Not songs _about_ April Fools, but songs that _illustrate_ April's Fools
March 28, 2016 9:48 AM Subscribe
Working on the weekly radio show for Saturday, April 2 and looking for good songs to celebrate April Fools... not songs _about_ April 1, but songs that are themselves tricks, jokes, fake-outs and deceptions. Some examples...
- For good or ill, The Squirrels' Seasons in the Sun sprang to mind immediately, first for being a terrible piss-take on Terry Jacks' "classic" but also the abrupt right turn into The Hustle.
- I already referred to this Unreliable Narrator Songs AskMe, sort of, but I'm looking for musical trickery that wears its "gotcha" more on its sleeve.
- Alabama 3's "You Don't Dance to Techno" -- a 'country' song that's really kind of an acid house song -- actually, a lot of Alabama 3, really...
- Mashups are welcome, if they're clever and play off strong musical contrasts; Girl Talk and the Kleptones are probably going to be delved into a bit
- Pat Boone's "Enter Sandman"; In A Metal Mood was not the first "inappropriately covered" metal album, but arguably the first big-ticket one.
- Canadian content! Any/all Canadian bands doing this kind of stuff. The Lost Fingers do this kind of thing... anyone else?
- For good or ill, The Squirrels' Seasons in the Sun sprang to mind immediately, first for being a terrible piss-take on Terry Jacks' "classic" but also the abrupt right turn into The Hustle.
- I already referred to this Unreliable Narrator Songs AskMe, sort of, but I'm looking for musical trickery that wears its "gotcha" more on its sleeve.
- Alabama 3's "You Don't Dance to Techno" -- a 'country' song that's really kind of an acid house song -- actually, a lot of Alabama 3, really...
- Mashups are welcome, if they're clever and play off strong musical contrasts; Girl Talk and the Kleptones are probably going to be delved into a bit
- Pat Boone's "Enter Sandman"; In A Metal Mood was not the first "inappropriately covered" metal album, but arguably the first big-ticket one.
- Canadian content! Any/all Canadian bands doing this kind of stuff. The Lost Fingers do this kind of thing... anyone else?
A whole lot of Weird Al's catalog would probably satisfy this requirement.
posted by jozxyqk at 9:59 AM on March 28, 2016
posted by jozxyqk at 9:59 AM on March 28, 2016
Jim Stafford's My Girl Bill. I'm not sure how well it would work now, since at the time it came out in the 70s, a gay relationship would have been considered by the mainstream to be inherently funny.
posted by FencingGal at 10:03 AM on March 28, 2016
posted by FencingGal at 10:03 AM on March 28, 2016
The song Afternoon Delight by the Starland Vocal Band is sort of a fake-out. It's this real wholesome, churchy-sounding song about bonin' at lunchtime.
Also maybe Groundhog's Day by Primus, which starts out real slow and instantly turns into the funkiest, rockin-est, craziest song ever.
posted by bondcliff at 10:08 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also maybe Groundhog's Day by Primus, which starts out real slow and instantly turns into the funkiest, rockin-est, craziest song ever.
posted by bondcliff at 10:08 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Just remembered this America's Got Talent audition song...
posted by jozxyqk at 10:10 AM on March 28, 2016
posted by jozxyqk at 10:10 AM on March 28, 2016
There's a lot of Zappa material that can fit into this category, some of it still pretty edgy. Bobby Brown is probably as good an example as any.
posted by mosk at 10:10 AM on March 28, 2016
posted by mosk at 10:10 AM on March 28, 2016
Monty Python's Lumberjack song is another that comes to mind.
posted by mosk at 10:12 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mosk at 10:12 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out begins in one way with one tempo then abruptly shifts to a much more up-tempo beat.
There are also a multitude of songs that sample others as their intro or main melody - Call It What You Want by Credit to the Nation being my OH's favourite example.
posted by kariebookish at 10:14 AM on March 28, 2016
There are also a multitude of songs that sample others as their intro or main melody - Call It What You Want by Credit to the Nation being my OH's favourite example.
posted by kariebookish at 10:14 AM on March 28, 2016
There are plenty of rock songs that have this basically misogynistic "deceived by a woman" theme - she was actually a man! She was actually married! etc.
