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<title>Top Comedy Rock Artists on Rhapsody Online</title>
<dateCreated>Sat Nov 28 02:40:29 PST 2009</dateCreated>
<dateModified>Sat Nov 28 02:40:29 PST 2009</dateModified>
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<outline type="include" text="&quot;Weird Al&quot; Yankovic" description="The undisputed king of the rock song parody, Yankovic has been inducing cringes and laughs in equal proportion since the early 1980s. Not an especially gifted singer (to put it politely), he relies instead on cornball puns, clever videos and sheer trial and error. After a string of '80s classics like the Michael Jackson takeoffs &quot;Fat&quot; and &quot;Eat It,&quot; things started to look a little ugly, as anyone who saw the film UHF can attest. Undaunted, he bounced back with '90s efforts such as &quot;Smells Like Nirvana&quot; and the Coolio parody &quot;Amish Paradise.&quot; In 2006, after once again losing his clout as a pop culture commentator, a parody of Chamillionaire's &quot;Ridin'&quot; (as &quot;White and Nerdy&quot;) landed Al in the top 10 for the first time ever. He's best taken in small doses -- sitting through an entire CD might be considered the musical equivalent of cooling off on a 95 degree day with a glass of warm gravy. Still, whether he's busting out schwag rhymes about computer software (&quot;It's All About the Pentiums&quot;) or resurrecting unwelcome oldies (the &quot;Jurassic Park&quot; parody of &quot;MacArthur Park&quot;), Weird Al proves that stupidity, when used wisely, can truly be a virtue.
- Will York" category="Comic Song" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/weird-al-yankovic/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Lonely Island" description="Comedy production team Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone are best known for bringing the instant classics &quot;D*ck in a Box,&quot; &quot;Lazy Sunday&quot; and &quot;Jizz in My Pants&quot; to the general public through digital shorts aired on Saturday Night Live since 2005. The troupe also runs a website that features its self-made content and has had two pilots (one for Fox and one for MTV) rejected due to the FCC-challenging nature of their comedy. An album featuring their particularly saucy parodies of everything from C+C Music Factory to the Dirty South, &lt;I&gt;Incredibad&lt;/I&gt;, appeared in 2009.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-lonely-island/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Tenacious D" description="If you still haven't experienced Tenacious D's dirty acoustic molestation, you're in for a guilty sort of comedic treat. Kyle Gass (KG) and comedic actor Jack Black (JB) fictitiously perform acoustically at open mic night every single week. The joke is the degree of seriousness with which they perform, as they draw from all that is hessian to parody rock and Metal posturing with their brilliantly written, tongue-in-cheek lyrics. But a funny thing happened on the way to the henhouse: they're actually great performers, with riffing acoustics and vocal operatics amazingly on-the-mark. As with most great acts, no singular description can do Tenacious D justice, and they simply &lt;i&gt;must&lt;/i&gt; be both seen and heard if one is to fully appreciate the uproarious nature of their sharp-witted antics. Example: the song &quot;Sex Supreme&quot; involves KG and JB coming &quot;out of the side hatch&quot; to pleasure a &quot;backstage Betty,&quot; which involves KG (who is bald and middle aged) &quot;nibbling on her toes.&quot; Yikes.
- Kelly Bauman" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/tenacious-d/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Flight Of The Conchords" description="With the silliness of elementary school kids, the dry wit of scholarly jokesters and the tuneful talent of parody whizzes like Tenacious D, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement make up one of the funniest duos to ever come out of the Southern Hemisphere. The Kiwis label themselves as a two-man, digi-folk band, but have musical capacities beyond acoustic guitars and synthesizers. Flight of the Conchords do smooth soul like Marvin Gaye, funkadelic shrills a la Prince, dancehall in the vein of Shaggy, Bowie-esque new wave, freestylin' hip-hop -- pretty much any genre that may strike their fancy. If you weren't playing close attention to lyrics like, &quot;You're so beautiful/ like a tree/ Or a high-class prostitute,&quot; you may confuse them for a talented yet confused act trying to find their niche. They were introduced to an American audience in 2007 with their eponymous HBO series, which revolves around the lives and loves of the two trying to make it big in New York City. Sub Pop released the EP, &lt;i&gt;The Distant Future&lt;/i&gt;, which subsequently won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album. Their first full-length debuted in April 2008, featuring studio versions of songs performed on their TV show; this was followed by a second disc, &lt;i&gt;I Told You I Was Freaky&lt;/i&gt;, featuring tracks from their second season on HBO.
