Music That Could Be Considered Comedy But Is Also Good Music, Genre Unimportant:
Neil Cicierega/Lemon Demon: Spirit Phone
This is a weird one because you could take this album mostly seriously. But the context of it being (a) Neil Cicierega, and (b) mostly about conspiracy theories and frankensteins makes it more obviously comedy. However…every single one of these songs is an absolute banger.
The closest comparison is the obvious Oingo Boingo one, but they were a much more serious band and it just turns out their greatest hits were all halloween music. This album asks the question “What if halloween music was an entire genre unto itself and taken completely seriously?” Also, “what if ancient and unknowable forces controlling our fates and lives was…actually a good thing?”
It’s genuinely spooky at times, very funny all the time, and really really empathetic. It rules, and is the best example of a pretty straightforward Comedy Album being actually incredible.
Electric Six: I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me from Being the Master
Electric Six is famous mostly for Danger! High Voltage! (or Gay Bar if you’re in the UK), but they have like six-thousand albums, and at least five good ones. This is my favorite.
Hey mister! Put a little mustard on that mustard!
It’s Showtime is such a great opener, and then the song about an evil ronald mcdonald preventing you from going home after working all day at a McDonald’s because he’s having too raucous of a party in the parking lot…I mean, what else do you need? And that’s the first two songs!!
Ever since I met you, you were someone I knew
Dick Valentine is the master of the stupidly repetitive lyric that makes me laugh because it’s stupid. But every single one of these songs is immediately danceable and singable and it’s so good. Love it.
I wanna see who’s living between your legs
(what does this even mean???)
I think this album is a great example of how even a one-hit-wonder probably has a bunch of bangers in their back catalog if they’re prolific enough.
Captain Ahab - The End Of Irony (sorry for the spotify link but this is the best version of the album, which has at least 4 versions)
This album goes so fucking hard from beginning to end with songs such as “I Don’t Have A Dick” and “Death To False Techno”. I have no idea how to recommend this to anyone who doesn’t already want to listen to it just based on those two song titles. It’s an important album for understanding the genre though. Probably. Somehow.
Just listen to it.
MF Doom - MM…Food
Calling this a comedy album is probably contentious but MF Doom had a wicked sense of humor, a cartoonish sense of exaggeration, and such intricate lyrics that he could sometimes fit 3 jokes in a single line. I think this album is meant to be funny first, even as it’s also meant to be taken seriously. Nobody else was able to tell jokes and still be this much of a badass. Love love love this album.