Well, it really isn't funny

[vovat]

Amazon thinks that, because I bought Here Come the ABC's (the recent children's project from They Might Be Giants), I would want some Kidz Bop Christmas album. Hey, I guess kids' music is kids' music, right? I remember when I bought and rated No!, and they suggested I buy a bunch of baby products. One odd thing about Kidz Bop (aside from the fact that it exists in the first place) is that a lot of the songs they do have explicit lyrics. Do they bowdlerize the crap out of them, or what?

Speaking of TMBG, the issue of people finding their music "silly" came up on the tmbg community recently. I remember an argument I had a few years back with someone who insisted that TMBG was a novelty band, and would not be dissuaded from this idea. This was a person who seemed to have a LOT of issues, so I'm not going to pretend he spoke for the general public, but it's an idea that a lot of non-fans or really casual fans seem to hold. Just look at the editorial review of Factory Showroom, for instance. Now, I LIKE novelty and comedy music, but I don't think TMBG qualifies as either one. That isn't to say that they don't do the occasional novelty or jokey song, but haven't plenty of other more or less serious bands done the same thing? It's like having a sense of humor, or even dealing with unusual subjects, will automatically get you lumped in the novelty pile, and it's Not Cool to like that kind of thing unless you're a kid.

On the other hand, I've also seen TMBG fans go too far in the opposite direction, and ignore the humorous aspects of the band altogether. These often tend to be the same people who hate Weird Al, without whom I probably never would have gotten into TMBG. I don't know. I'm not at all ashamed to like humorous music, but my favorite bands are usually ones that have a sense of humor, but also some real substance and occasional seriousness. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, though.

Hmm, I see Camper Van Beethoven is scheduled to play in Philadelphia in January. I wonder if I should go. I probably will.

Hey, you know how live albums sometimes have the introduction to a song at the end of the previous track, rather than the beginning of the relevant track. What's with that, huh?

Ugh, my throat feels all sore and phlegmy.

Comments

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

One odd thing about Kidz Bop (aside from the fact that it exists in the first place) is that a lot of the songs they do have explicit lyrics. Do they bowdlerize the crap out of them, or what?

Kidz Bop totally scares me. I LOVE children's literature and children's songs and toys and games and all, but that doesn't mean listening to annoying children sing is the same as listening to good music. Raffi is good children's music. He has a nice pleasant voice. Anyway, I don't think having a song sung by children makes it therefore music that children will like. I think children ought to learn about music from just plain music. But that goes along with my general children-should-not-be-talked-down-to theory and I'm rambling.

Hey, you know how live albums sometimes have the introduction to a song at the end of the previous track, rather than the beginning of the relevant track. What's with that, huh?

I think it's so you can immediately cue up the very beginning of a song. Of course you still end up with random inapplicable stuff at the end of tracks. I've wondered why they don't just make the talking parts tracks of their own. We had a Mister Rogers CD at the museum that had him talking between tracks (always at the end of the track), and the piano going on in the background, which made thw whole thing like one big song really, which was even more confusing in random shuffle.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I got pretty turned off from Raffi by having to hear him all the time back when I worked at a toy store. I'd still much prefer listening to him than Kidz Bop, though. I mean, what kid wants to listen to other kids sing?

But that goes along with my general children-should-not-be-talked-down-to theory

Well, one thing I like about TMBG's children's album is that I don't think they DO talk down to kids.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

They don't, do they. I think it's because they're so in touch with their inner children as it is. I think stuff like Kidz Bop is made by corporate weenies who have no recollection of childhood at all, but have decided that it will sell.

Oh, and I decided why the people who put the beginning and ends of tracks on CDs prefer the chat at the end to the beginning... I mean further. Because I already said it's probably so it can be more easily cued up to the start of the song. But then my brain elaborated on this theory, and decided it's really for radio deejays. They need to be able to easily cue up the very beginning of the song, but they don't really need to worry about the end of the song, because they can just fade it out or talk over it or whatever, like they do half the time with NON-live songs too. Never mind people making mixes.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

They don't, do they. I think it's because they're so in touch with their inner children as it is.

Who's the "they" in this sentence? TMBG? Kids who don't like to listen to other kids singing?

