Videodrone #27: Tribute

Videodrone is a weekly(ish) feature looking at music videos from the last half century. 

Tribute (2002)

The term "comedy rock" can be a tricky one, since acts that fall into that genre may swing too far toward one end of the spectrum or the other. Being able to combine musicianship with comedy is something that transcends your run-of-the-mill radio station song parodies. Weird Al Yankovic is the king of this stuff, but others have proven their worth, producing both memorable songs and TV or film projects. This is Spinal Tap is a legendary comedy and it helped that the trio of actors who played the Tap were also musicians who could pull off the musical side, releasing albums and touring as the band. Flight of the Conchords successfully straddled the line as well, starring in a terrific HBO show and releasing funny songs.

And then there's Tenacious D. Formed by Jack Black and Kyle Gass, the duo made its first appearance in 1994 as an opening act. They played the only song they had written, "Tribute," and then asked the audience to vote on what their name should be. Black was soon cast on HBO's Mr. Show while at the same time, Tenacious D was becoming a fixture in the Los Angeles music scene, headlining clubs and opening local shows for the band Tool. Mr. Show stars David Cross and Bob Odenkirk produced three episodes of a Tenacious D TV show that ran from 1997-2000 on HBO after Mr. Show. HBO offered the D a deal to make 10 episodes on the stipulation that Black and Gass would give up their executive producer titles; instead, the duo decided to make a movie instead (2006's Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny).

Tenacious D signed a deal with Epic Records in May 2000 and recorded their self-titled debut album with the Dust Brothers as producers. They were backed by a full band, including Dave Grohl on drums, Page McConnell of Phish on keyboards, Warren Fitzgerald of the Vandals on guitar and Steve McDonald of Redd Kross on bass. The album was released in September 2001 and while it wasn't a huge hit, it was certified platinum by the end of 2005.

"Tribute" was the second single off the album, released in February 2002. The video for the song was directed by Liam Lynch and begins with the guys cramming into a shopping mall karaoke booth so they can record their album. The song, which tells the story of the Tenacious D guys running into a demon (played by an unrecognizable Grohl) who wants them to play the greatest song in the world. In earlier performances of the song, Gass played the iconic opening to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," but on the album, the song steers clear of that part (for obvious financial reasons), although there are similar chord progressions.

The best part of the video (and the song) is when the demon asks them, "Are you angels?" and the D dudes reply, "Nay, we are but men. Rock!" And then the full band kicks in. 

The video cuts back and forth from the demon encounter, which includes Grohl miming an electric guitar solo before Black and Gass vanquish him back to hell, and the duo in the karaoke booth. After the solo, the guys bust out of the booth and start singing to passersby in the mall, who include Ben Stiller, Lynch and an old lady played by character actress Linda Porter (who has appeared everything from Malcolm in the Middle to the third season of Twin Peaks). The song ends as Porter returns with a mall cop, who drags the guys away for making a nuisance. The Tenacious D CD pops out of the karaoke booth and Porter picks up and looks at it, and then with red glowing eyes lets out an evil cackle.

In the decades since, Black's movie career took off, but he would make time to release Tenacious D albums and tour occasionally. However, the band has been on hold since 2024, when Gass made a quick joke about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a show in Australia. The resultant backlash and no doubt Black's desire to continue making movies led to the band cancelling the tour and all other work.

As a postscript, 2002 also featured a video from Liam Lynch for the comedy rock song "United States of Whatever." It's a punky classic that originally appeared on The Sifl and Olly Show in 1999, where it was performed by Olly, who was voiced by Lynch. The song actually started getting requested in 2002 by listeners of LA's KROQ after it was burned onto a CD-R that was sent to the station. A physical single was released and the song became a hit in the UK, debuting at #10 on the UK Singles chart. It was also a hit in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Lynch later included it on his 2003 album Fake Songs.