The Funnier Side of Music

There's a saying, "Dying is easy, comedy is hard". Music, by itself, requires years of practice and patience with musicians obsessing over every little aspect of the song before us listeners get to hear them. The world is full of songs about our individual and societal struggles, but there are also songs about being a "short king". 

Even classical musicians such as Beethoven and Vivaldi used to include "scherzo" movement in their pieces which roughly translates to "joke" in Italian. Musicians have long used funny lines in their lyrics and comic relief has always been a big part of punchlines in rap music. But music solely focused on comedy is a genre on its own and very much worth exploring.

Some comedy musicians have even outlasted the songs of the musicians they used to make fun of, such as "Weird Al" Yankovic. Weird Al's parodies are always co-signed by the actual artists and there are uncountable stories about musicians gushing about being parodied by him. Famously, Nirvana loved "Smells Like Nirvana", the parody of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Weird Al which was about how nobody can understand what Kurt Cobain is saying in his songs. My introduction to Weird Al was when I came across his parody of Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines, which is called "Word Crimes" and it is the only time that I can recall grammar being funny. 

There are comedy musicians who are brilliant performers in their own right, one of whom is Bo Burnham. His music transpires comedic subjects and explores a wide variety of emotions, never sacrificing either the musical or humorous aspects of them.

Another group that reached mainstream success, through YouTube, is The Lonely Island. Fronted by SNL alumnus and Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andy Samberg, made the teenage me feel like they were the funniest people on earth. The Lonely Island was so famous that even if you don't recognise them, it's almost a guarantee that you have heard something by them. Their songs featured artists like Rihanna, Julian Casablancas, Adam Levine, Pharrell, and more. The music videos were some of the biggest videos on the platform back in the day. Their music mostly parodied hip-hop cliches about extravagance and being boastful aka "flexing". If you want catchy songs, a good laugh and quotes to last a lifetime, they are the group to turn to.

With more and more YouTube comedians turning to music, the comedy element also carries on into their music. YouTubers like PewDiePie, Paul Brothers, and KSI have all ventured into the comedy music scene. More recently, TMG or Tiny Meat Gang have come out with amazing songs that not only fulfils the comedy aspect of it but also the musical elements. Similar to The Lonely Island, TMG makes fun of various aspects of modern culture with a trap beat attached to it. Cody and Noel from TMG not only manage to make funny songs, but also catchy ones.

Making music is more accessible than ever and with YouTubers continuously trying to set themselves apart, some amazing musical comedy is bound to come out of it.