there's a brinsley schwartz song abt the silver surfer

Speaking of comics refs in odd places, what about this from the Wikipedia entry for Whoops Apocalypse:

The show also features satire on the media, in particular news broadcasting. There is a topless newsreader, and during the middle of a bulletin an advertisement for underwear appears on screen. Some of the most strident satire was on forms of Fundamentalism. The new ruler of Iran orders several people to be executed; one who unicycled into a mosque, one who kept a picture of Ernest Borgnine in his Koran, one who walked the streets of Mecca dressed as Aquaman, one who was caught miming to a Joe Cocker record during Ramadan and another who called Muhammad "Spatz" in a sermon. Abdab also wears the blindfold due to what was written in a holy text; and there is The Deacon who spouts dialogue such as, "If the lord had meant us to be optimistic, he wouldn't have given us life insurance."

Many also praised the use of cliff-hanger endings.

The writers appear to be fans of DC Comics. As stated above, the delusional British PM and his ministers don DC superhero garb; his caped white whippet 'Krypto' is hurled to its doom from a 10 Downing Street window for its "fly around the block"; semi-generic Superman adventures and specific characters (e.g. Doctor Destiny) are frequently mentioned (The best known example is probably, "Can't make Prime Minister's questions, Brainiac has escaped from the Phantom Zone") ; an Iranian mullah is mentioned to have "dressed as Aquaman"; Ed Bishop's character 'Jay Garrick' has the same name as the Golden Age Flash; and the elderly American farming couple held by the Soviets are named "Jonathan and Martha" which are the names of Superman's Earth parents in current DC continuity.

Is there compendium of these references somewhere?

Isotope 217: "Prince Namor"
Cul de Sac: "Turok, Son of Stone"

there are multiple references in the list that Ward linked by a band called Ookla the Mok. Named for that monster that rolled around with Thundarr the barbarian,

apparently these dudes ONLY do songs about comics and sci-fi and only play conventions. I would imagine that their music is nerd-rock less tolerable than Barenaked Ladies.

That's nigh-intolerable, then!

well, I admit that I might get a kick out of their tunes.

My current favourite comic book song is "Four Color Love Song" by this Chicago group called Metasciences. They sound a bit like the Mountain Goats, cool stuff (myspace link):

Another day of work is nearly over
You must have seen the whole thing on TV
Seventeen more city blocks, and I can almost smell you
Waiting at the windowsill for me
IT's our fourty-first anniversary
But we don't look a day over twenty-three
Not in this life, not in this universe

We were still in high school when I met you
If you believe the continuity
I rescued you from robots, and untied you from the tracks
And you pretended not to know that it was me
We didn't even kiss, until issue twenty-six
And this world still feels like 1963
I love this life, I love this universe

And you'll keep my identity a secret
And you will know the touch beneath my glove
And I may go out every night and risk my life for strangers
But you're the only girl I'll ever love

Gwen Stacy isn't dead, she's only sleeping
And Elektra isn't evil or insane
Those bastards at the Pentagon can't really kill Sue Dibny
No more than they could kill off Lois Lane

And I swear to God, there'll be hell to pay
If anyone ever tries to take you away
Forget this life, forget this universe
You're everything I need
You are my life, you are my universe
They'll have to go through me!

those are lovely lyrics! an accomplishment, it seems, to use comic stuff as a means to an ends, instead of singing about how Aquaman is the loser of the JLA or whatevah.

Yeah, the song makes me think of vintage warm 'n' fuzzy Spider Man/Mary Jane relationship comics (I really have to get that "Mary Jane Loves Spider Man" thing.)

Anyone who manages to make an affecting, serious-minded song about Aquaman earns my undying respect. Bonus points if you incorporate the "Super Friends" episode where he gets turned back into his primal form - a giant sea monster - and the rest of the heroes have to travel INSIDE HIS BRANE.