OK, so the other day a few of us seemed to agree that the Barenaked Ladies drove us nuts.  But--in anticipation of the ipod I think my wife is getting me for Xmas--I have been loading every CD I own onto my computer, and today I came across the song "Happy Birthday to Me" by Cracker.  Now that's a great song with a sense of humor: "I remember you--you drive like a PTA mother," and so on.  Made me start to wonder about this--are there examples of great songs or artists who do have a good sense of humor?  I other words, who are great writers/musicians, but also are willing to joke around and not take themselves too seriously?  Here are a few isolated examples:

 1) "Punk Rock Girl," by the Dead Milkmen.  "If you're store don't got no Mojo Nixon, then it could use some fixin."  I don't know if they're great--I only know this one song, so maybe this doesn't fit.

2) "Rocking the Suburbs," by Ben Folds.  I know it's easy to make fun of white kids trying to do hip-hop, but that song's still pretty funny.  Folds in general has a good sense of humor, but can also write great songs.

3) "Jimmy Jazz," by The Clash.  "Uhhhhhh . . . he was here . . . but  . . . uh . . . he went out!"

4) Warren Zevon, see all.  And if you don't think Zevon can also write a brilliant serious song, listen to "The Vast Indifference of Heaven," or the song he wrote just before he died: "Keep Me In Your Heart."

5) God, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions just came up in the pile--anyone remember him?  He's got a line in one of these songs that has always struck me as hilarious: "Spin, spin, whiskey and gin, I suffer for my art, bartender."  Don't we all.

So lighten up our day a little--who else is great and has a great sense of humor?