- Stephanie Benson" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/flight-of-the-conchords/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Ween" description="Dean and Gene Ween's eclectic post-modern pop defies categorization. With a wry sense of humor, in the spirit of the Dead Milkmen's &quot;Bitchin' Camaro&quot; or Tenacious D's &quot;Kyle Took a Bullet for Me,&quot; Ween have thumbed their noses at any serious concept of popular music. Each album is, in fact, more a collection of Song Parodies rather than meticulously penned, Bic-worthy anthems. Their synth-driven stabs at soul, R&amp;B, and Punk have truly achieved life-of-the-mushroom-party status. And with song titles such as &quot;Hey Fat Boy (As*hole),&quot; &quot;Reggaejunkiejew,&quot; and &quot;Mister Would You Please Help My Pony?&quot; Ween are dead-set on having the last laugh.
- Kelly Bauman" category="Post-Modern Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/ween/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Stephen Lynch" description="Lynch creates picture perfect, straight-faced mainstream Alternative Rock and then couples it with humorously twisted lyrics. He wisely started playing in comedy clubs instead of music venues. This led to opening gigs with everyone from Steven Wright to Yo La Tengo to appearances on Comedy Central and VH1 specials. Lynch's topical lyrics -- about molesting priests, hermaphrodites, and killing animals -- are often more pointed, and less humorous, than the &quot;poetry&quot; found in modern rock.
- Nick Dedina" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/stephen-lynch/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Blues Brothers" description="Anyone who has ever craved plain white toast and four fried chickens understands that the Blues Brothers were on a mission from god. Joliet Jake and his brother Elwood were created by the late, great John Belushi and his partner Dan Aykroyd. The duo began as a way to warm up the audience before &lt;i&gt;Saturday Night Live&lt;/i&gt; broadcasts, but soon became a semi-regular act on the show, and later graduated to a legitimate touring band with hit albums and a feature film. Their trademark look was inspired by the modernists of English subcultural yore, blues enthusiasts who donned three-button black suits, skinny black ties, porkpie hats and Wayfarer sunglasses. Backed by the likes of guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald &quot;Duck&quot; Dunn (legends from the Stax studio's house band), as well as other well-known session players, the Blues Brothers covered standards from the Stax-Volt vaults with genuine affection. Although they began as a sketch, the two turned a new generation onto classic blues and soul.
- Eric Shea" category="Electric Blues" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/blues-brothers/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Dead Milkmen" description="The Dead Milkmen's 1985 debut &lt;I&gt;Big Lizard in My Backyard&lt;/I&gt; was an instant college radio sensation and, for many listeners, their first indoctrination into the nuances of irony. (&quot;You mean musicians don't always mean what they say?&quot;) First person accounts &quot;Tiny Town&quot; and &quot;Bitchin' Camaro&quot; dismantled bigotry and conformity from within, while &quot;Thing That Only Eats Hippies&quot; off &lt;I&gt;Eat Your Paisley&lt;/I&gt; tipped some of rock's stodgiest sacred cows. The Dead Milkmen provided what every kid coming up in the '80s needed to keep it real: a reminder that the adult world was absurd and fads were fleeting -- even gloomy apocalyptic Disco fads (see &quot;Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)&quot;). Neither exceptionally talented as musicians nor terribly profound, the Dead Milkmen deserve credit for restoring humor and satire to a Post-Punk scene bloated with self-importance and rutted in gloom. Though the band's humor stalled towards the end, their first few albums proved some of the funniest and most sarcastic of the era.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Old School Punk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-dead-milkmen/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Boxmasters" description="Dapper trio the Boxmasters play a breed of country that Nashville cats don't make any more, hilariously depicting the lives of wanderlust middle-aged schlubs whose best days are behind them. Basically, their template seems to be the loser in the Statler Brothers' 1965 &quot;Flowers on the Wall&quot; who plays solitaire 'til dawn with a deck of 51. Since no other active band excels at this sort of sport, it's no surprise these guys come off as sensitive about the news peg journalists inevitably latch onto: namely, that frontman W.R. &quot;Bud&quot; Thornton is better known as Billy Bob. But this is no vanity act, and it's hard to imagine musicians working harder to camouflage the celebrity angle. In 10 months, between June 2008 and April 2009, the Boxmasters released the equivalent of five full-lengths -- two double-discs (each split between originals and covers) plus a more perfunctory holiday set. The originals sardonically focus on deceit in love and business, husbands in the doghouse and self-imposed financial disaster; the covers venture beyond country to rope in rocking Brits from the Beatles to Mott the Hoople -- which might explain why the band titled its 2009 album &lt;I&gt;Modbilly&lt;/I&gt;.
