Flight of the Conchords

I know, I know. You didn't collectively vote for Flight of the Conchords in last week's poll. But I think that's because, perhaps, many of you are not familiar with the HBO original show of the same name, and really just don't know what you're missing!

Hailing from New Zealand, Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie make up the Grammy-winning duo, whose awkward lyrics and situations oddly reflect an exaggerated reality.

Mostly dealing with women and relationships (and sometimes self-deprecating sexual situations), Bret and Jermaine sing about life as they see it through the eyes of two complete losers.

The show, which takes place in New York City, features Bret and Jermaine playing themselves as Flight of the Conchords, a severely unsuccessful parody music band who never can land a gig (partly because of their incompetent manager Murray, played by Rhys Darby), and who only has a single fan Mel, played by Kristen Schaal.

When they do have gigs--usually at a a place like a hotel restaurant, or an empy bar--Mel is the only fan present. She almost always waits for them outside their apartment, and almost always wears an FOTC t-shirt.

Murray, who works at the New Zealand consulate, holds the band meetings in his office. The meetings always begin with a roll call, for which Murray insists on everyone present (including himself) to say "present" when their name is called.

Laughasaurus worthiness:

As I usually try to break down what makes a particular show/movie/cartoon/article funny, Flight of the Conchords has two main draws.

The first, of course is their music. Focusing on their parody lyrics instead of their instrumentals or voices--voices, which seem to be intentionally awful--the lyrics often evoke the feeling of the situations they present in the topic, even putting the jokes out at their own expense. Here's a clip from the beginning of their first episode:



Other episodes feature songs that get much weirder and don't exactly reflect the situation at hand, such as "Bowie" and "Robots." Though I highly recommend checking out "Robots," it's hilarious.

The show is also funny because of the non-musical dialogue between Jermaine and Bret, and the other uncomfortable situations they find themselves in. They speak in very monotonous voices with very little inflection or excitement, they almost never laugh and rarely smile, and when combined with their thick New Zealand accents, it still manages to garner laughs.

Here's another clip from the first episode at a band meeting:



If you don't have access to HBO or a Flight of the Conchords DVD, here are some more suggestions to look up on YouTube (or your preferred online video viewing site):

- Hiphopapotamous vs. Rhymenocerous
- Business Time
- If You're Into It

Enjoy!