Ok, so I'm late on the pick-up on two counts:
Just discovered Flight of the Conchords
and just hearing Lotusflow3r for the first time.

I can't help thinking that most of the latter could have been made by the former, only they AREN'T supposed to be taken seriously.
So...:
- Is Lotusflow3r an enormous piss-take?
OR...:
- Would it be better if it was?

First of all.....No.

Lotusflow3r is an incredible album, as is MPLSound - every bit the return to form that many of us wanted.

Second of all.....two of my friends (one himself being a New Zealander) told me about Flight of the Conchords for a couple of months before I got round to watching it. When I finally did, I wasn't massively impressed, especially not with their jokey songs.

The show has it's moments though. I liked the bit where the Indian guy hated the two main characters because he thought they were Australian, then when he found out they weren't, he was all friendly. That was quite amusing.

i liked when he wore the shirt to try and look like prince in ep10

and you also have this

I think the show's brilliant (but I'm from Oz originally so maybe it's a downunder humour thing?) and love the parody songs.
Anyway, my post is half-joking, but only half!
For sure, this is a return to form after PE (listening to Back in the Lotus - fucking kick-arse!). BUT the lyrics and delivery?... Jemaine and Bret often do it better...

these people don't make me laugh. i don't get it. i know a lot of people like this show, and god bless you all, i mean that...but really, i tried watching this thing and i just sat there blinking at the television.

i watch tim & eric instead.

sounds like a long-lost ATWIAD outtake ...

I actually think that's one of their least Princey songs, but you get the idea (look at the other one from that episode:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...Fjrbmj0CUc
It looks like a take-off of Outkast doing Prince...)

I just find that a lot of stuff over the last few albums (excluding most of 3121) sounds semi-parody or has the same cringe factor that makes the Conchords so funny (sometimes).

Anx - I suggest you try again. They can be hit and miss, but there are some great moments...


Ok - after I wrote this "4Ever" came on and I thought: this had to have been written by Jermain and Bret, except their's would've been funnier... or maybe not... Oh my god, I can totally see them doing this, especially the harmonies, "bubble bath", "opera", the questions "What if I never made u laugh?", the crooning chorus, the spoken word. I'm actually enjoying it, thinking of it as a Conchords song. Only the guitar has to be Prince, but there's so little. Shit, even the screaming sounds like Jermain! "I don't want to kiss your lips till I get to OoUhh your hips" ROTFL!
[Edited 5/27/09 16:12pm]

This is more like Prince. I absolutely love this duo. Hoping to catch them live one day.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...mDTSQtK20c
[Edited 5/27/09 16:44pm]

Savage said:

You're a legend, Dave!

"You could be a part-time model, but you'd probably have to keep your normal job"

Ok, I'm making tha my sig!

I think you're really, really reaching with this comparison.

Militant said:

You might be right... just making conversation...
But don't u find many of the lyrics on Lotusflow3r beyond self-parody?

wasitgood4u said:

Not at all. Not even slightly. Perhaps '4ever' comes close, but that would be the only one and I don't much care for that song anyway.

I don't know how you could say songs like "Boom", "Dreamer", "$" or "Colonized Mind" come even remotely close to self-parody.

Militant said:

Yeah. It was a response on a first listen and I think it was mainly (though not exclusively) to 4ever and the ilk. Hell, try it with MPLS - Chocolate Box couldn't be a Conchords song?

wasitgood4u said:

Hmm. Like with Lotus, I'd say there's just the one song on MPLS that even remotely comes close to self-parody and that would be "Chocolate Box". Only lyrically though, the music is classic urban electro funk.
[Edited 5/27/09 17:25pm]

I'm quite surprised that Conchords' have found an audience in the US.

This understated stuff is usually more suited to British/Australian/NZ sensibility.

I find it even more surprising that whichever company owns the rights to the show didn't have it remade with an American cast. That seems to be the fashion with quality 'foreign' product. (Why they ever felt the need to remake The Office, is quite beyond me.)

...If you want a taste of the Conchords, youtube their live stuff rather than the TV show.

I've been a fan of this show since the beginning and love it! At first I was like Anx thinking it was not that funny and a few episodes in I got hooked! They obviously love Prince and have said so in a couple interviews. I've also been lucky enough to see them live and they are quite talented and extremly funny!