- Chuck Eddy" category="Traditional Country" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-boxmasters/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Cheech and Chong" description="The drugged out underground/counterculture antidotes of Richard &quot;Cheech&quot; Marin and Tommy Chong almost seem anachronistic in present day light, but before the 1980s unleashed Reagan's war on drugs, Cheech and Chong were the progenitors of stoner comedy. While some critics dismissed their edgy sketches as lowbrow, others compared their craft to W.C. Fields' boozy boutades. The two comics met while attempting to form a rock band. As musicians, they found that audiences reacted much more enthusiastically to their dopey onstage banter, so they ran with it. They built up a grass roots following the success of their recorded albums before taking their antics to the silver screen. But as the 1970s turned into the '80s and the nation's young people were advised to &quot;Just Say No,&quot; Cheech and Chong's popularity inevitably waned enough to warrant a breakup. While Chong has largely remained an underground icon of pop culture (showing up as himself, more or less, in such appropriate sitcoms as &lt;I&gt;That '70s Show&lt;/I&gt;, Cheech has worked hard to forge a bona fide Hollywood career for himself.
- Eric Shea" category="Sketch Comedy" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/cheech-and-chong/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Spinal Tap" description="The English behemoth Metal band who gave us the timeless, infinitely quoted phrases &quot;This one goes to eleven!&quot; and &quot;Hello Cleveland!&quot; Spinal Tap's long, multifaceted career began during the herky-jerky days of Merseybeat as the Thamesmen with their release of the Kinks-esque beauty &quot;Gimme Some Money.&quot; After a host of name and personnel changes, a stint as dippy psyche-poppers, and finally an inner acceptance of their truly sexy image, the members of Spinal Tap ultimately found their voice as the hairy gods of thunder they've been since the release of &lt;i&gt;Silent But Deadly&lt;/i&gt; in 1969. They charged into the 1970s and broke stateside in the '80s, leaving behind a trail of dead drummers and a laundry list of ball-rockin' classics. Favorites &quot;Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight,&quot; &quot;Sex Farm&quot; and the progressive Metal masterpiece &quot;Stonehenge&quot; are collected on the &quot;none more black&quot; &lt;i&gt;This is Spinal Tap&lt;/i&gt; -- sadly, the sole record still in print that chronicles their somewhat convoluted career. A 1992 comeback record featured the requisite guest appearances of heavy metal slob and Guns N' Roses guitar-killer Slash, as well as has-beens Joe Satriani and Cher, but thankfully included the new anthems &quot;Break Like the Wind&quot; and &quot;Bitch School.&quot;
- Mike McGuirk" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/spinal-tap/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Bob &amp; Tom" description="" category="Comedy" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/bob-tom/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="GWAR" description="GWAR is a renegade outfit of performance artists who, with their macabre and perverse live shows, strike as much fear into the hearts of city council members as the word &quot;Ticketmaster&quot; does with concert-goers. Pagan ceremonies, sci-fi schlock, and fake blood by the gallon are the main elements of their repertoire. Oh, and their music -- workmanlike forays into grinding Death Metal. See them live, then the albums will make great souvenirs.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/gwar/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Red Elvises" description="Communist clowns suck down everything trashy about American culture and spit it back out with such spazzy retro cool, they got themselves on &lt;i&gt;Melrose Place&lt;/i&gt;. They play balalaika along with guitars and say they sing &quot;in English and Russian (not at the same time).&quot;
- Tim Quirk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/red-elvises-2/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Psychostick" description="" category="Punk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/psychostick/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Mojo Nixon" description="With &quot;Stuffin' Martha's Muffin,&quot; an ode to former MTV VJ Martha Quinn, Mojo Nixon earned his place as the irreverent wild man of rock 'n' roll in the late '80s. His penchant for raucous, rough-and-ready Rockabilly fully intact, his lyrics remain funny and biting.
