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Do you have favorite lighthearted or silly songs?
Example Three Dog Night - Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2wutEzjy_E
Example Three Dog Night - Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2wutEzjy_E
My first thought for a silly song is always Amish paradise
https://youtu.be/lOfZLb33uCg
Portal's ending credits song is my first thought for any silly song that isn't from weird Al
https://youtu.be/Y6ljFaKRTrI
In case you aren't familiar with Jonathan Coulton (who wrote the Portal ending song):
Chiron Beta Prime
Skymall
Code Monkey
Shop Vac (This is possibly the best kinetic typography video ever, alongside Weird Al's Word Crimes, which was done by the same person.)
Re: Your Brains
Skullcrusher Mountain
I'm also a big fan of "Ikea", "I Crush Everything", and "I Feel Fantastic". I mean, I'm a big JoCo fan in general, but those are some favorites, along with the ones you mentioned.
The chorus of "I Feel Fantastic" is so much fun to sing
"all I know is that steak tastes better when I take my steak-tastes-better pill" is such a fun line.
My favorite of his is better from that same EP he did for popsci.
That spells DNA is also really fun.
Oh yes, those, too! I was also going to add those and several others, then I realized I'd pretty much be making an entire list of the store page, so I cut it short. :D
Jonathan Coulton (who wrote 'Still Alive') is fantastic. I really like his Solid State album. Check out 'All This Time'
I've always liked The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny by Lemon Demon.
I thought of a few more i really like: Bushes of Love by Bad Lip Reading as well as Seagulls! (Stop It Now) by them, Shia LaBeouf Live by Rob Cantor, and the whole album The Pick of Destiny by Tenacious D.
For my last edit I wanna throw in one of my favorites Weird Al songs. Since Amish Paradise has already been mentioned, I'd like to mention Hardware Store, I love the rapid fire list of random items he's excited to shop for.
I had a bad stomach virus last winter and somehow started listening to Bad Lip Reading's "Seagulls" and "My Stick" videos while I recovered. It hurt so much to laugh after all the vomiting I'd been doing but I watched them over and over anyway, laughing like an idiot. Good times.
Bushes of Love is one I unironically love in spite of myself. It's going to be stuck in my head all night now! Some of the older Bad Lip Reading ones are iconic - the VP debate between Biden and Ryan is a bit of an earworm as well. ("Step up, we trained you, we're leaving! 🎶")
The entire discography of They Might Be Giants. "You're On Fire" is a personal favorite.
ALL of it! "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is classic, and I really liked the calm persistence of "Science is Real" (for kids!)
I find it insulting that you find these songs silly. They're masterpieces, obviously.
Serious lack of flight of the concords in this thread...
It's business... It's business tiiiiiiiime!
Haha, when my cousin got married, this is the song they played during the sendoff at the end of the reception. Classic.
"The Most Beautiful Girl" is my go-to karaoke song!
Too Many Dicks On the Dance Floor is a stone cold masterpiece.
Anything by The Aquabats is pretty lighthearted and silly!
The Aquabats for sure. Some of my favorite of their silly stuff
Pizza Day: https://youtu.be/fK5CLplRIno
I Fell Asleep On My Arm: https://youtu.be/NZIRK4G_Z7E (if you grew up on 90s/00s Nu Metal you gotta listen to thing song lol)
Pizza Day hits my soul pretty hard for how silly and lighthearted it is
Ha, part of what I love about the Aquabats is how the juxtapose the silliness with darkness.
Another one of my favorites is Chemical Bomb, which is about imagining the other people being murdered/blown up while shopping at a grocery store over a very lighthearted tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3fXdcHQY4o
The Cat With Two Heads and Hot Summer Nights are personal favorites of mine. Love those goofballs
Tim Minchin comes to mind:
https://youtu.be/J29LHAoY_FU
But equally capable of beautiful, flooring work like: https://youtu.be/uFvHeqMfsJQ
Not silly but I recently stumbled upon this video where he duets with Amara Feik and it absolutely floored me. Their whole interaction beforehand and the song itself is just amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCYzau2xato
Thank you for sharing that with me :)
Beyond any superlatives about his talents he comes across here as just a thoroughly good and kind egg.