Jay and the Americans, "Come a Little Bit Closer"
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:30 AM on March 28, 2016
Jay and the Americans, "Come a Little Bit Closer"
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:30 AM on March 28, 2016
The awesome Todd Snider's "You Got Away With It (A Tale Of Two Fraternity Brothers)" - you don't realize who he is singing about until 3/4 of the way into the song.
posted by backwards guitar at 10:35 AM on March 28, 2016
posted by backwards guitar at 10:35 AM on March 28, 2016
That's the Way the Girls are From Texas by Ry Cooder - great fake out at the end about a man who thinks he's got things over on his lady.
Mayor of Simpleton by XTC isn't quite a fakeout, but the "main character" of the song is a fool.
I Left My Wallet in El Segundo - you think you're going off for a quick trip and end up an epic road trip.
posted by brookeb at 10:38 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Mayor of Simpleton by XTC isn't quite a fakeout, but the "main character" of the song is a fool.
I Left My Wallet in El Segundo - you think you're going off for a quick trip and end up an epic road trip.
posted by brookeb at 10:38 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
The song She's Dead, by a local Boston band Jim's Big Ego had a fakeout. (spoiler: she's probably not dead) at the end. The only recording I could find of it on-line was a ukulele cover on YouTube though.
posted by bondcliff at 10:49 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bondcliff at 10:49 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
From this FPP from 2013, here's a bunch of dubstep drop jokes.
Also, here's a joke remix of Avicii's Levels that I'm pretty fond of even though it's pretty obnoxious (that's the joke).
posted by mhum at 10:57 AM on March 28, 2016
Also, here's a joke remix of Avicii's Levels that I'm pretty fond of even though it's pretty obnoxious (that's the joke).
posted by mhum at 10:57 AM on March 28, 2016
What about Escape (The Piña Colada Song)?
posted by vunder at 10:59 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by vunder at 10:59 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Lots of examples from the Beatles:
• "She's a Woman" begins with steadily repeating staccato chords, and you probably assume they're supposed to start at the beginning of the measure. But when the bass and drums come in, you realize you were tricked about where the beat lands.
• The first chord of "A Hard Day's Night" is a jarring dissonance with no clear connection to the rest of the song.
• Fake endings in "I Am the Walrus," "Strawberry Fields Forever," and "Helter Skelter."
• The instrumentation of "Strawberry Fields Forever" radically changes in the middle.
• "Good Morning, Good Morning" ends with a cacophony of animal noises, the last of which turns into the guitar sound that starts out the reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
• "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" goes through several different genres and tempos. The last section (the part where they sing "happiness is a warm gun") is in 4/4, but switches to 3/4 while the drums stay in 4/4, then goes back to normal.
• "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" switches to a waltz with a collage of circus music (thanks to the late George Martin).
• "Tomorrow Never Knows," the last song on Revolver, uses bizarre tape loops, which were created by each of the Beatles individually. Paul's loop was him playing a guitar solo similar to the one he played on "Taxman" (the first song on the album) — but backwards.
• "Taxman" starts with studio noises including a mumbled "1, 2, 3, 4," but then you hear a faster, more energetic "1, 2, 3, 4!" that really counts off the song (possibly meant as an allusion to the first song on their first album, "I Saw Her Standing There," which starts with a straightforward count-off — the beginning of Revolver signals that they're still the same band but they've added some studio trickery).
• "All You Need Is Love" starts with the French national anthem but suddenly switches to a pop song.
• "A Day in the Life" starts in a dream-like state with disconcerting imagery, but is interrupted by an orchestra where each instrument chaotically slides from a low, quiet note to a high, loud note, which segues into an upbeat section about the mundane realities of everyday life. At the end of the song, the orchestral crescendo happens again, but instead of the same transition as before, the song suddenly ends on an extremely long piano chord.
posted by John Cohen at 11:19 AM on March 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
• "She's a Woman" begins with steadily repeating staccato chords, and you probably assume they're supposed to start at the beginning of the measure. But when the bass and drums come in, you realize you were tricked about where the beat lands.
