Two weeks ago, the boys from South Park lured their classmates to a party with the promise of a special performance from Lorde. What their classmates received instead was Stan’s dad, Randy Marsh, dressed in a wig and fishnet stockings, singing, “Ya ya ya, I am Lorde, ya ya ya.” It was a simple, victimless and, ultimately, forgettable joke that wrapped up the episode nicely. Now, that simple joke has become the gag that keeps on giving, with its latest gift being the full track of Lorde’s –er, Randy’s– “Push (Feeling Good on a Wednesday)” from last week’s episode. Actually, its neither Randy nor Lorde’s voice on the track, but that of the inimitable Sia!
To fully appreciate the Lorde/Randy runner, let’s go back two weeks ago to the episode “Gluten Free Ebola,” when Randy first performed as Lorde. The only joke seemingly made at Lorde’s expense was a brief couplet between Craig and Jimmy: “Lord sucks.” “Yeah, she’s not nearly as hot in person.” Reveal: they aren’t watching Lorde, they are watching Randy dressed as Lorde, and we learn the real butt of the joke are the gullible and dense residents of South Park, incapable of recognizing the difference between a 17 year old pop-star and a mustachioed man in drag. That distinction was lost on well-intentioned Spin writer Brennan Carley, who quickly blasted the show with his article “South Park Thinks a Middle-Aged Man Can Pass as Lorde”. Little did Carley know he had set the gears in motion within the House of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, becoming fodder for their next episode “The Cissy”, in which an investigative Spin reporter (named Brandon Carlile) discovers that Randy Marsh truly IS Lorde! During one of South Park’s trademark musical montages, this one to “Push (Feeling Good On a Wednesday)”, conflicted Carlile decides to preserve Lorde’s secret by deleting his article.
The day following the episode’s airing, Spin published a good-spirited, face-saving article titled, “South Park Makes Fun of Overly Sensitive Music Publication”, and concluded the kerfuffle with, “Anytime Trey Parker and Matt Stone want to release a full-length version of not-Lorde’s ‘Feeling Good on a Wednesday,’ we’d be happy to premiere it on our site.”
And now we have the full-length version, and it is delightful. The catchy track is produced with the same devilish creativity that’s earned Parker and Stone Tony Awards for Book of Mormon, as well as the characteristic breakneck turnaround that inspired the Comedy Central documentary 6 Days to Air (if you haven’t watched it, watch it!). Considering that IRL-Lorde is jokingly singing “Ya ya ya, I’m Lorde,” in interviews, it is only a matter of time before we have a real-life Lorde cover of the Randy Marsh-Lorde’s “Push” to enjoy. The track is available for download via South Park’s Twitter.
Image: FelixTOONS
