps that Kate Micucci, the brunette, has a really quirky cuteness that makes me swoon!) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/14 "2011-06-21T13:42:33Z")
[Flight of the Conchords](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_the_Conchords) ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/15 "2011-06-21T13:42:38Z")
Steve Goodman was always a lot of fun live, back when he was live. [World’s Shortest Blues Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dTOVOPcsRs) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/16 "2011-06-21T13:54:25Z")
Alan Sherman. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/17 "2011-06-21T14:01:19Z")
I’m going to reveal some of my bank geekiness and mention [Victor Borge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Borge)and [PDQ Bach](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDQ_Bach). Victor Borge did some “non-musical” comedy stuff such as his Phonetic Punctuation and Inflationary Language which are a laugh in themselves. (Dang, can’t link to youtube from here!) PDQ Bach sticks in my mind because we played his _Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds & Percussion_ in high school band and snuck the kazoos and slidewhistles in all the other peices we played too. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/18 "2011-06-21T14:06:32Z")
Perhaps those hilarious things of Andy Kaufman’s might allow a mention? Mighty Mouse Elvis impersonation ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/19 "2011-06-21T14:08:38Z")
Beastie Boys certainly inject a lot of humor into their songs and videos. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270/20 "2011-06-21T14:14:52Z")
I came in to mention Anna Russell and Victor Borge, but I was beat to it. There’s more to Anna Russell than her Analysis of the Ring Cycle…she had a decades-long career in comedic music. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-acts-in-music/586270.md?page=2)