The Muppets

First and foremost, go see the Muppets movie. It's a travesty that Twilight 4 is dominating it in the box office. It's well-paced, very funny, and most importantly, completely innocent and optimistic. So much comedy these days relies on shock value or some level of adult humor (like The Hangover) and carries an overwhelming aura of pessimism (because it's easy to be funny and pessimistic). But the Muppets manages to be very funny throughout without resorting to foul language or sexual innuendo. I could go on for a while about how much I loved this movie, but I'll save that for another time. Instead, I will share my three favorite songs from the Muppets. I've actually been humming these in the back of my head ever since I heard them.

Man or Muppet?



I'm not a music critic, so I won't go into detail about why I like these songs. But I think this song does a great job of being an emotional pivot for the movie, allowing for important character questions while still being funny. There are very few things which manage to be simultaneously funny and serious. Although to be fair, most of the comedy is derived from seeing a Muppet version of Jason Segel and from the line "A Muppet of a man". But sometimes, the simplest things are the best.

Life's a Happy Song



This is the opening number and does a great job of setting the tone for the movie while being very catchy. It's very visually stimulating and has a number of fourth wall jokes. For example, Jason Segel breaks the flowers he got his girlfriend because there "was this big dance number I got into on the way over here".

Smells Like Teen Spirit



How can you not laugh at a barbershop quartet cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? Answer: Because you are a robot and do not have algorithms capable of interpreting humor.

The Winning Formula

I am a man of conviction. If my previous loquacious musings had not tipped you off to the fact, now you have it in unambiguous, introductory paragraph style. Once I am convinced of something, I remain it takes a lot to shake that belief. For years, I believed that few things could top the comedic styling of the Muppets. Sure, their hay day has long since passed, but so has Monty Python's and they're still awesome. Incidentally, Monty Python is one of the few things that can top the Muppets, but that's another story. Similarly, I believe that it is very hard to beat both the rock and the roll of Queen. But it never occurred to me that combining Muppets and Queen would result in unadulterated awesomeness.



But that's not all! Someone took the formula one step further by mixing David Bowie, Queen and the Muppets. It's not quite as awesome as the first video, but it also is just a guy with a video camera and a few puppets. Not exactly the same level of sophistication you get from working with the Disney Corporation.


By the way, I just noticed that most of the things I really like were at their peak before I was born. It may seem weird, but if I ever get sent back to 1985, Marty McFly style, I'll have no trouble fitting in.