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His band, the City Slickers, were a corporate example of HollywoodToneDeaf. They were all, Spike included, [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct absolute top-notch players]] -- you ''had'' to, in order to pull off the scripted cacophony of his scores, mastering the split-second timing and making the proceedings funny rather than totally anarchic. Their musicianship is evident on those rare occasions when they played a passage or (even rarer) an entire number "straight." In fact, Spike formed an alternate orchestra in 1946 under the name "Spike Jones and his Other Orchestra" which played seriously in an attempt to show the world he could produce legitimate music, but the public didn't care and it folded shortly thereafter, having only released two singles. (For a condensed illustration of "straight" vs. "Spike" styles, listen to the brief trombone solo in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgQtqb72kg intro to "That Old Black Magic."]] He starts out with a tone and technique sounding like the great Tommy Dorsey, but in just a few bars quickly degenerates into the "slowly dying engine of a WWI biplane" tone more commonly heard in the band's recordings.)

to:

His band, the City Slickers, were a corporate example of HollywoodToneDeaf. They were all, Spike included, [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct absolute top-notch players]] -- you ''had'' to, to be in order to pull off the scripted cacophony of his scores, mastering the split-second timing and making the proceedings funny rather than totally anarchic. Their musicianship is evident on those rare occasions when they played a passage or (even rarer) an entire number "straight." In fact, Spike formed an alternate orchestra in 1946 under the name "Spike Jones and his Other Orchestra" which played seriously in an attempt to show the world he could produce legitimate music, but the public didn't care and it folded shortly thereafter, having only released two singles. (For a condensed illustration of "straight" vs. "Spike" styles, listen to the brief trombone solo in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgQtqb72kg intro to "That Old Black Magic."]] He starts out with a tone and technique sounding like the great Tommy Dorsey, but in just a few bars quickly degenerates into the "slowly dying engine of a WWI biplane" tone more commonly heard in the band's recordings.)
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Fixed the formatting on the page quote


''Now me and my mate were back at the shack\\

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''Now ->''Now me and my mate were back at the shack\\
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''Now me and my mate were back at the shack\\
We had Spike Jones on the box\\
She said, "I can't take the way he sings\\
But I love to hear him talk"''
-->--Music/TheBand, "Up on Cripple Creek"
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In the modern day, he is perhaps best known for performing a BreakawayPopHit cover of the song "WesternAnimation/DerFuehrersFace," featured in the Disney WartimeCartoon of the same name, though the song was originally written by Oliver Wallace. Another famous routine is "William Tell Overture", featuring a horse race commentary by fellow comedian Doodles Weaver ([[Creator/SigourneyWeaver Sigourney's]] uncle) stacked with jokes about the horses' names and ending in a surprise win for TheAllegedSteed Feetlebaum. And around Christmas, you've probably heard "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".

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In the modern day, he is perhaps best known for performing a BreakawayPopHit cover of the song "WesternAnimation/DerFuehrersFace," featured in the Disney WartimeCartoon of the same name, though [[ParodyDisplacement the song was originally written written]] by Oliver Wallace. Another famous routine is "William Tell Overture", featuring a horse race commentary by fellow comedian Doodles Weaver ([[Creator/SigourneyWeaver Sigourney's]] uncle) stacked with jokes about the horses' names and ending in a surprise win for TheAllegedSteed Feetlebaum. And around Christmas, you've probably heard "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".
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Technically, most of his music isn't so much ''parody'' as it is ''travesty'' (in the technical definition of "a distorted representation of something", without the modern connotation of meanness or butchery). In a song parody, the original melody is used but the lyrics are changed; Jones instead would play the tune with the correct notes and the original lyrics, but in such an out-of-left-field musical style -- changing the tempo, adding weird sound effects, or everything in between -- that the music itself was the joke.[[note]]A modern-day equivalent would be the polkas by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[[/note]] While Spike Jones engaged in some parody, it was in his travesties where his style really soared.

to:

Technically, most of his music isn't so much ''parody'' as it is ''travesty'' (in the technical definition of "a distorted representation of something", without the modern connotation of meanness or butchery). In a song parody, the original melody is used but the lyrics are changed; Jones instead would play the tune with the correct notes and the original lyrics, but in such an out-of-left-field musical style -- changing the style, altering the tempo, adding weird sound effects, or everything in between -- that the music itself was the joke.[[note]]A modern-day equivalent would be the polkas by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[[/note]] While Spike Jones engaged in some parody, it was in his travesties where his style really soared.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