• The first chord of "A Hard Day's Night" is a jarring dissonance with no clear connection to the rest of the song.
• Fake endings in "I Am the Walrus," "Strawberry Fields Forever," and "Helter Skelter."
• The instrumentation of "Strawberry Fields Forever" radically changes in the middle.
• "Good Morning, Good Morning" ends with a cacophony of animal noises, the last of which turns into the guitar sound that starts out the reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
• "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" goes through several different genres and tempos. The last section (the part where they sing "happiness is a warm gun") is in 4/4, but switches to 3/4 while the drums stay in 4/4, then goes back to normal.
• "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" switches to a waltz with a collage of circus music (thanks to the late George Martin).
• "Tomorrow Never Knows," the last song on Revolver, uses bizarre tape loops, which were created by each of the Beatles individually. Paul's loop was him playing a guitar solo similar to the one he played on "Taxman" (the first song on the album) — but backwards.
• "Taxman" starts with studio noises including a mumbled "1, 2, 3, 4," but then you hear a faster, more energetic "1, 2, 3, 4!" that really counts off the song (possibly meant as an allusion to the first song on their first album, "I Saw Her Standing There," which starts with a straightforward count-off — the beginning of Revolver signals that they're still the same band but they've added some studio trickery).
• "All You Need Is Love" starts with the French national anthem but suddenly switches to a pop song.
• "A Day in the Life" starts in a dream-like state with disconcerting imagery, but is interrupted by an orchestra where each instrument chaotically slides from a low, quiet note to a high, loud note, which segues into an upbeat section about the mundane realities of everyday life. At the end of the song, the orchestral crescendo happens again, but instead of the same transition as before, the song suddenly ends on an extremely long piano chord.
posted by John Cohen at 11:19 AM on March 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
I immediately thought of Haydn's "Surprise" symphony.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 11:20 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 11:20 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Gourds did an alt-country take on Gin and Juice a few years back.
posted by griseus at 11:25 AM on March 28, 2016
posted by griseus at 11:25 AM on March 28, 2016
On the mashup front, allow me to offer two examples of contrasting styles meshing well:
Nirvana vs. Destiny's Child - Smells Like Bootylicious
NIN/Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me a Hole
On genre-bending versions, here's Alanis Morisette's take on The Black-eyed Peas' My Humps.
posted by mhum at 11:37 AM on March 28, 2016
Nirvana vs. Destiny's Child - Smells Like Bootylicious
NIN/Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me a Hole
On genre-bending versions, here's Alanis Morisette's take on The Black-eyed Peas' My Humps.
posted by mhum at 11:37 AM on March 28, 2016
Back in my violin playing youth I was taught that classical music with false endings (like, big crashing cymbal type endings that pause, then reconvene and get bigger each time until it is ridiculous) are meant as a joke ... or maybe a spoof of other composers at the time.
Wikipedia mentions it with Haydn
posted by chapps at 11:40 AM on March 28, 2016
Wikipedia mentions it with Haydn
posted by chapps at 11:40 AM on March 28, 2016
Also, I have a CD "First Ladies of Broadway" in which a musical joke is made evident. (Adelaide's Lament from Guys and Dolls) where she says "Shows a neurotical tendancy, see note" in the lyrics, then pauses and the accompanist plays "C" and she says "Ah, C note, clever, clever!"
