Entertainment

'OITNB' Pokes Fun at this Indie Band

by Caroline Pate

If, like most of the world, you spent the weekend in an Orange is the New Black coma, you probably missed some of the great jokes while you were flying through your Netflix queue. Case in point: when Gonzalez gets Bennet's contraband iPod, she's disappointed upon not finding Erasure and scoffs: "Ugh, it's all full of Fleet Foxes and shit!"

Of course, no harm no foul. Jenji Kohan's shows typically have a pretty good ear for music, so the joke is pretty on point. And it's beneficial for Fleet Foxes too: after all, what says you've made it more than being made fun of on a popular and critically acclaimed television show? In fact, it's fairly typical for bands to get turned into a joke at one point or another. Usually, the ridicule isn't directed at the band or its music as much as its directed as what that band stands for in popular culture: their fans, their style, their perception. In this case, the Fleet Foxes joke isn't directed at the band as much as it is the privileged, white hipsters who listen to them. So now, the band can join the ranks of bands who've become jokes in entertainment:

Flock of Seagulls

Most people probably couldn't even name a Flock of Seagulls song (just so you know, "I Ran" is the song you're struggling to think of) but they know saying "Flock of Seagulls" only means one thing: hair. Flock of Seagulls was an '80s band that was more famous for their hair than their music, and they became so well known for it that the band's name essentially became a shortcut for making fun of a particular kind of haircut. There's many examples of this in entertainment, but the most famous comes from Pulp Fiction, where a character is only referred to as "Flock of Seagulls."

Insert Boy Band Name Here

Only two things are certain in this modern world: that there will always be boy bands, and there will always be teen girls to scream after them. Most jokes made about the boy band du jour (whether it be New Kids on the Block, The Backstreet Boys, or One Direction) are about the insane culture of boy band worship. The Bob's Burgers episode "Boys for Now" does a pitch perfect parody of this, but if you're looking for a specific moment, there's none better than an overjoyed Paul Rudd playing One Direction's number one fan.

Skrillex

In the past five years or so, it seems that only one name has stood for the resurgence of dubstep in America: Skrillex. The pale music producer has become a one-name joke, a stand-in for the "crazy music that kids listen to these days," something that can show a character's age. There are many throw-away Skrillex jokes on television that essentially boil down to "crazy young people music," but the best Skrillex joke comes from avant comedian Reggie Watts, who does a complete takedown of the artist.