Technically, most of his music isn't so much ''parody'' as it is ''travesty'' (in the technical definition of the word, without the modern connotation of meanness or butchery). In a song parody, the original melody is used but the lyrics are changed; Jones instead would play the tune with the correct notes and the original lyrics, but in such an out-of-left-field musical style -- changing the tempo, adding weird sound effects, or everything in between -- that the music itself was the joke.[[note]]A modern-day equivalent would be the polkas by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[[/note]] While Spike Jones engaged in some parody, it was in his travesties where his style really soared.

to:

Technically, most of his music isn't so much ''parody'' as it is ''travesty'' (in the technical definition of the word, "a distorted representation of something", without the modern connotation of meanness or butchery). In a song parody, the original melody is used but the lyrics are changed; Jones instead would play the tune with the correct notes and the original lyrics, but in such an out-of-left-field musical style -- changing the tempo, adding weird sound effects, or everything in between -- that the music itself was the joke.[[note]]A modern-day equivalent would be the polkas by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[[/note]] While Spike Jones engaged in some parody, it was in his travesties where his style really soared.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


Technically, most of his music isn't so much ''parody'' as it is ''travesty'' (in the technical definition of the word, without the modern connotation of meanness or butchery). In a song parody, the original melody is used but the lyrics are changed; Jones instead would play the tune with the correct notes and the original lyrics, but in such an out-of-left-field musical style that the music itself was the joke.[[note]]A modern-day equivalent would be the polkas by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[[/note]] While Spike Jones engaged in some parody, it was in his travesties where his style really soared.

to:

Technically, most of his music isn't so much ''parody'' as it is ''travesty'' (in the technical definition of the word, without the modern connotation of meanness or butchery). In a song parody, the original melody is used but the lyrics are changed; Jones instead would play the tune with the correct notes and the original lyrics, but in such an out-of-left-field musical style -- changing the tempo, adding weird sound effects, or everything in between -- that the music itself was the joke.[[note]]A modern-day equivalent would be the polkas by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[[/note]] While Spike Jones engaged in some parody, it was in his travesties where his style really soared.
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* ExplosiveBreeder: This is the theme of "Ya Wanna Buy A Bunny?"
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His band, the City Slickers, were a corporate example of HollywoodToneDeaf. They were all, Spike included, [[HeReallyCanAct absolute top-notch players]] -- you ''had'' to, in order to pull off the scripted cacophony of his scores, mastering the split-second timing and making the proceedings funny rather than totally anarchic. Their musicianship is evident on those rare occasions when they played a passage or (even rarer) an entire number "straight." In fact, Spike formed an alternate orchestra in 1946 under the name "Spike Jones and his Other Orchestra" which played seriously in an attempt to show the world he could produce legitimate music, but the public didn't care and it folded shortly thereafter, having only released two singles. (For a condensed illustration of "straight" vs. "Spike" styles, listen to the brief trombone solo in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgQtqb72kg intro to "That Old Black Magic."]] He starts out with a tone and technique sounding like the great Tommy Dorsey, but in just a few bars quickly degenerates into the "slowly dying engine of a WWI biplane" tone more commonly heard in the band's recordings.)

to:

His band, the City Slickers, were a corporate example of HollywoodToneDeaf. They were all, Spike included, [[HeReallyCanAct [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct absolute top-notch players]] -- you ''had'' to, in order to pull off the scripted cacophony of his scores, mastering the split-second timing and making the proceedings funny rather than totally anarchic. Their musicianship is evident on those rare occasions when they played a passage or (even rarer) an entire number "straight." In fact, Spike formed an alternate orchestra in 1946 under the name "Spike Jones and his Other Orchestra" which played seriously in an attempt to show the world he could produce legitimate music, but the public didn't care and it folded shortly thereafter, having only released two singles. (For a condensed illustration of "straight" vs. "Spike" styles, listen to the brief trombone solo in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgQtqb72kg intro to "That Old Black Magic."]] He starts out with a tone and technique sounding like the great Tommy Dorsey, but in just a few bars quickly degenerates into the "slowly dying engine of a WWI biplane" tone more commonly heard in the band's recordings.)
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


His band, the City Slickers, were a corporate example of HollywoodToneDeaf. They were all, Spike included, absolute top-notch players -- you ''had'' to be to pull off the scripted cacophony of his scores, mastering the split-second timing and making the proceedings funny rather than totally anarchic. Their musicianship is evident on those rare occasions when they played a passage or (even rarer) an entire number "straight." In fact, Spike formed an alternate orchestra in 1946 under the name "Spike Jones and his Other Orchestra" which played seriously in an attempt to show the world he could produce legitimate music, but the public didn't care and it folded shortly thereafter, having only released two singles. (For a condensed illustration of "straight" vs. "Spike" styles, listen to the brief trombone solo in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgQtqb72kg intro to "That Old Black Magic."]] He starts out with a tone and technique sounding like the great Tommy Dorsey, but in just a few bars quickly degenerates into the "slowly dying engine of a WWI biplane" tone more commonly heard in the band's recordings.)

