Songs about Toast and Butter Jesus

I'm going to steal a post idea from my friend Salt who writes a very enjoyable blog about whatever argument happens to end up in his head. Today he wrote an interesting post about religion and the belief that things happen as a punishment. He was referencing the gigantic Styrofoam Jesus that was recently struck by lightning and burned to the ground. But I'm not going to talk about that.

Instead I'm more interested in the singer he mentioned. A while ago Jeff got me hooked on the morning show Bob and Tom. I loved the comedians they brought in, some of their batter between the group, and I particularly liked the musicians. They introduced me to people like Paul and Storm, Rodney Carrington, Stephen Lynch, and Heywood Banks. Sometimes the humor got a bit crude (this show is not for the young ones) but it almost always made me laugh. I haven't been listening to the show recently but I still listen to the music.

So where to these two paragraphs combine? With Heywood Banks, a parody songwriter. Heywood wrote a hilarious song about the giant Jesus sculpture called "Big Butter Jesus" since it has a bit of a buttery looking color to it. With descriptors like "unsalted Jesus", "Promise Jesus", "sweet cream Jesus", and the ever perfect "Oleo Lord", this song is blasphemous and downright hilarious. And this is just one of his songs.

Most of his songs are just silly. He has a decent voice and that with his bizarre lyrics make these songs enjoyable. His song "Iowa" is a regular favorite of mine. Any song about the state that occasionally bursts in with "What's that smell?" is good in my book. I laugh so hard I cry when I listen to "You Can Be Mean to Me (The Revenge Song)". And you really have to watch his song "Toast" on video. Heywood sings while accompanying himself on...well...a toaster. Bob and Tom's favorite seemed to be "A Trauma to the Groin" which is enjoyable but not quite as good as "Wiper Blades".

Heywood is actually Stuart Mitchell, and he has a style all his own. I've seen pictures of him with long straight hair and a pair of nerd glasses, but I've also seen pictures with him looking like Colonel Sanders. There both funny looks but but his image is only a small part of the act. It's the music that fascinated me. His music just makes me crack up laughing. If you're not easily offended (and have a good sense of humor) he's well worth a listen. Fun stuff.

Thanks for the idea, Salt. Hope it's okay that I "borrowed".