Warm Bananaphones and Funky Muppets

You probably don't listen to too much children's music if you don't have to. But dig:

This one and (possible only) mashup by PF (who may or may not be from San Francisco) is one of my favorites, a LOL-out loud funny pairing of two of the most unlikely songs to ever be conjoined: The Normal's 1977 dark, droning, proto-industrial classic "Warm Leatherette," and kiddie-music star Raffi's typically cheerful, wholesome "Bananaphone," with a bit of Japan's noise combo Melt Banana thrown in for good measure. It all makes sense. Really.

PF: "Warm Bananaphone"

Another kiddie classic, "Mah-Na-Mah-Na," originally by Italy's sleazy soundtrack maestro Piero Umiliani, popularized by the Muppets, and recently remade by Cake, gets a funny, funky new life thanks to Boston's mash-meister Lenlow:

Lenlow: "Kanye Mahna" - Mr. West's "Golddigger" lesson, now aimed at the pre-school crowd; never too soon to learn about the ladies, eh, Kanye?

If you prefer the Muppet's version, Reading, UK's Pilchard gotcha covered:

Pilchard: "Macamuppet" - in which Animal does the Macarena with the Doors.

So what do professional musicians think about all this "illegal" activity in the music world? Well, Weird Al Yankovic's new album, "Straight Outta Lynwood" (release date: 9/26/06) features a track entitled "Don't Download This Song." Quothe his publicist: "...we are offering "Don't Download This Song" as a free unprotected MP3 in order to generate as many downloads as possible."

Weird Al Yankovic: "Don't Download This Song" - "You might end up in jail like Tommy Chong..."