Alanis Morissette's cover/parody of "My Humps"

[s1m0n]

The Flying Lizards' monotone + Casiotone cover of James Brown's Sex Machine ploughs similar turf.

[Joseph E. Smith]

I'm not convinced that Fergie and TBEPs' My Humps isn't intended as a critical and scathing social commentary itself. Far too many folk in the press seem to have jumped to their conclusions without really thinking it through, I feel.

But all of that aside, to me TBEPs are a brilliant group, and are artists to boot.

[buddhu]

I'm not convinced that Fergie and TBEPs' My Humps isn't intended as a critical and scathing social commentary itself. Far too many folk in the press seem to have jumped to their conclusions without really thinking it through, I feel.

But all of that aside, to me TBEPs are a brilliant group, and are artists to boot.

Same as that, but Alanis's version is a laugh too.

[jim stone]

She does, indeed!

I liked them both. One thing I've noticed--
truly bad stuff doesn't get parodied.

Hitler gets parodied.

I was talking about good or bad art,
not morality (e.g. good or bad people). Viewed as performance
art, Hitler's work was brilliant. Check out his
videos.

Parody is usually, even if inadvertently, a form of
appreciation. Truly bad stuff doesn't get noticed.

I remember Steve Allan, on TV, read, by way
of parody, as serious poetry, the words to
a rock song from the 50s.

Get a job.
Shaddadada, Shaddaddaddadda.
Get a job.
Shaddadada Shaddaddaddadda.
Get a job.
Shaddaddadda, Shaddaddaddadda.
Get a job.
Shaddaddadda Shaddaddaddadda.
A yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Boom boom boom boom boom boom
Get a job.
Shaddaddadda Shaddaddaddadda.

What he didn't recognize was that it
was African music and it was really good.
Otherwise he wouldn't have noticed it.

[Joseph E. Smith]

I'm not convinced that Fergie and TBEPs' My Humps isn't intended as a critical and scathing social commentary itself. Far too many folk in the press seem to have jumped to their conclusions without really thinking it through, I feel.

But all of that aside, to me TBEPs are a brilliant group, and are artists to boot.

Same as that, but Alanis's version is a laugh too.

I found it amusing... but perhaps in a way I have found everything by Alanis a bit amusing. As much as really I like her music, I can't help but think that maybe she bites off more from the steak of social commentary (now I've made myself laugh... ) than she can sometimes chew.

[brewerpaul]

*OTOH,I don't listen to a lot of pop music, so there may well have been a song called "My B*lls" or some such...

Ever heard that song by the a cappella group "Davinci's Notebook"? No? Then looky here. (Warning: Adult lyrics.)

I knew I could depend on the Sludemeister! Very funny, and well performed. I'll second the Adult Lyric warning though.

[izzarina]

I'm not convinced that Fergie and TBEPs' My Humps isn't intended as a critical and scathing social commentary itself. Far too many folk in the press seem to have jumped to their conclusions without really thinking it through, I feel.

Well....I thought so too at first, but if you look at her other music, I'm not so sure. Given the fact that she did that one with TBEP's, it still could be. But she's so full of herself, it wouldn't surprise me if she wrote it not to be critical at all, but to call attention to what she feels are her best attributes

[fearfaoin]

Well....I thought so too at first, but if you look at her other music, I'm not so sure. Given the fact that she did that one with TBEP's, it still could be. But she's so full of herself, it wouldn't surprise me if she wrote it not to be critical at all, but to call attention to what she feels are her best attributes

This is my position as well. But, being a pragmatist, I must point
out that Fergie does not write her music. "My Humps" was written
by will.i.am, front man of the Peas, and he continues to write and
produce Fergie's solo work.

Once I heard "London Bridge", I lost any illusions that "My Humps"
could have been satirical.

[Scott McCallister]

She does, indeed!

I liked them both. One thing I've noticed--
truly bad stuff doesn't get parodied.

Hitler gets parodied.

I was talking about good or bad art,
not morality (e.g. good or bad people). Viewed as performance
art, Hitler's work was brilliant. Check out his
videos.

Parody is usually, even if inadvertently, a form of
appreciation. Truly bad stuff doesn't get noticed.

I remember Steve Allan, on TV, read, by way
of parody, as serious poetry, the words to
a rock song from the 50s.

Get a job.
Shaddadada, Shaddaddaddadda.
Get a job.
Shaddadada Shaddaddaddadda.
Get a job.
Shaddaddadda, Shaddaddaddadda.
Get a job.
Shaddaddadda Shaddaddaddadda.
A yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Boom boom boom boom boom boom
Get a job.
Shaddaddadda Shaddaddaddadda.

What he didn't recognize was that it
was African music and it was really good.
Otherwise he wouldn't have noticed it.

hmmm... not very often you see a post from jim that's so off the mark.

Genocidal pursuit of world domination as performance art? Kind of an abnormal mind to see it that way.