Wow it's been years since I listened to Tim Minchin, and just wow, that was beautiful! Thank you for sharing it
Thanks to your suggestion and Youtube I found prejudice, which is a nice mix of humor and serious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVN_0qvuhhw&list=RDEM_eUvohueEf_Xo_oYlRW1Jg&start_radio=1&rv=hf0M_wM6T4k
Also Confessions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1EhaANeYCI&list=RDEM_eUvohueEf_Xo_oYlRW1Jg&index=2
Hey thanks for letting me know! It’s always nice to hear how comments have been helpful!
Superfast Jellyfish
by Gorillaz popped into my mind first.
Could have been last, but just in time for breakfast.
Number one for me will always be The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins by Leonard Nimoy. We even had the DJ play it at our wedding reception.
Long Legged Larry by Aesop Rock
Prisencolinensinainciusol is an Italian song meant to sound like American English, but with the exception of “alright” every word in the song is complete gibberish.
So happy to see this one mentioned. It shuffled into rotation on my playlist on the trip to work yesterday. I was reminded of how I would define it, if asked: it's my favourite cover of a Bob Dylan original.
King Missle - Detachable Penis. Not sureits "light-hearted" but its pretty funny.
Certainly a classic, but my favourite silly song definitely is Always look on the bright side of life by Eric Idle, from the Monty Python's movie "Life of Brian"
My choice for this is definitely going to be thelonelyisland's Threw It On The Ground. I just love everything about it, the music video is hilariously silly and I came upon at a time where I had just finished watching Brooklyn 99 and was watching more of the Andy Samberg stuff.
I just came back to this thread because I just thought of The Lonely Island and I didn't remember seeing them mentioned before. I'll comment here instead, the song I was listening to that happened to remind me was Sax Man which as a bonus features the brilliance of Jack Black.
Tom Lehrer is a classic satirist. I've always liked New Math
I've always been partial to Wernher von Braun
I like to listen to a lot of stage musical soundtracks, a number of them which are comedies, but to be honest they aren't terribly funny most of the time. They're often funny in context, but outside of it not so much. Sweeny Todd is supposed to be a horror musical, but honestly it has some of the best in-song comedy I've ever heard. One of my favorite songs is A Little Priest. It's famously good, so much so that Schmigadoon did a parody of it for season 2 in a way that's really funny, but once again, only if you have enough context for it (you might not appreciate it if you aren't familiar with both Sweeny Todd and Annie - the whole series is basically a collection of in-jokes for musical theater nerds).
Also, VeggieTales. Silly Songs with Larry was way funnier than it should have been. I don't own the music because if I did I would probably have them randomly burst out of me throughout the day.
To this day, whenever I lose something, I sigh reluctantly because I simply must sing The Hairbrush Song the entire time I'm looking for the lost item. "Where oh where oh where oh where oh where oh where oh wherrrrrrre... is my wallet?"
Whenever I lose the lid for something I sing Where is the Lid? while I'm searching. At least we have music to console us after our losses.
“Illegal Smile” and “Dear Abbey” by John Prine spring to mind!
In Spite of Ourselves with Iris Dement is another great one, even if it is a bit more adult-themed.
Here is a good bit of more... dorky... songs.
As a roboticist, this is a good one on those harder days: Flight of the Conchords — Robots
Epic Rap Battle: Nerd vs. Geek
The Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis
Pogo — Data & Picard
Holy cow I had somehow not seen "Data and Picard" yet, thank you for that haha!
Tom Cardy has a bunch of songs that are both silly and super catchy. He has some official music video animations that are great, but I prefer the clips he has of just him in his apartment with silly costumes on.
Red Flags ft. Montaign
Hey, I Don't Work Here
Mixed Messages
I can’t not sing Heywood Bank’s “Toast” when making toast https://youtu.be/c0NdwzdOLkE
Same whenever I say “whatever”, I start humming the guitar riff of Liam Lynch’s “United States of Whatever” https://youtu.be/Xz7_3n7xyDg
Loundon Wainwright III’s Iwiwal (I wish I was a lesbian) is also quite silly and fun to sing along with https://youtu.be/zh2U2Cpy5p8
NANOWAR OF STEEL - Valhalleluja
A metal song mixed with church style singing to worship IKEA. I also really like music itself anyway. It's an interesting mix.
