Thankfully, for the humorous and humorless alike, there’s a new show – the Flight of the Conchords, which is funny, smart, and entertaining. And hopefully it will serve as a remedy to all of you sourpusses out there. Of course, for those of you who do have a sense of humor and appreciate, as well as understand, your fellow slap-happy, slyly funny comrades, this show is just one extra treat that can be added to your endless and ever-growing collection of humorous things.

What’s the show about?

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, a quirky musical duo, have brought their parodic folk band from New Zealand to the U.S. The two musicians have turned their previous stage show into a television series, which is available on DVD and also airs on HBO. Set in NYC, the show follows the two folk artists, Bret and Jemaine, as they struggle to succeed in the music industry.

Given the subject matter, NYC is the perfect location, a city that brutally demystifies the dreams and aspirations of most artists (much like L.A. crushes teems of hopeful, fresh, young actors). After hiring an incompetent manager (Rhys Darby), whose “real job” is with the New Zealand Consulate, Bret and Jemaine fumble to get “gigs,” buy food, and so on.

Although it’s a parodic take about two struggling musicians, FOC’s satire functions more broadly. Borrowing from wide-ranging and thematic concepts from their original songs, the duo cleverly undermines commonly held assumptions and inverts concerns related to broad ranging social problems, all the while seamlessly incorporating peculiar, goofy, one-of-a-kind topics.

The end result: B and J provide the viewer with a type of humor that functions at a sophisticated level. One notable example, demonstrating the multifarious nature of their satire, is the song, “Albi, the racist dragon.” Clearly a spoof on children’s after school programs, Albi, an adorable looking dragon, is kicked out of his “cottage cheese cottage” for being racist.

Under the guise of total absurdity, the song (like many of their others) effectively straddles the realms of social critique and puerile fantasy land. At one point, Jemaine sings: “And so all of the villages chased Albi – the racist dragon – into a very cold, very scary cave. And it was so cold and so scary inside of there, that Albi began to cry, dragon tears, which as we all know turn into jelly beans!” Albi meets a “badly burned Albanian boy” in the cave, which helps him overcome his racism.

More examples of their songs and their quirky sense(s) of humor

As I’ve said, in order to appreciate FOC, there is a prerequisite: the viewer must possess an off-beat sense of humor. To be sure, the show and its type of humor aren’t for everyone. But that’s the beauty of smart humor: like a fine bottle of wine, only those with refined palettes can appreciate the intricacies and nuances of FOC’s superior quality.

As for the others, those of you who have (quite sadly) superficial and paltry notions of what “funny” means, you will find the show confusing and therefore conclude that it’s “lame, stupid, and annoying.” That’s a shame, so allow me to express my condolences for your obliviousness. For those of you, however, who do appreciate sarcasm and parody, oddness and subtlety – key ingredients to possessing a good (and intelligent) sense of humor - you’re laughing taste buds are in for something deliciously funny.

Below I’ve included a truncated and annotated list of a few more exemplary songs. YouTube has a good number of clips from their on-stage performances and from the show itself.

(Their CD, is also available for purchase, and was just released April 22nd).

(a)David Bowie Song (became a theme for an entire episode) - Jemaine played David Bowie, who appeared in a series of Bret’s dreams. Their ability to reinvent, while closing mimicking the true musical icon is one of the many ways in which the two demonstrate their own musical prowess. Furthermore, this “remake” of a classic 80’s song is yet another example of their honed musical skills.

(b) “Something for the ladies”

(c) “Mutah Uckers” - another clip from the show, a song that is related to the episode’s focus of racism (Bret and Jemaine encounter an anti-New Zealand fruit seller). It’s also a clever way of making fun of censorship.

(d) “We wanna deal with the issues” This song is emblematic of how they mix the absurd with the “real” issues in the world.

(e) Delightful parody of hip-hop music, Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros
- self-effacing, sarcastic, and hilariously written song about how they’re loser rappers. They warn: if you rap like us, you won’t make a dime.

[Tune in each week for periodic show recaps of the newest season!]