I was looking for some depressing music to share with you--no particular reason, it's just something I do around here--and I was on YouTube looking for the usual subjects--Richard Thompson, Kurt Weill, Nick Cave--when I came across this, an absolute classic from SCTV. In form, it's a perfect parody of those old K-Tel record ads from the seventies, but what really sells it is the genius of the concept, and Andrea Martin's incredible performance. Not only can she sing, she sings in character.
And since that got me in an SCTV record commercial parody mood, I figured I'd also include this bit, which made me nearly wet my pants laughing the first time I saw it. Dave Thomas again does his dead-on manic announcer (named Harvey K-Tel, in fact) and Rick Moranis gives a brilliant vocal performance as everyone's favorite Canadian troubadour. Was this the greatest comedy show in TV history? Absolutely.
