Oct 22 2025
2
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This is a Random Album Generator.
One album a day.
From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Smell No Evil
Ookla The Mok
2001
Album Summary
Note: This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.
Ookla the Mok is a filk band fronted by Rand Bellavia and Adam English (b. 1970). The two met as undergraduates while attending Houghton College in 1988, and the majority of their performances have been at science-fiction conventions or in their hometown of Buffalo, New York. The band is named after a character from the Ruby-Spears Productions cartoon Thundarr the Barbarian, created by Steve Gerber. They provided the theme song to Disney's Fillmore!, and scored the feature film, Bite Me, Fanboy! They have won four Pegasus Awards for excellence in filk music, and the 2014 Logan Award for Outstanding Original Comedy Song ("Mwahaha"). Ookla the Mok had the most requested song on Dr. Demento's syndicated radio show in both 2012 ("Tantric Yoda") and 2013 ("Mwahaha"). Two of their songs ("Stop Talking About Comic Books or I'll Kill You" and "F. People") have appeared on Dr. Demento CD compilations. On April 20, 2024 Rand Bellavia and Adam English were inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame. Although Ookla the Mok has released many songs about more universal topics like relationships and lost love, they are best known for "filk" songs that cater to the interests of listeners at science fiction and comic book conventions, where the band makes the bulk of their public appearances. For example, their song "Arthur Curry" from Less Than Art pokes fun at Aquaman and the way his super-powers do not seem to compare favourably with the rest of the Super Friends. Another example is "Stop Talking About Comic Books Or I'll Kill You" from Super Secret. "Song of Kong" from Smell No Evil takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the relationship between King Kong and Godzilla. "W.W.S.D.?" from oh okay LA asks its listeners to ask themselves "What would Scooby do?". "Mr. W" from the same album paints a nightmare scenario of Mr. Worf being in command of Star Trek's starship Enterprise. "Spot The Cat" from Dave Lennon sets to music a poem originally read by Star Trek's Data (written by Clay Dale). Tribute songs about celebrities Gary Coleman, Michael Jackson, Cher, and Sting also appear on oh okay LA. A song in the 2013 album vs. Evil is dedicated to the Marvel Comics character Kang the Conqueror.
Reviews
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Oct 05 2025
5
This is one silly hell of an album. That doesn't mean I didn't like it though. Filk is a genre I never even heard of, but I think it has a new fan!
Oct 22 2025
3
This is a perfect example of what should be on the list. I've known about filk for a long time but never listened to it. Listening to this is exactly what I imagined it would be. It's very similar to Jonathan Coulton, who is great and operates in similar circles in terms of nerd / geek music, and, to be fair, postdates this but definitely is more professional. Nonetheles, even though I think the concept is silly, I think this is the kinda stuff that should be on the list. Filk occupies that weird space in sci-fi/fantasy conventions and absolutely should be listened to. It's niche, weird, but it's a culture that makes music that more people should be aware of. As someone who doesn't know the genre, I can't speak to whether this is the best it has or if there is a better album out there, but it's very worthy inclusion . My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Yes.
Oct 04 2025
1
Someone has defo put this on as a joke!
Oct 08 2025
1
Oh wow you're so wacky
Oct 24 2025
1
Points for committing to the bit I guess? Not to be an uptight no-fun asshole, but this was way too goofy and overdone for my taste. Narrative LPs always tread a fine line for me, and the bone-dry, uncreative instrumentals did nothing to lift the silly stories here to anything tolerable. I've always had an awareness of filk (even though I didn't know the genre name until today), and it can be done well, Jonathan Coulton being a shining example. This does not shine – it takes one joke, beats the absolute hell out of it, and loses its way about 20 minutes in, saddling its listener with 40 minutes of shit afterwards. Makes self-aware apology from the band at the end more frustrating than funny, and makes me even angrier this was the one (1) album I got to listen to today before working a 12-hour shift.
Oct 14 2025
4
TIL about Filk? This is super fun and the kind of stuff I like to see pop up on the list
Oct 07 2025
3
Had never heard of this band. It was an enjoyable enough listen. I won’t be rushing to put more on, but enjoyed the time with it anyway.
Oct 11 2025
3
Eh, it was fine
Oct 13 2025
3
The most 2000s music imaginable
Oct 14 2025
3
If Weird Al was a monkey. They Might Be Monkeys? The kind of thing I usually find charming but not in this serving size.
Oct 16 2025
3
29 songs about monkeys, go figure
Oct 06 2025
2
Filk? Alright we're just making up genres at this point. Quite possibly the geekiest thing I've ever heard in my life. So geeky that it makes TMBG sound like death metal. I see the appeal, but it's not something I'd ever listen to on my own.
Oct 08 2025
2
What is these guys obsession with Monkeys all about.
Oct 10 2025
2
Filk. Demasiado "artificial". Letras absurdas. No me va. Un 2.
Oct 15 2025
2
Jesus Christ
Oct 14 2025
1
Holy shit insufferable! It's like someone took all the wrong lessons from Barenaked Ladies, They Might Be Giants, and several other bands I like.