to:

His band, the City Slickers, were a corporate example of HollywoodToneDeaf. They were all, Spike included, [[HeReallyCanAct absolute top-notch players players]] -- you ''had'' to be to, in order to pull off the scripted cacophony of his scores, mastering the split-second timing and making the proceedings funny rather than totally anarchic. Their musicianship is evident on those rare occasions when they played a passage or (even rarer) an entire number "straight." In fact, Spike formed an alternate orchestra in 1946 under the name "Spike Jones and his Other Orchestra" which played seriously in an attempt to show the world he could produce legitimate music, but the public didn't care and it folded shortly thereafter, having only released two singles. (For a condensed illustration of "straight" vs. "Spike" styles, listen to the brief trombone solo in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgQtqb72kg intro to "That Old Black Magic."]] He starts out with a tone and technique sounding like the great Tommy Dorsey, but in just a few bars quickly degenerates into the "slowly dying engine of a WWI biplane" tone more commonly heard in the band's recordings.)

Changed: 279

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Technically, most of his music isn't so much ''parody'' as it is ''travesty'' (in the technical definition of the word, without the modern connotation of meanness or butchery). He would play the tune with the correct notes and the original lyrics, but in such an out-of-left-field musical style that the music itself was the joke, much like Weird Al's polkas. Parody, by contrast, involves changing the lyrics of an existing song, which is what Weird Al is most famous for. Spike Jones engaged in some parody, but it was in his travesties where his style really soared.

to:

Technically, most of his music isn't so much ''parody'' as it is ''travesty'' (in the technical definition of the word, without the modern connotation of meanness or butchery). He In a song parody, the original melody is used but the lyrics are changed; Jones instead would play the tune with the correct notes and the original lyrics, but in such an out-of-left-field musical style that the music itself was the joke, much like Weird Al's polkas. Parody, by contrast, involves changing joke.[[note]]A modern-day equivalent would be the lyrics of an existing song, which is what Weird Al is most famous for. polkas by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[[/note]] While Spike Jones engaged in some parody, but it was in his travesties where his style really soared.
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* BlackComedy: Spike doesn't usually go black, but when he does...
** "My Old Flame" has a serial killer reminisce about his previous lovers.
** "Never Hit Your Grandma With a Shovel" discusses the best way to murder your dear sweet grandmother.

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* TheParody: Jones was a master of the form.

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* TheParody: Jones was a master of the form.form; a significant portion of his discography consists of taking then-popular songs and replacing the music with comedic covers, while leaving the original lyrics intact.

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* BaitAndSwitch: "Never Hit Your Grandma With a Shovel" has the singer admonish the audience not to bludgeon their dear sweet granny with a shovel... and to use a ''great big rock'' instead.



* {{Instrumental}}: A few of Spike Jones' songs are devoid of lyrics all together, or as long as gargling or manic laughing aren't considered "lyrics". Examples include "Carmen" and "Holiday for Strings".



* SpokenWordInMusic: A lot of his material have sketches.

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* SpokenWordInMusic: A lot of his material have sketches. Most notable in "Camptown Races", which consists of various short comedy sketches separated by a rapid instrumental of "Camptown Races".

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* LyricalDissonance: The lyrics of the original song are usually sung seriously with the sound effects and extra added jokes as contrast.

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* LyricalDissonance: The A regular source of comedy; the lyrics of the original song are usually sung seriously with the sound effects and extra added jokes as contrast.contrast. "Cocktails for Two" is arguably the most famous example.


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* OverlyLongGag: "He Broke My Heart In Three Places" ends with the (female) singer listing over ''two dozen'' cities where her missing beau left her heartbroken.
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* PropagandaPiece: Before and during World War II, Spike Jones recorded a number of non-parody songs supporting the war effort in his own style, with "Der Fuehrer's Face" being the most renown. Other titles include "Little Bo Beep Has Lost Her Jeep", "48 Reasons Why", "Trailer Annie", and "You're a Sap Mister Jap".

