Background Information: What is Parody?

A Parody is a work created to mock,

comment on, or make fun of an original
work. It uses humour to highlight the point it
is trying to make and often attempts to
mimic the original artist in a satirical
fashion.
The art of Parody may have been around
since art itself. Examples can be found in music, art or culture,
including literature. In 300 BC, Aristotle was well known for his rewording of well-known poems found in ancient Greek literature so
that the meaning was transformed from the sublime to the
ridiculous.
In more recent times, artists such as Weird Al Yankovic carved
entire careers from creating parodies of charting songs, since 1976
he has sold more than 12 million albums, which is more than any
other comedy act in history! His titles include, Like a Surgeon (a
take on Madonnas Like a Virgin), Amish Paradise (Gangstas
Paradise) and Pretty Fly for a Rabbi (Pretty Fly for a White Guy).
In the UK, the Radio 1 presenter Chris Moyles has been at the
forefront of parody. He has specialised in targeting recent UK chart
topping songs and artists and has released 2 albums since 2007.
Whilst the albums have been generally regarded as flops, he has
persevered to remain the UKs leading parody artist.
The law has often been called upon to protect the reputation of an
artist. However, as it stands, there is no law against creating a
parody of an existing piece of work just so long as the tune is
altered so it is not identical to the original which would infringe on
copyright issues.

Task 1: Watch the original music video its parody version on Managebac to
answer the following questions.

Parody Video One: Kangaroos!

By: Hamza
1. What is this video a parody of (eg, name the original
song and composer)?
Kangaroos, Name! Original song: Fire flies
2. What makes this clip funny (or do you think the
composer intended to be funny)?
The composer intended to be funny or he wanted to make
fun of the song!
3. What is the message of this parody?
I think the message of the parody is for the composer of
the original song to stop making music/ vice versa
4. Can you identify any features of the parody that relate to

the original work?

Nope!
5. Below, give an example of a line from the original song, and
then its parody version.
Original
You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep

Parody

You would not believe your eyes

If ten million kangaroos
Came out of your closet and ate your food

6. Now, choose a line from the original song, and then create a
parody version.
2

Original

Parody

A foxtrot above my head

A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a
thread (thread, thread

A squirtle is ontop of my head

A sockpace is beneath me
A disco ball is hanging of the
roof!

7. Make italic musical terms below that best describes the

parody.
Fast
Slow
Changing

Busy
Still

Quiet

Loud

8. Make italic the musical instruments can you hear.

Piano

Strings

Electronic Sounds

Woodwind Percussion Voice (female)

Brass

Voice (male)

Sound effects (e.g, clapping)

9. In your own words, describe this piece. Refer to the sheet

on tone colour (see the last page of this document) for some
adjectives to use in your answer, or choose your own
adjectives.
I think the composer really wanted to make a piece which is completely
ignoring the work of the artist to show that his work is bad/ vice versa!