Funny Music

Comedy music often lampoons serious musical performers, copying musical ideas, lyrics or the peculiar style of an artist or genre. Humor is frequently created by over-the-top lyrics which mock the seriousness of other musical artists or styles of music. The parody rock band Spinal Tap, for example, spoofed Rock’n’Roll culture by exaggerating its peculiarities.

Since humor is an essential form of expression, serious musical artists often use elements of funny music as well, even though humorous elements are generally the exception in their discography and it’s not their primary motivation to make audiences laugh. Humorous music is a well-respected genre of popular music, illustrated by the fact that musical comedy works can be considered for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Both "Weird Al" Yankovic and Flight Of The Conchords have received prestigious Grammy Awards for making funny music.

Comedy music is often found on the soundtracks of funny movies. Examples of humorous movie songs with success beyond the film are the Ghostbusters theme song or Will Smith’s Men In Black. Other films, like Monty Python’s Life of Bryan, make humorous use of existing songs by playing them in a seemingly inappropriate context to achieve a comedic effect. Musicals like the Rocky Horror Picture Show often include humorous elements as well, popularising funny songs beyond the success of the musical itself.