In anticipation of the 20th anniversary of the debut of Tim and Eric‘s Awesome Show, Great Job!, one of the few TV shows that we make some space to cover and discuss, here’s a partial rundown of musicians who appeared on the sketch show. The very best and strangest cameos are up top, the right-up-there picks are right up there on the list, and the last ones are last.
The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Queen, The Police, R.E.M. and dozens more artists (except Coolio) were cool with, and sometimes even flattered by, “Weird Al” Yankovic parodying their songs. But perhaps no musician was more delighted by the comical accordion player and singer parodying one of his songs than Kurt Cobain.
Sure, they may be one of the biggest rock bands in the world, but let’s get real: Have Queens of the Stone Age truly “made it”?
Some would argue no for the simple reason that, some 30 years into their career, “Weird” Al Yankovic still hasn’t made a parody of even one QOTSA song. It’s a critical rite of passage in pop music, and until it happens, a musical act really hasn’t achieved irrefutable commercial success.
In an effort to help QOTSA finally break that glass ceiling, and to inspire Al to write some quality new parodies, here are The Bad Penny‘s Top 15 choicest ideas for QOTSA parody songs:
Original: “Regular John” Parody: “Regular John Tesh“
Original: “Go With the Flow” Parody: “Go With the Flomax“
Original: “Better Living Through Chemistry” Parody: “Better Living Through Home Ec“
Original: “I Think I Lost My Headache” Parody: “I Think I Lost My Keys“
Original: “Avon” Parody: “The Avon Lady”
Original: “I Sat by the Ocean” Parody: “I Sat by Billy Ocean (On a Plane)”
Original: “Keep Your Eyes Peeled” Parody: “Keep Your Oranges Peeled“
Original: “How to Handle a Rope” Parody: “How to Handle a Rope-a-Dope“
Original: “No One Knows” Parody: “Owen’s Nose” (referring to actor Owen Wilson’s unusual facial appendage) • Fun fact: QOTSA frontman Josh Homme told me he especially enjoyed this one.)
Speaking of “weird,” everyone’s favorite costume-wearing musician, “Weird Al” Yankovic, proved he’s the weirdest one of all at a Hollywood Bowl concert in mid-2016. Check out my FLOOD review of the show.