alternative rock lounge singer parodies

It seems like in the late 80s and early 90s, it was almost a requirement for an alternative rock band to have a track that parodied stereotypical lounge singers. Not like Esquivel or Henry Mancini lounge. Swingin' schmaltzy showbiz cocktail lounge singers. Every single band in my local scene in high school did this - one of my bands did a loungey cover of Bad Religion's Atomic Garden.

Jane's Addiction - Thank You Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEtDxv_5wJM

Alice In Chains - Swing on This
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snmer1qVJM8

Numerous Dead Milkmen songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v3CzvQ9e_w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3iV0q9UwTU

Nirvana had a song titled Lounge Act, which was not actually a parody of said genre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoudNeAMw2k

Skate and Destroy from the Powell Peralta video Future Primitive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nnqdko0Tkc

Why was this so popular back then - was a time when there were bad jazz cover bands in every bar, trying to hack their way through Satin Doll on their fifth martini or something?

And more examples, please!

And I didn't necessarily mean to limit it to alt rock either. That's just where I'm familiar with it. If this kind of thing showed up as filler on any rap or techno albums or whatever, I want to know about that too!

Oh, jam bands a likely font of examples as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jsMZK7uuNw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jsMZK7uuNw

Although that one is probably actually trying to be a jazz ballad? I don't know.

The Alice in Chains one and "Bitchin' Camaro" seem like they might be blues/classic rock parodies as much as lounge parodies. The Milkmen even quote the Doors' "Love Me Two Times".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24yQTeWNxZg

Dude, how did you miss this one?

Stone Temple Pilots - (untitled hidden track on Purple):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C8ra7gcz54

Kinda way outside the rubric of this thread in terms of the timeline, but the Monkees' 'Don't Call on Me' certainly springs to mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE6_vL3Zfns

Ok, the STP one was a secret song. How was I to know?

was a time when there were bad jazz cover bands in every bar, trying to hack their way through Satin Doll on their fifth martini or something?

Wasn't this m/l the case in the 70s?

The Replacements and STP ones seem like attempts to simultaneously i) spoof MOR 70s lounge/jazz pop, that these artists' parents probably listened and ii) demonstrate their competence in the idiom. "We're not playing punk/alt rock because we can't hack it with 'real' music."

Outside of the timeline is ok, especially earlier examples. I was gonna say "I can't imagine anyone still doing this after 1995 or so", but then remembered Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine who built an entire career out of this that started in 2000.

The "We Have a Bigger Problem Now" version of "California Uber Alles" might be the earliest riff on this idea?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=argXjXAWf0E

Oh yeah, and Night of the Living Rednecks had a walking bassline underneath it too, right?

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51hTt0-xugL._SS500.jpg

"The "We Have a Bigger Problem Now" version of "California Uber Alles" might be the earliest riff on this idea?"

ahem...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NLrS3IiQJc

(zappa actually _did_ play in a lounge band so it's justified).

there's also this, of course:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efZpAhbZAhI

Love this thread

oh and we should talk about the '80s career of david johansen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdmf2CyCXjo

Black Velvet Flag did a whole album of these in 1994

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVm29bEjJhg

looking it up it looks like richard cheese and lounge against the machine didn't form until 2000, which is as clear an indication as any that the "lounge parody" was no longer artistically defensible at that point. (also, for some reason richard cheese appears on the "lego batman" soundtrack performing "everything is awesome". o tempora, o mores.)

I've never actually heard it, but would anything on Pat Boone's In a Metal Mood fit here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj2dTSjuvUA

"you know my name (look up the number)" is one of the best beatles recordings

STP also did "and so i know" but that's a pretty solid earnest jam imo

https://www.amazon.com/Lounge-Palooza-Various-Artists/dp/B000000OK8

This one is really good - Tindersticks - Rented Rooms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gBoYp5-XgU

The Circle Jerks in Repo Man

Oh yeah, how did I forget that?

Shoobity doo wop wop/say what now?

^^Came here just for that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dR5j_GYOQA

The Recliners were a big club band in Texas in the mid-90s, Alt-Rock dudes beating Post-Modern Jukebox with their ironic Jazzbo Rock covers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiOICGSA4QE

"beating PMJ TO THE PUNCH" even.

At about 10 minutes into this video, Green Day perform a lounge rendition of Basket Case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PPPbMgOiyU

MTV def had those Toby Huss lounge singer bumpers ca. 1994 too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88LdDgSmbAg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZ4ZmzPWkAErb6R.jpg

Plus the back cover of the Garage Inc. booklet.

^^

https://i.discogs.com/YXPzFR1JUUdo_qjZNtPDYoqFuUnN-wxUVnFcKzt7yh8/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:529/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTk2MTE2/NjAtMTQ4MzYzMzA0/Mi0yMzQ5LmpwZWc.jpeg

Speaking of those Toby Huss MTV bumpers, my friend first saw the video for the Mike Flowers Pops version of "Wonderwall" on late night MTV/120 Minutes and thought it was a long high-concept ad for the network.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTfZshkNZRw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8rvXl-la3w

Kyuss: "Lick My Doo"

LMD by itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp2r3wZOVqk

Related:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO9Og4Uf-II

Smithereens: "A Girl Like You (Strip Club Version)", a b-side reimagining of the song a burlesque club jazz song that was claimed to be originally intended for rejected version of the AGLY music video set an old-timey strip show.