If you thought the days of parody and lyrical humour were over, think again. Musical comedy is everywhere - on disc, on stages across the country, and of course, on YouTube.
With the legendary Spinal Tap on their reunion tour and with Flight of the Conchords making a few stops in Canada this month, I've had comedic music on the brain.
I realize that humour in lyrics is nothing new. But at what point does a musician really become known as a "comedian"? What sets this kind of music apart from the rest of the industry?
In my quest to find out more about funny music, I got the chance to talk to a number of Canadian artists making a name for themselves in this genre.
Billy Reid - who goes by "Very Tasteful" in his comedy songs and videos - is one of those artists. I also visited the comedic duo The Wet Spots at their Vancouver home, where they showed me a closet full of accessories used in their sexually-themed cabaret act.
Alison Jutzi, The Black Roses and a Halifax-based comedy troupe called Picnicface all shared some of their insights about the comedic music scene in Canada.
At the end of the day (and by day, I mean the two weeks I dedicated to this project) I discovered that Canadian musical comedy is alive and well, and it loves a live audience.
Listen, laugh and let me know what you think.
(Alexis Stoymenoff finishes her internship at Radio 3 today. Good luck out there and thanks for everything from all of us here at R3! Ed.)
