Anyone who has been a fan of popular music over the past thirty years is aware of some artist who is known for parody of popular music. Whether it is Weird Al Yankovic, Richard Cheese, or Scott Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox, all of these artists have brought some level of artistry to their craft. Some use wordplay while others rely on strictly the music.
Postmodern Jukebox for the most part tends to rely on their arrangements for parody. This group rarely edits the subject's text unless it is as a nod to the style or the audience. In a nutshell the group takes modern pop and rock songs and reimagines them in popular styles from decades ago (dating back to the turn of the 20th century) and is performed with a level of historical accuracy both in instrumentation, but also in performance practice.
Listen to the two examples above. The left is the original version of “Talk Dirty” which is performed by Jason Derulo, while the right is the parody performed by Postmodern Jukebox in a klezmer style. Of particular note is the fact that the vocalist raps in Yiddish as well to follow the klezmer vibe. Now obviously this isn’t the first time someone has subbed in text, however of note is that this feels authentic.
What is really great about Postmodern Jukebox is not only their very intelligent parody, but also the fact that these songs are great listens in their own right. Something many covers and especially parodies cannot say.
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