Steve Allan did this kind of parody on several occasions. The humor is found not in the quality of the song being parodied, but in the ridiculous presentation of the lyrics out of context with the music.

Also, African music? Yes the members of the Silhouettes were/are black but this was American pop music, not African.

[crookedtune]

Nevermind. Comment no longer relevent.

[scheky]

Forget all that. Jesse Jackson's reading on SNL of Green Eggs and Ham was priceless.

As for TBEP, face it..the group IS will.I.am. Everybody else is simply a prop. Fergie is simply eye-candy ho with an OK voice. Her Dutchess album makes cry real tears of blood from my ears.

[jim stone]

Hitler gets parodied.

I was talking about good or bad art,
not morality (e.g. good or bad people). Viewed as performance
art, Hitler's work was brilliant. Check out his
videos.

Parody is usually, even if inadvertently, a form of
appreciation. Truly bad stuff doesn't get noticed.

I remember Steve Allan, on TV, read, by way
of parody, as serious poetry, the words to
a rock song from the 50s.

Get a job.
Shaddadada, Shaddaddaddadda.
Get a job.
Shaddadada Shaddaddaddadda.
Get a job.
Shaddaddadda, Shaddaddaddadda.
Get a job.
Shaddaddadda Shaddaddaddadda.
A yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Boom boom boom boom boom boom
Get a job.
Shaddaddadda Shaddaddaddadda.

What he didn't recognize was that it
was African music and it was really good.
Otherwise he wouldn't have noticed it.

hmmm... not very often you see a post from jim that's so off the mark.

Genocidal pursuit of world domination as performance art? Kind of an abnormal mind to see it that way.

Steve Allan did this kind of parody on several occasions. The humor is found not in the quality of the song being parodied, but in the ridiculous presentation of the lyrics out of context with the music.

Also, African music? Yes the members of the Silhouettes were/are black but this was American pop music, not African.

From the bottom up:

Sure this was American pop music sung by African-Americans
but the roots were in
Africa. Listening to music from Africa, especially sung by groups,
it often sounds
like this and is good for the same reason. Adding
the tune helps.

We agree that Allan was parodying the song. Whether or not
it was his intention, he was, in fact, holding the song up
to ridicule by treating it in a nonsensical manner. I saw
this on TV. That's what parody does.
Knowing Allan, who was an extroardinarily gifted and
erudite fellow,
I don't think he would have done this if he had
understood more about the music. Such were
the 50s. Again the point was that one doesn't do this
to something that's really no good--parody is, even
if inadvertently, a form of praise.

No, genocidal pursuit of world domination isn't performance
art, we agree. Hitler's performance art consisted of
brilliantly orchestrated public speeches and demonstrations
before large groups of people,
often photographed wonderfully as in the film
Triumph of the Will. Indeed, the speech before
the vast audience was staged for the sake of
making the movie. Hitler was, recall,
a skillful artist and he often put it to good use,
e.g. he took the Indian Swastika, reversed it,
put it slightly off kilter so that it appeared to
be moving, and placed it in a white circle
on a red background. It's artistically superb.
Hitler had a keen aesthetic sense
and often put it to use in public performances
meant to express political power. Viewed
as performance art, which is, in fact, an important
dimension of what was going on, it was
brilliant--if somewhat over the top. Hence
the parodies.

Parody often focuses on art too good to be ignored
that nonetheless seems to go 'too far' in some direction. The parody
tends to accentuate
what goes too far. The truly
abysmal doesn't get parodied because it
doesn't get noticed.

[fearfaoin]

Parody often focuses on art too good to be ignored
that nonetheless seems to go 'too far' in some direction.
The parody tends to accentuate
what goes too far. The truly
abysmal doesn't get parodied because it
doesn't get noticed.

Agreed. Weird Al Yankovic would be an unknown if he chose
to parody Tito Jackson rather than Michael Jackson.

[fearfaoin]

As for TBEP, face it..the group IS will.I.am. Everybody else is simply a prop. Fergie is simply eye-candy ho with an OK voice.

I don't think this is entirely true. Fergie brought the Peas into
the mainstream. I suppose this could have been the case with a
different singer, but there is a reason will.i.am has hitched so
tightly to her solo career. He's riding her star as much as she's
riding his talent.

What made the blood come out of my ears was when Fergie
provided the shrill voice of Sally Brown in the more recent
"Peanuts" TV specials. Gaaaaah! "Get me Some Earplugs,
Charlie Brown!"

[djm]

Interesting point about BEPs. Morrisette did much the same. Her first album was a total flop. On her second, Jagged Little Pill, she had a boyfriend who did all her arranging and production. That's where all her hits came from and her fame, as well. She dumped the boyfriend and has done very little to match that second album worth listening to. Where will Fergie be if she strikes out on her own? Maybe she has watched Alannis and will avoid the same mistake.

djm