I don't know if that is the normal way the song is done, but it is done on this particular album.
posted by chapps at 11:50 AM on March 28, 2016
I don't know if that is the normal way the song is done, but it is done on this particular album.
posted by chapps at 11:50 AM on March 28, 2016
Tool - Die Eier Von Satan ~ Presented to sound like a 1940s Nazi propaganda speech by Hitler. Lyrics are actually just a recipe for cookies though if you understand German.
posted by kpraslowicz at 12:11 PM on March 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by kpraslowicz at 12:11 PM on March 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
I don't know if it exactly fits what you're looking for, but the Shaving Cream song might work.
posted by Hactar at 12:17 PM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Hactar at 12:17 PM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Genre crossing - Night on Disco Mountain, The BeeGees
(fake out ending - Naughty Lady of Shady Lane, The Ames Brothers)
posted by hydrobatidae at 12:25 PM on March 28, 2016
(fake out ending - Naughty Lady of Shady Lane, The Ames Brothers)
posted by hydrobatidae at 12:25 PM on March 28, 2016
Spike Jones is the absolute king of musical surprises & genre-foolin’. (Previously.)
More recently & on a much smaller scale, a couple Lyle Lovett jokes come to mind (& I’m sure there are lots more): “Church” is a great gospel tune that turns into something much earthier; and in “Here I Am” the question he really wants to ask is unexpected & goofy.
Oh also in “Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing” when D Boon says “We’d cuss more in our songs and cut down on guitar solos,” then he launches into a guitar solo...
posted by miles per flower at 12:30 PM on March 28, 2016
More recently & on a much smaller scale, a couple Lyle Lovett jokes come to mind (& I’m sure there are lots more): “Church” is a great gospel tune that turns into something much earthier; and in “Here I Am” the question he really wants to ask is unexpected & goofy.
Oh also in “Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing” when D Boon says “We’d cuss more in our songs and cut down on guitar solos,” then he launches into a guitar solo...
posted by miles per flower at 12:30 PM on March 28, 2016
Michael Buble's It's a Beautiful Day. It sounds like all the other happy sappy love songs he's known for, but he's thrilled he was dumped becuase she's out of his life.
posted by cecic at 2:12 PM on March 28, 2016
posted by cecic at 2:12 PM on March 28, 2016
For some CanCon:
On the classical side of things:
Hasish cookies, to be exact.
posted by Johnny Assay at 2:28 PM on March 28, 2016
- NoMeansNo doing an a capella cover of The Dead Kennedys' "Forward to Death".
- Furnaceface's "We Love You, Tipper Gore" might work, but would need some creative bleeping to be broadcast.
- I'm not sure to what extent Rufus Wainwright qualifies as CanCon, but he does have a song called April Fools.
On the classical side of things:
- P.D.Q. Bach is basically the Weird Al of the classical world.
- Jan Bach's brass quintet Laudes has a "loud A" in each movement. (Get it?)
- My favorite musical joke, by far, from a "serious" composer is Hindemith's Overture to "The Flying Dutchman" as Played at Sight by a Second-Rate Spa Orchestra at the Village Well at 7 O'Clock in the Morning, which is perhaps most notable for the point near the end where the players just give up and start playing Waldteufel's "Skater's Waltz" instead.
Hasish cookies, to be exact.
posted by Johnny Assay at 2:28 PM on March 28, 2016
Not sure who the artist is, but I'm My Own Grandpa.
Chuck Berry - My Ding a Ling
posted by MexicanYenta at 3:15 PM on March 28, 2016
Chuck Berry - My Ding a Ling
posted by MexicanYenta at 3:15 PM on March 28, 2016
The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun has a sort-of-twist ending.
posted by soelo at 3:29 PM on March 28, 2016
posted by soelo at 3:29 PM on March 28, 2016
What about "Pray For You" by Jaron and the Long Road to Love?
It's a country song. I won't spoil it. Just listen.
posted by Night_owl at 3:57 PM on March 28, 2016
It's a country song. I won't spoil it. Just listen.
posted by Night_owl at 3:57 PM on March 28, 2016
Memphis by Chuck Berry. One of my favorite songs and I never knew the title until tonight.
posted by dawkins_7 at 9:25 PM on March 28, 2016
posted by dawkins_7 at 9:25 PM on March 28, 2016
Mashup of musical contrasts: Lady Gaga vs. Judas Priest - Lady Judas
posted by SisterHavana at 7:48 PM on March 29, 2016
posted by SisterHavana at 7:48 PM on March 29, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Miko at 9:55 AM on March 28, 2016 [1 favorite]