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* PropagandaPiece: Before and during World War II, Spike Jones recorded a number of non-parody songs supporting the war effort in his own style, with "Der Fuehrer's Face" being the most renown. Other titles include "Little Bo Beep Has Lost Her Jeep", "48 Reasons Why", "Trailer Annie", and "You're a Sap Mister Jap".
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Added DiffLines:

* PropagandaPiece: Before and during World War II, Spike Jones recorded a number of non-parody songs supporting the war effort in his own style, with "Der Fuehrer's Face" being the most renown. Other titles include "Little Bo Beep Has Lost Her Jeep", "48 Reasons Why", "Trailer Annie", and "You're a Sap Mister Jap".

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Changed: 2370

Removed: 795

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Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was a legendary bandleader in the [[TheThirties thirties]], [[TheForties forties]], and [[TheFifties fifties]], and one of the first innovators of novelty music in popular culture. Spike was a master of musical comedy - not in terms of the film genre, where one gets a comedy that happens to feature singing, but in comedy created through music. Like Music/WeirdAlYankovic, Spike was a parodist, and, again, like Weird Al, having your song mocked by Spike was viewed as a necessity before you could really consider yourself to have made it to musical stardom ... although their approaches were wildly different. Weird Al plays the music so straight that if you're not listening closely, you might not notice that it's a parody; whereas Spike wouldn't change the lyrics, but would take the ''music'' out back and mug it. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvt4b_qwC_Q His 1944 hit cover of "Cocktails for Two"]], originally a nice, sweet song about how Prohibition was over and people could have alcohol on dates again, featured gunshots, gargling, slide whistles, and enough violence done to the musical instruments that he may have violated the Geneva Convention.

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Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was a legendary bandleader in the [[TheThirties thirties]], [[TheForties forties]], and [[TheFifties fifties]], and one of the first innovators of novelty music in popular culture. culture.

Spike was a master of musical comedy - -- not in terms of the film genre, where one gets a comedy that happens to feature singing, but in comedy created through music. Like Music/WeirdAlYankovic, Spike was a parodist, and, again, like Weird Al, having your song mocked by Spike was viewed as a necessity before you could really consider yourself to have made it to musical stardom ... although their approaches were wildly different. Weird Al plays the music so straight that if you're not listening closely, you might not notice that it's a parody; whereas Spike wouldn't change the lyrics, but would take the ''music'' out back and mug it. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvt4b_qwC_Q His 1944 hit cover of "Cocktails for Two"]], originally a nice, sweet song about how Prohibition was over and people could have alcohol on dates again, featured gunshots, gargling, slide whistles, and enough violence done to the musical instruments that he may have violated the Geneva Convention.



His band, the City Slickers, were a corporate example of HollywoodToneDeaf. They were all, Spike included, absolute top-notch players -- you ''had'' to be to pull off the scripted cacophony of his scores, mastering the split-second timing and making the proceedings funny rather than totally anarchic. Their musicianship is evident on those rare occasions when they played a passage or (even rarer) an entire number "straight." In fact, Spike formed an alternate orchestra in 1946 under the name "Spike Jones and his Other Orchestra" which played seriously in an attempt to show the world he could produce legitimate music, but the public didn't care and it folded shortly thereafter, having only released two singles. (For a condensed illustration of "straight" vs."Spike" styles, listen to the brief trombone solo in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgQtqb72kg intro to "That Old Black Magic."]] He starts out with a tone and technique sounding like the great Tommy Dorsey, but in just a few bars quickly degenerates into the "slowly dying engine of a WWI biplane" tone more commonly heard in the band's recordings.)

In the modern day, he is perhaps best known for performing a BreakawayPopHit cover of the song "WesternAnimation/DerFuehrersFace," featured in the Disney WartimeCartoon of the same name, though the song was originally written by Oliver Wallace.

Another famous routine is "William Tell Overture", featuring a horse race commentary by fellow comedian Doodles Weaver ([[Creator/SigourneyWeaver Sigourney's]] uncle) stacked with jokes about the horses' names and ending in a surprise win for TheAllegedSteed Feetlebaum.

And around Christmas, you've probably heard "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".

Spike, over his long career, did live performances, radio, a bit of film work, and appeared on TV for several years. A live performance was a sight to behold, with Spike both conducting and also handling many of the oddball percussion instruments, madly racing around the stage in his trademark loud-patterned Zoot Suit (which he continued to wear long after the Zoot had passed its 15 minutes of fashion fame), often vigorously chewing a wad of bubble gum (Spike was a chain smoker who found masticating the gum was the only thing that helped get him through performances when smoking would have been inconvenient and awkward.)

Creator/SpikeMilligan of ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' lifted his nickname as a homage to Jones.

