Who doesn’t love parody songs? The music industry can be a little too serious sometimes. Parody songs take the edge off and let music fans have a laugh at their favorite (or least favorite) artist’s expense. But the following three parody songs, specifically, are also musically sound enough to be enjoyed without that comedic aspect. Let’s take a look, shall we?
“Eat It” by Weird Al Yankovic from ‘‘Weird Al’ Yankovic In 3-D’ (1984)
This King of Parody Songs is an obvious shoo-in for this list, but there really is something to be said about how funny, entertaining, and also musically sound his track “Eat It” is. It could easily be considered one of the most famous parody songs ever recorded. His silly reimagining of Michael Jackson’s legendary 1983 pop song “Beat It” was so good that it even scored Yankovic a Grammy Award. “Eat It” made it all the way to No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, too. Weird Al had been goofing around with other artists’ songs for a while before this parody dropped, but he definitely became a pop culture icon in its wake.
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“Once In A Lifetime” by Kermit the Frog from ‘Muppets Tonight’ (1980)
I love Talking Heads. But whenever I think of their biggest hit, my mind tends to wander to that little green puppet singing his heart out with this parody/cover of “Once In A Lifetime”. Specifically, the video of his performance is a parody of the concert film Stop Making Sense. This isn’t a super cheeky reimagining of the new wave classic. It’s more or less just a rendition. But it’s significant and funny enough to earn a spot on this list, I’d say. Kermit wasn’t playing games with this one. Dropped in 1980, Kermit’s version of “Once In A Lifetime” appeared in Episode 109 of Muppets Tonight.
“Inner City Pressure” by Flight Of The Conchords from ‘Flight Of The Conchords’ (2008)
The HBO television series and real-life musical duo, Flight Of The Conchords, deserve more love on parody songs lists. This particular song can be heard in the episode “Bret Gives Up The Dream” as well as the group’s 2008 self-titled album. A clear nod to Pet Shop Boys’ 1984 synth-pop jam “West End Girls”, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement manage to pay homage to the synth-pop legends while also having a bit of dry-humor fun.
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