MORE MUSIC: Get the Things to Do app | Latest concert announcements | Summer concert guide 4. "When it's with me, you only need two minutes," he boasts, "because I'm so intense," going on to suggest that "two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven." After setting the scene with "I remove my clothes/ Very very clumsily/ Trippin' over my jeans 'cause I'm still wearing my shoes/ But it's okay because I turn it all into a sexy dance," it's over in a flash. "Business Time"Ī longtime lover's bedroom rap in which Jemaine interprets everything she does as a sign that it's on (when it probably isn't), it builds to a climax (but not really) in which he finally gets his way. Take Jemaine’s verse, for instance, in which he raps, “I make a meal for my friends, try to make it delicious / Try to keep it nutritious, create wonderful dishes / Not one of them thinks about the way I feel / Nobody compliments the meal.” 5. But there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments to go around here. "The day after my birthday is not my birthday, Mom" would be hilarious enough to earn this hip-hop ode to wounded egos a spot on the list. But the music is way more convincing, a Francophilic pop gem that's equal parts Stereolab and Serge Gainsbourg. In which Jemaine deploys his best "sexy" French accent while stringing together a handful of common French words and expressions, from baguette and soup du jour to Gerard Depardieu, in an effort at bluffing his way through a conversation, in make-believe French, with a girl at the local croissant shop. How many artists would even have the wherewithal to rhyme "You've lost perspective like a picture by Escher" with "It's the pressure"? And by that point, they've already hit you with this verse about the things some people do for money: "So you think maybe you'll be a prostitute/ Just to pay for your lessons, you're learning the flute/ Ladies wouldn't pay you very much for this/ Looks like you'll never be a concert flautist." 7. But the lyrics are what made this such a highlight of the show's first season and accompanying soundtrack album. The vocoderized backing vocals are a nice touch. This one earned an Emmy nomination - outstanding original music and lyrics - although the original music, to be fair, is only so original, owing an obvious debt to the Pet Shop Boys song "West End Girls," with just a hint of David Bowie. Darby's delivery really sells this soulful ballad, earnestly sighing lyrics as ridiculous as "Wish you knew how much I loved your legs and your hair" and "I'll never get to tear your clothes off on the photocopier." 8. The office-supply percussion break worked better as a sight gag, but everything else works just as well outside the context of the episode as a lovestruck Murray pines for the tech-support lady who's captured his heart. This one is sung by the great Rhys Darby, who starred on the show as their manager, Murray, with backing vocals by the Conchords. Jemaine's first verse brings, "Just because we've been playing tonsil hockey doesn't mean you get to score the goal that's in my jockey." All that and a whistling solo? This song is perfection. It starts off sweet with a lyric that sounds like it actually could have been included in a pop hit of the early '70s: "A kiss is not a contract but it's very nice." But then, it follows through with, "Just because you've been exploring my mouth doesn't mean you get to take an expedition further south." That verse is Bret's. Riding the sensitive '70s songwriter shtick to its obvious sexless conclusion, this gentle, acoustic-guitar-driven ballad finds Bret and Jemaine both defending a gentleman's right to say no in hilarious turns of phrase. That's part of why we love them.Īnd so without further ado, their greatest moments. And like the Beatles, who also had great accents, this New Zealand duo of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie knew just when to quit - which in their case, was after two seasons of staking their claim as the most consistently inspired purveyors of music aimed at people with a sense of humor ever.ĭid they leave us wanting more? Of course they did.
Flight of the conchords best songs series#
The genius of Flight of the Conchords was clear from the time "The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room)" hit the end of its opening line in the season premiere of their HBO series in 2007.