- Will Lerner" category="Cowpunk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/mojo-nixon/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="King Missile" description="King Missile are probably better known for their irreverent humor and tongue-in-cheek storytelling than their actual musical style. Cult faves since the release of their quirky hit, &quot;Jesus Was Way Cool,&quot; KM's lyrics are rambling insights into vocalist John S. Hall's keen, biting wit. &lt;I&gt;Happy Hour&lt;/I&gt;, the band's 1992 release, produced the track &quot;Detachable Penis,&quot; which landed them a spot on college radio charts and established the band as a viable alternative act. The song would achieve renewed popularity the following year, as a cutting joke made at John Wayne Bobbit's expense." category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/king-missile/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Dread Zeppelin" description="With the gracious blessing of Robert Plant and the full disgust of the Presley estate, notorious parodists Dread Zeppelin burst to national acclaim in 1990. Not satisfied with merely kicking out reggae-spiced versions of songs made famous in the '70s by Plant's former band, DZ added an Elvis imitator (the incomparable Tortelvis) to man the lead vocal mic and subsequently never looked back on its path to cult success. When the dust settled, however, many were surprised to find that this cast of loonies could actually play...and play well. DZ concerts have always been equal parts chuckle and boogie." category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/dread-zeppelin/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Tally Hall" description="" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/tally-hall/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="WWE" description="" category="Novelty" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/wwe/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Green Jelly" description="When Green Jelly's clay-animated video for &quot;Three Little Pigs&quot; hit MTV in 1993, people met it with either giddy laughter or deep-seated repulsion. Most everyone, though, would agree that it was pretty stupid, including the band, who've actually been doing variations on their visually oriented Weird Al-meets-Metal shtick since 1981.
- Will York" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/green-jelly/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Captain Sensible" description="" category="Punk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/captain-sensible/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Dickies" description="Jumpy, hyperactive Punk that replaces the genre's stereotypical anger, frustration and angst with campiness, goofiness and hilarity. Fast, simple, poppy songs are powered by three chords and an amazingly witty sense of humor. The Dickies are Punk's comic book superheroes.
- Mark Murrmann" category="Punk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-dickies/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Dweezil Zappa" description="" category="Instrumental Guitar Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/dweezil-zappa/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Andy Dick &amp; The Bitches Of The Century" description="" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/andy-dick-the-bitches-of-the-century/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Rutles" description="Masterminded by legendary English comedians Eric Idle (of Monty Python) and Neil Innes, the Rutles' &lt;i&gt;All You Need is Cash&lt;/i&gt; was a fab parody of the world's greatest rock band, the music business, and modern history. While the 1978 film is a hilarious must-see, Innes' songs stand up on their own, incorporating quotes and bits from Beatles songs as they buzz around every phase of their career. Top-shelvers include &quot;I am the Waitress&quot; and &quot;Ouch!&quot; but each tune is off-the-charts brilliant. George Harrison gave his blessing to the project, once again displaying his disgust for the music biz and the self-congratulatory rhetoric of rock stars and ex-hippies. In 1996, Innes penned a new batch of supremely sophisticated Rutles tunes for &lt;i&gt;Archeology&lt;/i&gt;, which came out in time to take on the &lt;i&gt;Anthology&lt;/i&gt; series. &quot;All You Need is Cash&quot; -- indeed.
- Nick Dedina" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-rutles/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Frank Zappa" description="Frank Zappa's music has always been fascinating, confusing and unpredictable. Bringing together every single musical genre, instrument and sensibility, Zappa's vast output is a legacy of some of the most complex and brilliant music of this century." category="Jazz Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/frank-zappa/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Atom and His Package" description="Armed with a QY 700 music sequencer and a wit sharper than yours, Adam Goren has conquered all sucka emcees to claim the title of nerdcore king. Over the past few years, Adam has toured the east relentlessly, building a die-hard corps of fans from remarkably disparate scenes. What does he do to bring all these people together? Imagine a spazzier, funnier Weird Al writing original songs about Punk, Black Metal and other fringe cultures. Songs like &quot;Punk Rock Academy&quot; and &quot;Pumping Iron (Fe) For Enya&quot; leave gutter punks rolling in laughter alongside Indie geeks and church-burning metalheads. Together they revel in their own ridiculousness, not to mention Adam's. Live, one might imagine Adam to be rather dull, but quite the contrary -- his classy dance moves and exaggerated axe wielding (along with his voice, the electric guitar is the only live instrument) are quite a sight to behold.