Not to be confused with the more contemporary film director Creator/SpikeJonze.

to:

His band, the City Slickers, were a corporate example of HollywoodToneDeaf. They were all, Spike included, absolute top-notch players -- you ''had'' to be to pull off the scripted cacophony of his scores, mastering the split-second timing and making the proceedings funny rather than totally anarchic. Their musicianship is evident on those rare occasions when they played a passage or (even rarer) an entire number "straight." In fact, Spike formed an alternate orchestra in 1946 under the name "Spike Jones and his Other Orchestra" which played seriously in an attempt to show the world he could produce legitimate music, but the public didn't care and it folded shortly thereafter, having only released two singles. (For a condensed illustration of "straight" vs. "Spike" styles, listen to the brief trombone solo in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgQtqb72kg intro to "That Old Black Magic."]] He starts out with a tone and technique sounding like the great Tommy Dorsey, but in just a few bars quickly degenerates into the "slowly dying engine of a WWI biplane" tone more commonly heard in the band's recordings.)

In the modern day, he is perhaps best known for performing a BreakawayPopHit cover of the song "WesternAnimation/DerFuehrersFace," featured in the Disney WartimeCartoon of the same name, though the song was originally written by Oliver Wallace.

Wallace. Another famous routine is "William Tell Overture", featuring a horse race commentary by fellow comedian Doodles Weaver ([[Creator/SigourneyWeaver Sigourney's]] uncle) stacked with jokes about the horses' names and ending in a surprise win for TheAllegedSteed Feetlebaum.

Feetlebaum. And around Christmas, you've probably heard "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".

Spike, over Over his long career, Spike did live performances, radio, a bit of film work, and appeared on TV for several years. A live performance was a sight to behold, with Spike both conducting and also handling many of the oddball percussion instruments, madly racing around the stage in his trademark loud-patterned Zoot Suit (which he continued to wear long after the Zoot had passed its 15 minutes of fashion fame), often vigorously chewing a wad of bubble gum (Spike was a chain smoker who found masticating the gum was the only thing that helped get him through performances when smoking would have been inconvenient and awkward.)

awkward).

Creator/SpikeMilligan of ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' lifted his nickname as a homage to Jones.

Not to be confused with the more
Jones, and contemporary film director Creator/SpikeJonze.Creator/SpikeJonze was given his stage name in high school as a nickname in reference to Jones.
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* TheAllegedSteed: Feetlebaum in "William Tell Overture" and, strangely, at the end of "Dance of the Hours[[note]]Spike's version takes place at an ''automobile race''[[/note]]."

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* TheAllegedSteed: Feetlebaum in "William Tell Overture" and, strangely, at the end of "Dance of the Hours[[note]]Spike's Hours".[[note]]Spike's version of the latter takes place at an ''automobile race''[[/note]]."race''.[[/note]]
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Clucking Funny is a disambiguation page now


* CluckingFunny: Clucking chickens "sing" a verse or so in a few songs, such as "Rhapsody from Hunger(y)" ("Poet and Peasant Overture")
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Misuse.


* {{Corpsing}}: The cover of "I Went To Your Wedding."[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR-_JC36vXM The original]] is a sentimental song about going to the wedding of an ex-lover, but in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U-w-IcAWP8 Jones' version]], the singer keeps cracking up into increasingly hysterical laughter at how stupid the ex looked and how glad everyone was to get rid of them.
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Not a trope.


* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Very 1940s and 1950s.
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* KazoosMeanSilliness: Kazoos feature prominently in several of Jones's arrangements, perhaps most notably as a stand-in for BlowingARaspberry in "Der Fuehrer's Face."
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* GretzkyHasTheBall: The "William Tell Overture" begins with a commentary on a horse race, but gets so crazy, that it somehow gets turned into a prize fight.
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* HurricaneOfPuns: The race commentary in "William Tell Overture". Girdle in the stretch, Apartment House with plenty of room, Assault and Battery tied for fifth, Banana coming up through the bunch...

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* HurricaneOfPuns: The race commentary in "William Tell Overture". Girdle in the stretch, Apartment House with plenty of room, Assault and Battery tied for fifth, Banana coming up through the bunch...bunch, Mother-in-Law nagging in the rear[[note]]Ark ark ark ark![[/note]]...
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* InMyLanguageThatSoundsLike: In "Pat-Yat-Chee", "Vesti la giubba" from ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}'' is interpreted as "invest in a tuba".

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* InMyLanguageThatSoundsLike: In "Pat-Yat-Chee", "Pal-Yat-Chee", "Vesti la giubba" from ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}'' is interpreted as "invest in a tuba".

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