Two of my favorite all-time DJ sets have relied on novelty. The first was at DJ Demchuk and Arvo Finger’s old freeform night at Spot 6, where or friend Rebekah, who played a number of instruments for Fuzzy Bunnies of Death, who touted a happy, cutesypoo version of noise rock and death metal. To much of the crowd’s surprise, instead of Christian Death and Einstürzende Neubauten, her set was composed entirely of ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic.

The 2nd was at one of WLUW’s Weird Kids nights at Darkroom, where Jake Austen (founder of Roctober magazine and the TV show Chic-a-Go-Go) did a set of songs by Alvin and the Chipmunks.

And it worked both times. Why wouldn’t it. Weird Al has been lampooning popular music (in addition to doing sincere high-speed polka covers) for over thirty years, and his repertoire ranges from Queen to Michael Jackson to Nirvana to Chamillionaire), and the Chipmunks have been doing the same thing for about half a century now, with whole albums devoted to rap, hard rock, punk and new wave.

When Frank Zappa put out the live album “Does Humor Belong in Music”, hip hop was still in its infancy. While there had always been an element of humor to his music, he’d spent most of his career steeped in the worlds of jazz and prog, which prided themselves in their serious musicianship, as well as rock’n’roll where authenticity was always a concern, and it lost him a lot of potential fans. I don’t know if he would’ve believed that the music that usurped rock’s place as the most popular music in America (hip hop) had albums full of skits. It’s been that way since the start, at least since the breakout party rap of Sugarhill Gang, but even NWA stopped being hard for a few minimal to tell a few jokes each album.

So it’s interesting to hear what a mixtape of funny/novelty rap sounds like, because it’s so open to interpretation. Songs that are intended as jokes become actual hits (like Lonely Planet’s collaboration with T-Pain “I’m On a Boat”), and some songs that were produced in all sincerity as potential hits (see: at least 75% of R. Kelly’s recorded output). So with all this, a novelty mixtape that you could actually dance to is long-overdue.

Laugh Factory is a collaboration between Flosstradamus’ DJ Autobot and Willy Joy. Their “Me So Corny” mixtape was released on April Fool’s Day as a podcast from Mad Decent. It features tracks from Eddie Murphy, Hot Stylz, The Outhere Bros, Paul Wall, a Mike 2600 remix of Tracy Morgan/Tracy Jordon’s “Werewolf Barmitzvah”, Top Billin’s “Smell Yo Dick”, and several more, including two tracks apiece from Lonely Island and Raffi, and a number of songs produced by Laugh Factory themselves.

The Laugh Factory does some great things with their tracks and transitions. A remix of Raffi’s eminently listenable “Bananaphone” opens up with Gwen Stefani call-and-response spelling of “B-A-N-A-N-A-S!”, the chorus of N.E.R.D.’s “Everyone Nose” leads into Outhere Bros 1990s club hit “Pass the Toilet Paper”, the singing Meow Mix jingle cats back up Cam’Ron’s “Bottom of the Pussy Hole”, and Tim Allen’s grunts are cut-up and reassembled into Major Lazer’s “Pon De Floor”

The mix holds up surprisingly well on repeat listens, and there’s no shortage of material floating around in the worlds of intentional and accidental joke songs, so here’s hoping there’s a volume two on the way sometime sooner than next April.

Download the mix from Mad Decent

ELSEWHERE IN CHICAGOLAND

Kid Color puts out an amazing disco mix called Palette Two. (download from Hot Biscuits)

Matt Roan goes disco too with Bright Nites 2 (download from Soundcloud)

Moneypenny keep dropping (mostly) girl-centric, (mostly) electro mixes to go with their monthly party Spandexxx. Recent and future Spandexxx guests like Dominique Young Unique, Free Energy, and My Gold Mask share the space with new Moneypenny edits of Die Antwoord, Siriusmo, Binkers and Innerpartysystem. Check out the dope GlitterGuts cover for Volume .012 (download from UR Chicago)

Chrissy Murderbot closes out his year of mixtapes with a jungle mix for week 51 and a boogie mix for week 52. (download from My Year of Mixtapes)

Yawn drops a remix EP with tracks by Groovehahn, Starfoxxx, and more. (Download from Yawn’s website)

Team Bayside High release their first mixtape, No Sleeves Attached, a collection of rock, metal, and new wave remixes from the likes of Slayer, Smashing Pumpkins, Human League, Outfield and Twisted Sister (on the rock side) and Computer Club, Le Castlevania, DJ Sega and Tommie Sunshine (on the remix side). (Download from UR Chicago)

Hood Internet Vs Tobacco Vs Felt finds Hood Internet mashing tracks from Tobacco’s new album with pieces from the Aesop Rock/Slug/Murs collaboration Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez (the previous two entries in the series were tributes to [living goddesses] Christina Ricci and Lisa Bonet). (download from Hood Internet’s website)

Midnight Conspiracy deliver Dead Fame 001 to coincide with a Spring tour culminating in the Dead Fame party at Bottom Lounge in Chicago, featuring headliners Le Castlevania, D.I.M., and DZ, plus four rooms of local bands and djs (and a photobooth by me)