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Song Parodies -> "Maniac (The Kinda-Sorta Meta Parody)"

Original Song Title:

"Maniac"

Original Performer:

Michael Sembello

Parody Song Title:

"Maniac (The Kinda-Sorta Meta Parody)"

Parody Written by:

Callmelennie

The Lyrics

I started this off as a parody of a video Hillary Clinton dancing in India. But I didn't get very far into the stanzas before I realized the lyrics to the OS are the worst I've ever come across; the second stanza is completely incoherent. Compared to the stanzas, the refrain "She's a maniac, MA-niac ..." is almost Dylanesque .... I quickly realized the only way to salvage the thing was to go full meta-parody on it's ass. Then I did some riffs on the refrain which is eminently spoofable .... And the end result is this total hot mess which I believe you will enjoy THOROUGHLY .... (Lines with * at the end are actual lyrics from OS)
Just a Swamp-town girl on a Bollywood night
Keeping up the fraud of a wife
In the video swirl no one sees her at all
But they all say she's frisky
Slapping hands around at a Hindi shindig
Changing woman into life* ..... (What does that mean?)
Oh this stanza has turned into a danger zone
Where the lyrics become a trap
God these lyrics are so trite
They really raise my ire
They might defeat my will to comedy

Hil's a maniac, MA-niac on the floor
And she's dancing in a way we should deplore
She's a maniac, MA-niac at the 'Wood
And she's dancing like a human never should

On the ice blue line of insanity*
Is some nonsense I didn't foresee
How I should spoof this is a mystery
Touch it but can't hold it* (What the F is he talking about?)
God, I couldn't even do a meta-parody here
'Bout how dreadful these lyrics are
Because their sheer awfulness would defeat the attempt
And I wouldn't make it to the last line**
That was a total, wretched cheat
Two more times I must repeat
Then this last line 'tween swill and comedy

He's no brainiac, BRAI-niac with this tune
And he's writing like a lyrical buffoon
He's a brain-iac, DRAIN-iac with this song
And his lyrics should be greeted with the gong

God those lyrics were so trite
The producer should be fired
If not, there should be some inquiries

He's no brainiac, BRAIN-iac, I sure know
He reminds of that kid on the banjo
He's a brain-iac, DRAIN-iac, I sure know
And he's writing like he's fried his brain on blow
He's a maniac, MA-niac with the words
And he's writing like his dementia has recurred

(It's too damn bad, the stanzas are so poorly written, cause you can mine a lot of humor in the refrain; the refrain's hilarious ... For example here's a tribute to Jason Voorhees)

He's a maniac, MA-niac on the screen
And he's slashing like he has no love for teens
He's a maniac, MA-niac at the lake
And he's stalking like he has more lives to take

(And on the occasion of the first gymnast from Bosnia Hercegovina making the Olympics, this would be the music for her tumbling routine)

She's a Bosniac, BOS-niac on the flloor
And she's tumbling like she needs a perfect score
She's a Bosniac, BOS-niac at the Games
And she's dancing like she'll never be constrained

(And now a tribute to Vladislav Tretiak, all time great goalie for the USSR, written by Mikhail Sembelov, official song parodist of the Soviet Winter Olympic Committee)

He's a Tretiak, TRE-tiak in the net
And he's tending like he'll never break a sweat
He's a Tretiak, TRE-tiak in the crease
When he takes the ice, your scoring soon will cease

(And here we go with the true mother's helper, the baby formula SIMILAC)

She's got Similac, SIM-ilac in her purse
And she's rumm'ging cause her baby needs to nurse
She's got Similac, SIM-ilac on the shelf
And she needs it cause she cant express herself





*Actual lyrics ... **I see what I did there

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 LittleLots
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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 5.0
How Funny: 5.0
Overall Rating: 5.0

Total Votes: 7

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

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User Comments

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CML - March 04, 2019 - Report this comment
Here's one for Jack Kerouac -- He's a Kerouac, KER-ouac on the Strip; and he's loathing like he's re-defining hip ........ He's a Kerouac, KER-ouac on the road; and he's fearing that his liver will corrode
Jonathan - March 04, 2019 - Report this comment
you maniac, you! 5s
CML - March 04, 2019 - Report this comment
I'm a maniac, MAN-iac on this thread, and I'm posting so this effort will be read ... Try it there once; it's easy
CML - March 04, 2019 - Report this comment
I have no idea how this song went to the top of the charts, Jonathan. Everybody I knew despised it. As the old joke goes, this song wasn't released from a recording studio; it escaped .... So I'm thinking, "This will be a good burn on Hillary." And the first five lines went OK, but after that, I just couldn't mine any humor from it. And the second stanza is, if I may quote Mike Tyson "wudicwuss"
rand - March 05, 2019 - Report this comment
The song was originally to be about an actual maniac--a serial killer. Probably a big reason why some of the lyrics often sound so awkward in their eventual context.
CML - March 05, 2019 - Report this comment
I just learned that factoid myself, Rand. Might explain something, but I think an even more persuasive explanation was that Sembello was just a HACK. He had exactly one hit, and that song was tied into a movie that featured a HOT CHICK … who danced a lot. And once that movie about the hot chick dancing became popular, they would play his song in clubs which would cause all the HOT CHICKS in the club to get up and dance, cause they wanted to be like the HOT CHICK in the movie. And then all the guys who saw the effects the song had on HOT CHICKS pretended to like the song cause all of our male lizard hindbrains thought it would put us in good with the afore-referenced hot chicks …. It certainly had nothing to do with the line, "When the dancer becomes the dance."

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