Flight of the Conchords

Ok, first of all this band is actually a comedy duo from New Zealand. They play "folk parody" that ranges from sing songy ballads to faux raps...they rap under fake names (rhymenocerous and the hiphopopotamus). They now have a show on HBO that is kind of a sitcom about them being non-famous in New York. Their manager, Murray, is also from NZ and he runs the band during office hours. Murray works for the NZ consulate in NY.

The songs are really hilarious but not in your typical Adam Sandler esque fake music kind of way. FotC never drop the fourth wall and show you that they are not a real band. They always consider themselves as legit no matter how few people show up at their shows. They are, in a sense, dedicated to being a real band and the songs are always treated as legitimate music. Every so often they'll acknowledge that a certain song might be weird, but that's it.

Part of the appeal to this group is that they are legitimately good musicians and the songs are actually catchy and good. So, the first joke is that they are from NZ, think they're good, they are good, and they sing silly songs in funny voices. But there is more.

A la Monty Python there is a verboseness that will really appeal to those who love to really pay attention for the bigger comedy payoffs. The songs are funny on the surface but it's the language within that really makes these guys hysterical. The songs are, a lot of times, like conversations between two people and the best jokes come when the lyrics extend beyond the song and act more like a line of dialog.

As I mentioned, the show is on HBO. BUT, you can watch it in chunks on youtube. Here's a few of my favorites:

Rhymenocerous

Business Time

Bret You Got it Going On

Check out SAMTASTIC! for more music blogs, though likely not about this.