Vegas Water Taxi and the greatest funny songs ever written
No matter what genre you listen to, be it punk, prog, indie, folk, rap, or all things in between, the same rule applies: injecting humour into music is extremely difficult.
That being said, it’s something that indie outfit Vegas Water Taxi seem to have down to a tee. While their music could hardly be described as knock-knock jokes put to instrumentation, there is no escaping that they manage to write lines which, every now and then, put an inescapable smile on the listener’s face. So, how do they do it?
Well, vocalist and songwriter Ben Hambro learnt from the best, as he draws inspiration from a range of humorous musical greats that came before him, and here, he’s agreed to give us a peek behind the curtain, letting us in on the funny songs which shaped his influence and permanently exist in a pocket of his brain somewhere, helping him write songs today.
Author E.B. White once said, “Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better, but the frog dies in the process.”
Well, lucky that this ship allows for blades, so grab a scalpel, as Vegas Water Taxi take us on a frog murdering rampage.
Five funny songs, according to Vegas Water Taxi:
Carly Simon – ‘You’re So Vain’
The first song on Hambro’s list is this Carly Simon classic, a track so devastatingly witty and harsh that it meets all the criteria of a diss track, bar mentioning the name of the target.
“This track contains some of the most poetic put-downs in pop without being too on the nose,” said Hambro. He cited specific lines in the song which stand out, including “You’re with some underworld spy, or the wife of a close friend.”
Most importantly, though, he admitted it was a huge inspiration for one of Vegas Water Taxi’s original offerings.
“This song was an inspiration for the lyrics of our song ‘Jerry’,” he said, “Where I was creating a composite character of many different people I know. I’ve had some of them ask me if that song is about them, and I always say yes to all of them. Let chaos reign.”
LCD Soundsystem – ‘Losing My Edge’
Humour takes many forms, and in this instance, it’s the kind where if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. As many of us music lovers watch the years roll on by, this LCD Soundsystem track becomes more and more prevalent, and that’s what Hambro experiences every time he listens.
“As a 30 year old man who has the regular pleasure of having relatives ask me if I’m still ‘doing my music’, this song becomes increasingly relatable year after year,” he explained, “I first heard it when I was around 13, and although I knew a lot of the artists mentioned in the lyrics, the true emotional heft of it has only really hit home for me now.”
The track always gets a laugh out of Hambro when he plays shows with younger musicians. Attempting to make it an industry which seems to value youth over all else, it’s hard to hear LCD Soundsystem’s lyrics and not feel a slight sting. “Whenever I turn up to play a show with some very talented 19-year-olds from Brit School, the line ‘But I’m losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent. And they’re actually really, really nice’, plays in my head, and I laugh a little bit.”
Purple Mountains – ‘That’s Just The Way That I Feel’
“I’m so sad I never got to see David Berman live, but I hope wherever he is now, he’s at peace,” said Hambro, reflecting on the Purple Mountains track ‘That’s Just The Way That I Feel’. When discussing the humour embedded within some of these lyrics, it’s not lost on the Vegas Water Taxi singer just how dramatic the contrast is between the overarching theme and the content.
“I can’t really do justice to describing what this album is about, or what happened in the immediate aftermath of its release, but needless to say, I implore you to seek it out,” he said, “This is the opening track, and although the subject matter is extremely sad, it contains some of my favourite lyrics of all time.”
A couple of lines that Hambro highlights include: “When I try to drown my thoughts in gin, I find my worst ideas know how to swim,” and the limerick-worthy, “I met a failure in Australia, I fell ill in Illinois, I nearly lost my genitalia to an anthill in Des Moines.”
John Cage – ‘4’ 33″‘
God knows how you begin to describe what kind of humour this is. It’s not physical, as no one moves; it’s not audible, as no one makes a sound; the joke exists within the lack thereof, and that’s the beauty of it. John Cage composed ‘4’ 33”’, a piece made up of three different sections, and with one instruction to the musicians involved: don’t play your instruments. It’s one you need to hear (or not) to believe.
“If you know, you know,” said Hambro, “Absolute laugh a minute stuff from one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. I love dropping this heater during the DJ sets as well, always goes off.”
Sarah Meth – ‘Sister You Said’
Last but certainly not least, Hambro opts for a newer track, ‘Sister You Said’ by Sarah Meth. A combination of honesty and juxtaposition makes this track one to check out.
“I only recently discovered Sarah’s music, and it’s absolutely fantastic,” said Hambro, “The thing I’m always craving as a listener is emotional honesty – not in a sense of vocal gymnastics or grand instrumentation, but just something that makes me really believe in the artist.”
He continued, “This song does this perfectly. It’s so raw and pure and honest about the messiness of miscommunication in a romantic relationship to the point that it makes me squirm, but I love it. Sarah’s voice is wonderfully playful, and the instrumentation beautifully juxtaposes the sentiment of the song. I can’t recommend it enough.”
