On Parry Gripp

Admittedly, I had a hard time coming up with a topic to write about this week. I have a few half formed ideas in the back of my head that might pan out for next week, but nothing really jumped out as something I should write about.

I'm a fan of cute animals. What does this have to do with music though? Well, two things kind of came together for this week's blog post. First, I've been digging deep into my Weird Al collection this week, listening to every album 2-3 times so far this week. Second, an old friend said that she's introducing her young son to Parry Gripp, so we got to sharing Parry Gripp songs this week.

I'm a fan of what you would call "novelty music". I like music that doesn't take itself too seriously, or, rather, music that takes emotion and fun seriously. Most music is serious, but self-righteous musicians, virtuosos who take their craft way too seriously bug me. I have most of Weird Al Yankovic's albums. I have almost every They Might Be Giants album. I have albums from musical pranksters like Negativland, Longmont Potion Castle, Devo, The Dead Milkmen. I have compilations of comedic covers. I collect albums simply because they're weird. But, as Frank Zappa once said, Does Humour Belong in Music?

I'd argue that it does. A good joke in the form of a song can go a long way to making a point. The Dead Kennedy's skewering of the music industry with "Pull My Strings", brilliantly performed live at the Bay Area Music Awards in front of industry big-wigs, was a coup for punk music. Negativland's controversial use of Casey Kasem quotes and U2 samples in "These Guys Are From England and Who Gives a Shit" got them sued but it made a point about cultural appropriation, copyright use and the right of artists to parody and criticize. Weird Al's rework of "Blurred Lines" to "Word Crimes" made a subtle point of using music to educate instead of reinforcing sexist stereotypes, and made the song a bit more punchy to boot.

Which brings us to Parry Gripp. I can't remember exactly when I discovered his music, or exactly which video of his I watched first (It might have been "Hamster on a Piano".) Parry Gripp writes very short songs, usually around a minute in length, and usually about cute animals or absurd things like tacos or Rupert Grint. He's also a member of the comedic pop punk band Nerf Herder, writes theme songs for TV and jingles for commercials. He's even been nominated for an Emmy for his musical work.

His cute animal songs aren't that serious, nor should they be treated that seriously. But, it does take some talent to write something catchy and memorable in just a minute. And his music is definitely memorable. It's insanely catchy and the songs stick in your head for months, and you'll find yourself going back to the videos. Music is meant to make you feel. Even to have fun. While some might enjoy a 12 minute, intricate guitar solo, I prefer a fun song that's going to make me smile or move me in some other way.

A few more Parry Gripp videos:

Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig)
Turtle
Cat Flushing a Toilet
At the Bunny Festival
Sumimasen
Dog with a Box on His Head
That Skunk is Mad

43 Bumper Stickers and a YOLO License Plate: Review of Weird Al's Mandatory Fun

I'll make no bones about it, I'm a Weird Al fan. I think he's an underrated genius. It takes talent to take another person's song and turn it into something entirely yours. He's so much more than a parody artist. This album sees Yankovic in pretty fine form.

The parodies are very solid this time around. "Word Crimes" is one of the best he's every done, taking Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" and turning it into a rant about grammar. The original sounds almost flat compared to the extra energy Al brings to the song. And maybe more importantly, it's a wagging finger at Robin Thicke's mindless misogyny in the original track, adding something intelligent while remaining dancy and fun."Tacky" is a great send up of Pharrell's "Happy" and his take on Iggy Azalea's "Fancy", relabeled "Handy", is classic Al. The two remaining parodies are a bit off the mark though, "Foil" (Lorde's "Royals") takes a wonderful dark turn in the second half of the song, but falls a bit short. His parody of "Radioactive" ("Inactive") is a bit cliched.

For original material, "First World Problems" is the standout here, a great piss take/homage on the sound of The Pixies. "Lame Claim to Fame" is an homage to Southern Culture on the Skids, an awesome band that more people should check out. The Crosby, Stills and Nash homage "Mission Statement" does it's job, replacing the 60s style folk lyrics with 90s style business gobbledygook, but doesn't hold up to repeated listenings. "My Own Eyes" is a spot on Foo Fighters homage, but interesting. His 9-minute homage to Cat Stevens, "Jackson Park Express" turns into randomness quickly.

Overall, this is a great album, but a bit behind is best work, like on Running with Scissors or Alpocalypse. It's worth listening to just for the parodies, which are some of the best he's done yet.