Comedy Rock

First appearing in the novelty rock of 1950s artists -- like Sheb Wooley's "Purple People Eater" and Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "The Monster Mash" -- Comedy Rock found its stride with the influential '60s rock acts Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Comedy Rock has remained largely a cult genre, although it isn't rare for a major artist to release a novelty song every now and again -- witness the Beatles' "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" or Pearl Jam's "Gremmie Out of Control." Through the '90s, geek rockers Ween raised (or, depending on your viewpoint, lowered) the bar for Comedy Rock's level of visibility and inanity with sardonic tunes like "Strap on that Jammypac" and "Touch My Tooter."