You're probably right about putting the talking at the end for the sake of radio DJ's. Not that the DJ's ever actually play much of it anyway, but it makes sense.

I remember hearing a radio station once where they advertised that they didn't talk over the ends of songs. Kind of an odd selling point, but I can see the appeal.

[revme.livejournal.com]

Yeah -- I was kind of wondering about that. I was always amused that they did "Hey Ya!", which is an awesome song, but features "I don't wanna meet your daddy, just want you in my caddy/don't wanna meet your mama, just want to make you come-a", which would be interesting to hear the Kids Bop version of. "I wanna meet your daddy/He'll give me lots of candy/I wanna meet your mama/She'll teach me about the comma".

Anyway, yeah -- I don't get that sort of thing with the TMBG==Silly==Novelty Band==Bad thing. I don't think of TMBG as a novelty band at all (I tend to mentally file them closer to the Residents than to, say, Weird Al), but even if they are, I've never understood the idea that that makes them Inferior or whatever. The thing is, a lot of "novelty" music is much more experimental as people are willing to "allow" it more in a "joke" track. Like "They're Coming To Take Me Away" actually had some new recording techniques to get the tape to change speed like that, which hadn't been done before. (I've ranted about this type of stuff before in that big Barnes and Barnes review I wrote a while ago for the Bill Mumy Fan Club newsletter.)

And, man, that amazon review? Pretty.. clueless. I never thought that SEXXY or Head Falls Off (especially the latter) were parodies of ANYTHING. And I'd be surprised of John & John DID. But, yeah. I don't know. People are silly.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

"I wanna meet your daddy/He'll give me lots of candy/I wanna meet your mama/She'll teach me about the comma".

LOL. Okay.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I remember hearing that Aaron Carter covered Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy." I don't think he changed any of the lyrics, but there was an introduction explaining that, in the context of the cover, "Candy" was a girl's name.

As for "S-E-X-X-Y," I get the feeling that people were less inclined to think it was a joke after It's Fun To Steal came out, and it became obvious that Flans LIKES funk music (or whatever style you'd call "S-E-X-X-Y" and a lot of the stuff on IFTS).

If I were going to call any song on FS a parody, I'd probably choose "I Can Hear You." I don't really think even that is parodying anything, though, although it IS sort of a novelty track.

[revme.livejournal.com]

I think, though, even with SEXXY, that with "Pet Name" on the same record, it'd sort of be a tipoff that it's Flans just diggin' that sort of thing (understandably, as I do too, and I love IFTS). But yeah -- either that or "Exquistie Dead Guy", although I think "I Can Hear You" has a bit more claim on the "novelty" title, being, well, basically literally a novelty, existing only to be recorded on a wax cylinder and all.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

That's true about "Pet Name," which strikes me as much less likely to be a parody than "S-E-X-X-Y." Apparently, the reviewer had already gotten it into his head that TMBG was a comedy band, so their work in any genre just HAS to be a parody of that genre.

But yeah -- either that or "Exquistie Dead Guy", although I think "I Can Hear You" has a bit more claim on the "novelty" title, being, well, basically literally a novelty

Of course, that kind of gets into the different definitions of "novelty"--the more traditional and technical one of "something novel," and the music industry one of "anything humorous." The definitions can conflict sometimes, because not all comedy music is particularly novel (for instance, what's unusual about a song parody in this day and age, unless it's done in a new way?), and novel things aren't always funny. ICHY is definitely novel, and I think it's also intended to be somewhat humorous, although not to the "HA HA, LISTEN TO THIS WACKY PARODY!" extent.

[travspence.livejournal.com]

Hey, you know how live albums sometimes have the introduction to a song at the end of the previous track, rather than the beginning of the relevant track. What's with that, huh?

I don't know but it pisses me off when I'm trying to make a mix CD.

[k1cup.livejournal.com]

It's like having a sense of humor, or even dealing with unusual subjects, will automatically get you lumped in the novelty pile, and it's Not Cool to like that kind of thing unless you're a kid.

Yeah, I don't get that opinion. I was playing Their music at work and this one anesthesiologist started to get annoyed with Their music, stating that it was getting to be too tiresome. It was as if humorous music weren't valid.