- Doug Russell" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/atom-and-his-package/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Fred Schneider" description="" category="Post-Modern Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/fred-schneider/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="El Vez" description="El Vez is the self-dubbed &quot;Mexican Elvis.&quot; Indeed, he&amp;#8217;s a novelty act, but his involvement in the Los Angeles underground music scene, as well as in the East Los Angeles anti-gang and community outreach programs, are dedications that have lasted for over two decades. As El Vez, Robert Lopez has appointed himself a magnificent alter ego, not unlike the David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust connection (his backing band is even named the Spiders From Memphis!). Although El Vez albums such as &lt;i&gt;Graciasland&lt;/i&gt; -- a double rib toward the King and Paul Simon -- are entertaining and well-arranged, his live shows are the explosive element of his package that continue to sell out concert halls and clubs across America. With songs like &quot;Misery Tren,&quot; &quot;I've Got My Green Card, I Want My Gold Card,&quot; and &quot;Say It Loud, I'm Brown And I'm Proud,&quot; El Vez injects a healthy, fun dose of relevant awareness into his act without having to resort to the emphatic preaching one might expect." category="Retro/Vintage" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/el-vez/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Dr. Demento" description="" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/dr-demento/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Swamp Dogg" description="Woefully under-appreciated but in any case one of the more original figures in Soul music, Swamp Dogg has been serving up his unmistakable brand of satirical R&amp;B since the late '60s. His lyrics -- blunt, witty, and shockingly candid -- challenge the most accepted conventions of just about any genre, as they address love, racial issues, and poverty in ways both funny and provocative. It's understandable if the words tend to overshadow his musical abilities, yet still unfortunate; he writes memorable tunes with punchy horn arrangements and solid, danceable beats. Though perhaps not a singer's singer, his lump-in-the-throat vocals add a wounded poignancy that nicely offset his frequent sarcasm. In the end, though, you probably have to appreciate song titles like &quot;I've Never Been to Africa (And it's Your Fault)&quot; or &quot;God Ain't Blessing America&quot; to really get the most out of the man's music.
- Will York" category="Soul" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/swamp-dogg/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Flo &amp; Eddie" description="" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/flo-eddie/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Moistboyz" description="Ween's Dean Ween (aka Micky Moist) and Dickie Moist circle the horses around the politically correct police and gun them down with backcountry humor. A hoedown of slams aimed at easy targets.
- Jennifer Maerz" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/moistboyz/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Pleaseeasaur" description="The work of anti-comedy freak-os J.P. Hasson and Thomas Hurley III, Pleaseeasaur is a multi-media stage show intended to confuse as much as entertain. In the great tradition of Andy Kaufman and Neil Hamburger, the concept of what &lt;i&gt;is&lt;/i&gt; comedy is just as important as actually trying to be funny. Pleaseeasaur shows involve Hasson dressed in various absurd costumes, singing ultra moronic songs that serve as either jingles for various businesses (&quot;The Pizza Brothers &amp; Sons Inc.,&quot; a car service called the &quot;No Prob Limo,&quot; etc.) or public service announcements of some kind (&quot;Warning: These Cobras Are Totally Cool&quot;), while Hurley projects idiotically related images over him, flickers multicolored lights on and off and puts together a sonic pastiche of electronic dance music seemingly lifted from Barney songs as backing. After releasing records independently and touring with fellow comedic subversive Neil Hamburger, Pleaseeasaur signed a deal with Comedy Central, had the ultra hip dudes at Adult Swim do some animation for them and generally threatened to destabilize American society by introducing their &quot;so unfunny it's funny&quot; ethos into the mainstream.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Comic Song" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/pleaseeasaur/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Blotto" description="" category="New Wave" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/blotto/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Bonzo Dog Band" description="" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/bonzo-dog-band/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Rocky Horror Picture Show" description="" category="Film Soundtracks" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-rocky-horror-picture-show/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Topo-D-Bill" description="" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/topo-d-bill/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="David Peel" description="" category="Political Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/david-peel/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="A Halo Called Fred" description="The mirthmobile of quirky pop rounds the corner and slams into the bus o' white-boy funk. From the wreckage crawl A Halo Called Fred, speak-singing vocals and neo-funk rhythms intact.
- Charles Hodgkins" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/a-halo-called-fred/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Polònia" description="" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/polonia/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Neil Innes" description="" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/neil-innes/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="John Dunnigan" description="" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/john-dunnigan/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Dick Nixons" description="In case you miss this band's humor (which is not hard to do), they're just another band making a loud racket and stupid jokes, which, it seems, is exactly their aim. They poke fun at many things, including themselves and, as their name suggests, Richard Nixon.
- Mark Murrmann" category="Punk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-dick-nixons/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Fish Karma" description="&quot;Why Be Normal&quot; Comedy/Folk-Rock with suffocating, hyperactive vocals. The vocals are really the main point of Fish Karma: the music is merely a vehicle for sometimes funny, sometimes stupid ramblings.
- Mark Murrmann" category="Comedy Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/fish-karma/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Phoebe Legere" description="Like an all-night cabaret act in one body, Phoebe Legere's music ranges from dance floor diva vaultings to showtune camp." category="Cabaret" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/phoebe-legere/data.opml?rws=%2Fcomedy-spoken-word%2Fcomedy%2Fcomedy-rock%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
</body>
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