DJ Play My SONG - NO, LEAVE ME ALONE
Again, a dance(maybe?) song that I think is catchy and is funny. I think the title kind of explains it already.
I like a lot of silly/lighthearted music, like basically anything from Monty Python, any Cartoon Planet/Space Ghost songs featuring Brak, any of the MST3K songs (a favorite there might be "He Tried to Kill Me with a Forklift") -- but a mostly-forgotten one that always makes me laugh is Eddie Murphy's "Boogie in Your Butt".
“Grandma got run over by a reindeer” will always have a special place in my heart. My grandpa was the first one to introduce me to the song and he cackled as my grandma chastised us that it was a rude song.
L.M.F.A.O’s “Party Rock Anthem” is fun as are most of their songs.
Bloodhound Gang’s “The Bad Touch” is also great silliness.
I Predict by The Sparks and the similarly themed Your Horoscope For Today by Weird Al.
Also:
The Brobdinagian Bards:
Jedi Drinking Song
Do Virgins Taste Better
and Marc Gunn
Sci-fi Drinking Songs
Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits
What Color Is Your Dragon?
Also also:
Another Postcard - Barenaked Ladies
Disco Duck - Rick Dees
Walkin' Round in Women's Underwear - Bob Rivers
Dirty Deeds (Done With Sheep) - Bob Rivers
Yatta - Happatai (For full silliness, watch the Irrational Exuberance flash version!)
Old dun cow by the Brobdingnagian bards is a hoot in a sing song at the pub.
Pirates? Check.
Metal? Check.
Nonsensical theme? Check.
Rhyming "boat" with "boat"? Check.
Alestorm - Big Ship Little Ship
I was thinking drink right off the bat! Love Alestorm
The main trio from Workaholics put out a concept rap album where the theme is that they’re literal wizards living in contemporary times. It’s every bit as ridiculous and awesome as you may expect
The Wizards - Purple Magic
Lots of good stuff in this thread. Some stuff I didn't see mentioned:
MC Hawking - Steven Hawking as a rapper. All of them are classic but I'm partial to All My Shootings Be Drive Bys
The Bloodhound Gang - most tracks from Hooray for Boobies or One Fierce Beer Coaster
Beck - Satan Gave Me A Taco. A fairly obscure song I think but a personal favorite of mine
Did you see the Garfunkel and Oates TV show? I really enjoyed it.
I also enjoy just about every time I spot Kate Micucci in a show or movie.
And before that wolf eats my grandma
Give that wolf (nan)a banana
Huh?
🍌
I was more of an Eat Your Salad guy during Eurovision 2022, but I have to admire Subwoolfer’s dedication to the bit and all of the follow-up songs they released after Eurovision were bangers.
The Decemberists - A Cautionary Song
Pinball Number Count by the Pointer Sisters. My fellow North American Gen-X may remember this from Sesame Street in the 70s. When I went about looking it up on YouTube 13 years ago (apparently, according to how long they say it's been that I bookmarked it) I knew nothing about it other than my memories. Something like "Sesame Street pinball song" served it up, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn it had been performed by such a popular act. It still, as I believe the young fronds today like to say, slaps. Or bangs. Or kills. Or some other such violent metaphor for being good to listen to.
Mahna Mahna, just about any version I've heard brings a smile. Favourites are the original by Piero Umilani, the Muppet Show version by Vib Pippadotta & the Snowths (this video is missing a great Stadler & Waldorf outro: S: "Question is, 'What is a Mahna Mahna', W: 'Question is, 'Who cares?!'"), or the cover by Cake. There's also a... version? parody? ... rendition by a duo called Mr Mo that's an egregiously hilarious take that should be watched only by those not offended by hilarious egregiousness. I like to think that this Mr. Mo version is not so spiritually far removed from the use of Umilani's original in its role in the soundtrack of the film Svezia, inferno e paradiso. Admittedly, I've never seen that film in full. I've seen only a snippet of the film with the song as used in the film for background (possible NSFW flag, depending on where you work: young women entering, and shown towel-clad in, a sauna), so my imagined connection to the spirit-of-the-thing is entirely subjective.
