TOP 10 Comedic Rock Acts…
Coming off our recent episode with Jaymz Lennfield and after catching Beatallica’s rollicking gig at Brooklyn Bowl, a bar conversation devolved into debate over the greatest comedic rock acts. This list is the result. The criterion for inclusion entails having been fondly remembered within about 8 minutes by a group of intoxicated people.
Tenacious D - if Jack Black & Kyle Gass aren’t holding court at the top of the comedic rock’s Mount Rushmore, who the hell is? 2006’s cult favorite The Pick of Destiny righteously tosses its hat in the argument for the best rock opera of all time. With a recently released 76 second ode “Video Games” passionately (and correctly) noting Red Dead Redemption 2 is more an adult thing than video game, in tandem with an instantly iconic beach photoshoot- we continue to see the duo’s perfection as an antidote to negative aspects of masculinity in rock - we’re witnessing the D unquestionably gracing with age.
Weird Al Yankovic - Having recently injected his iconic brand of parody into the already tired rock biopic genre - there’s been a righteous wave of recent love for the indomitable Weird Al. With a staggeringly prolific catalog of original tunes chronicling everything from radioactive hamsters, to being so synonymous for covers that artists consider the “Yankovic treatment” to be a milestone achievement, to consistently joyful performances anywhere from the local county fair to Carnegie Hall- the man is a treasure of comedy with a heart of gold.
William Shatner - Some rock stars take a swing at movies, some movie stars take a swing at music. When that movie star happens to be William Shatner, the swing swings harder than Kirk double fist punching a Gorn. The legend’s outrageously deadpan spoken word performance of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” while puffing on a cigar is more than enough to land him an especially honorable mention.
Richard Cheese - With the sexy charm of famous lounge / swing acts like Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin, Cheese (Mark Jonathan Davis often with his backing band Lounge Against the Machine) performs an impressively eclectic range of covers (everything from Radiohead to Slipknot) in the distinctively throwback style. His charming delivery is responsible for some of the most unquestionably smooth vocalizations of the word “motherfucker” ever recorded in human history.
Steel Panther - Sometimes parody hardly needs to deviate from its source material. Panther takes full advantage of the already cringey themes of 80s hair metal - and like pouring gasoline on fire, supersizes them to a level of indecency that would give even their debaucherous inspirations a moment of pause.
Dread Zeppelin - What’s better than crossing two distinct genres? Dread Zep answers this question by successfully crossing three - the songs of Led Zeppelin, played as reggae, with a boisterous impersonator called Tortelvis sneering Robert Plant’s vocals in Elvis’s unmistakable Vegas-era style. Sprinkle in the band’s iconic towel man Charlie Haj and some mind numbingly zany outfits - it’s almost impossible to imagine until you see it. While famously stingy about their songs or image being incorporated by others, members of Led Zeppelin including Plant have listed Dread among their favorites.
Beatallica - Speaking of genre crossover bands (and coming to the inspiration for this exercise), Beatallica’s crossover formula cleverly mixes the songs of rock's greatest band in the style of metal’s greatest band. As Lennfield explains - pairing such beloved, well-known groups lends itself to so many possibilities for crossover songs that feel like both the Beatles and Metallica. With Beatallibangers ranging from Mike Portnoy to Metallica themselves, Beatallica might catch attention with the outrageous concept - but they deserve it with clever writing and dedicated performing chops to make their namesakes proud.
Metalachi - If you’ve ever watched a mariachi band take requests and had to hold back on the urge to request a metal song, Metalachi answers the call, performing heavy music by everyone from Ozzy Osbourne to Slayer in faithful mariachi style. With live shows including encouragement for fans to consume a healthy dose of tequila to properly wash the experience down, Metalachi is equally capable to start a pit and to woo your abuela.
Okilly Dokilly - The greatest of “Nedal” bands, Head Ned, Shred Ned, Zed Ned, Dread Ned, and Bed Ned deliver metal music themed and inspired by the Simpsons character Ned Flanders. In addition to wearing matching outfits, the band’s lyrics almost exclusively quote and reference the the greatest animated neighbor of all-time. In 2019, the love for the show came full circle when their song “I’m Just a Girl Who Can’t Say D’oh” appeared during the show’s end credits.
Spın̈al Tap - Famously known for losing drummers for reasons including spontaneous immolation, gardening accidents best left unsolved, or choking on “someone’s” vomit; Spın̈al Tap’s absurd misadventures nevertheless seem to be comically plausible. Did you know that lead vocalist / guitarist David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) went on to play Chuck McGill in Better Call Saul?
As the conversation subsequently shifted into an argument over which Vince Gilligan series was better (obviously BCS surpassed the heights of Breaking Bad) - this might have derailed us from remembering to include The Lonely Island or Flight of the Conchords. Send us who else we forgot and we’ll make another list?
