Novelty / Comedy / Character Rock
familyStarted 1962Peak 1984-2006Last big hit still active
Rock built to make you laugh as much as nod along: punchline lyrics, deadpan or cartoonish vocals, sound-effect gags, and exaggerated personas grafted onto otherwise straight rock instrumentation. The joke usually rides on top of a competent rock arrangement, from one-off gimmick singles to fully costumed character acts.
History
Born from early-1960s monster-mash and spoken-comedy singles, the family swelled with Dr. Demento radio in the 1970s and exploded via Weird Al and MTV in the 1980s. The 1990s alt boom mainstreamed nerd, geek, and theatrical variants; Tenacious D and the YouTube era kept comedy rock commercially alive into the 2000s and beyond.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_rock
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_song
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek_rock