I love, love, love the Muppet Show. A fantastic mix of silly and serious and I love the theater humor. My husband and I are currently rewatching the episodes one by one and finding some real gems as well as adult humor that I missed as a child.
The whole album "snoopy Vs the red baron" by the royal guardsmen. Especially "bears"
Enormous Penis a capella by Da Vinci's Notebook
George Washington by Brad Neely
History Lesson (JFK) also by Brad Neely
In fact, just go watch anything made by Brad Neely
I never heard of DaVinci notebook before, but this is the second time they came up this week. Weird
My mom absolutely hates Enormous Penis because she says that she catches herself singing the chorus of the song and the it gets stuck in her head.
Oh man... I've got a directory full of silly MP3s. Besides the obvious stuff like Weird Al, TMBG, Monty Python, and Dr. Demento stuff...
(And while it's not a song, my all-time favorite never-fails-to-pick-me-up music by far is Happy Parade, Delightful Parade. I can't wait for November!)
Steve Goodman:
Flanders & Swann:
Tom Smith:
Bryan Bowers:
Gilbert & Sullivan:
Tom Lehrer:
Neil Cicierega:
You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs
I look around me and I see it isn't so
Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs
And what's wrong with that?
I'd like to know
'Cause here I go again
How about Diggy Diggy Hole by Wind Rose which is the metal cover of Diggy Diggy Hole by the Yogscast. Both versions are just dumb fun and the Wind Rose cover is somehow more silly than the original.
Pretty much everything by Trout Fishing in America. Maybe just because I listened to them when I was little, but their songs are pretty catchy and funny. The Proper Cup of Coffee one in particular is great
I love Trout Fishing in America. The songs below are very kid-oriented, but enjoyable to me nevertheless:
Big Rig
Through the Window
My Hair Had a Party Last Night
Ill Mitch - Fast and Danger is a silly, upbeat rap from my high school years that always puts me in a good mood.
Deep cut from the old internet, great selection
There is a band called Koo Koo Kangaroo that technically makes kids music. It's really wholesome and silly and some songs legitimately slap so hard I find myself rolling down the road bumpin em a bit too loud singing like a dweeb.
Julian Smith: I'm reading a book, man, I'm reading a book. So fierce!
Tim Minchin is a goldmine, even when singing about such serious subjects as Prejudice. Check out everything he's ever done.
The Fools - Psycho Chicken (1908 - this one just popped out of the radio somewhere back in the eighties or nineties, and burned itself into my brain.
Jopo in Mono - Passi Messa - grand album altogether
The Coconuts - Hats off for Citizen K - Bought the single for the cover, kept it for Side B. Not over-the-top silly but I like it.
Penny McLean - Midnight Explosion - The ultimate pop melody
Monthy Python - Every Sperm is Sacred
Nothing is quite as good at plastering a big, stupid grin on my face as Witch Doctor.
Peter and Quagmires songs from Family Guy. Seth McFarlane just singing with himself and killing it. They're silly and stupid but god dammit the melodies and especially the harmonies are on point. I keep coming back to them for just that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwVRTKmhTDI
So many. Harambe the Pirate Gorilla. Detachable Penis by King Missile. Song 2 by Blur is technically a parody. Okie from Muskogee covered by Kris Kristofferson.
For me it's either:
Brutus - Dlažební kostka (a song about dog going/walking into a forest and meeting a paving stone)
or
Tři sestry - Hrábě (a song about a rake going to have a beer in a pub)
I haven't seen either of these mentioned yet, if I missed them that's ok they are worth repeating 😆
Chicken Attack by Takeo Ischi
PPAP by PIKOTARO
I absolutely loved Chicken Attack. Thank you!
Haha I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's my go-to silly song whenever I get the opportunity to play music for people. Always entertaining for me to see how different people respond to hearing it 😅
Arrogant Worms have some fun songs, but this one is my favorite: https://youtu.be/DuGGNsE3_8Y
That one is really good. I have two Arrogant Worms songs that are my favorite, that one and this one.
Carrot Juice is Murder was a classic in my house growing up.
You may enjoy stuff that Neil Cicierega released. He does amazing mashups of songs (many using songs from the late 90s, but not limited to). Some are VERY clever! A favorite is his cut on the Ghostbusters Theme (titled Bustin'). https://youtu.be/NxXufI6-OIE
I ain’t afraid of no sleep.
I ain’t afraid of no bed.
A very guilty pleasure:
Mojo Nixon - Elvis is Everywhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DcTY9i-fx8
The Stupendium does video game spoof songs, mostly for horror or dystopian games, that I listen to way too much.
Some of my favourites among the humourous ones are Room for Improvement and Vending Machine of Love
For me, that would be Voltaire.
My favorites are When You're Evil, The U.S.S. Make Shit Up, and Worf's Revenge.
As a Trekkie, I especially look forward to Worf's revenge. Thank you.
Most welcome, it's great.
I am Downright Amazed By What I Can Destroy With Just a Hammer by Atom and his Package
Detachable Penis by King Missile
I have a whole playlist of it. Off the top of my head, my favourite is Bananaphone (no link; inconvenient on mobile).
A UK specific one is Ernie by Benny Hill. Love the video to it as well.
The fastest milkman in the West?
The one and the same
Da Tweekaz - Vodka
Cracks me up everytime. Anything those two do makes me laugh.
Ever wonder what's the deal with pineapple?
And especially what happens when you combine one with a pen?
Steve Goodman - The Vegetable Song https://genius.com/Steve-goodman-the-vegetable-song-lyrics
Otherwise pretty much anything from Weird Al or Psychostick.
Dorian Electra has some parody-ish type songs. Their music is often LGBT-related and includes a lot of references to internet memes:
Flamboyant
Daddy like
My agenda
Maybe not exactly lighthearted or to everyone's taste, but I find them amusing.
Freedom Call's A Perfect Day is too much fun not to love. Powermetal as a whole tends to be a lighthearted and silly genre, but this song in particular tickles me.
Cody Ko and Noel Miller (together, Tiny Meat Gang) make funny music and it's really catchy.
Primiti too taa by Kurt Schwitters
Groose's theme is what plays in my head every time my day doesn't go my way and it genuinely helps me cope
This is a Canadian classic that we sung in elementary school, and it has a fun tune - Lester the Lobster - Stevedore Steve.
Here's another Canadian song - Crazy ABC's - Barenaked Ladies
Oh just also an entire artist - Tom Cardy
Hey, I don't work here
Business Man
It's really a whole commonwealth package
Listening to kids music lately, there’s a few gems from Parry Gripp.
Rat in a Dollhouse
20 Kinds of Dipping Sauce
Black Hamster
I think moxy fruvous fits your question.
https://youtu.be/OF3JfiexLVA
I also want to mention psychostick
https://youtu.be/u8ccGjar4Es
Might be more tacky than lighthearted but Agadoo by Black Lace used to be quite good imho :D
Or the Ketchup Song (cant remember the artist sorry)
One of my favorites I first heard in a skateboarding video. I've heard almost everything in this thread, especially being a long time Dementite, but I've never heard anyone mention this song. I'm a little on the older side, but this is even before my time.
Leroy Pullins - I'm a Nut
Everything by the vandals (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vandals) is pretty good goofy fun.
When I fancy a change from my usual angry, sad, angsty music I generally find that a lot of Ninja Sex Party's stuff is good fun to listen to.
Two groups with many many tracks that fit this description
They might be giants: let's say "My Evil Twin" https://songwhip.com/they-might-be-giants/my-evil-twin
Shonen Knife: "Bear Up Bison" https://songwhip.com/shonen-knife/bear-up-bison
Bonus:
Syd Barrett: "Terrapin" https://songwhip.com/syd-barrett/terrapin
blink182 "I won't be home for Christmas" is my favorite Christmas song
Logan Whitehurst & the Junior Science Club — How Ya Doin', Emily?
When the nights are long remember you can sing this song, I wrote it just for you.
Shia LaBoeuf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0u4M6vppCI
MC Frontalot It is pitch dark you are likely to be eaten by a grue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nigRT2KmCE
I stumbled upon this song on Spotify somehow and am always delighted when it comes up on my shuffled “liked songs” list. I don’t really know if it’s from anything or anything about the artists, but it’s a lot of fun.
Banana Song ft The Swingles - Sam Greenfield
Julia Ecklar's "An Asteroid Named Rest Stop" always lifts my mood, I just get such incredible visuals from it :)