An estimated 98% of us experience earworms. Despite the annoying times that we can’t get a chorus or a hook of an overplayed pop song out of our heads, getting a really good earworm stuck can be one of the best things ever.

We here at Nerdist are dead-set on bringing you those types of songs, if only for the weekend. We’ll be scouring the internet for the best earworms we can shove into your meaty brains!

Did you guys hear that The Muppets are coming back to television!? The first look video that was originally shown at SDCC was released just the other day! I don’t know about you, but whoever wrote that article seems pretty damn cool. [Editor’s Note: Hard disagree]

Anyways, I’ve had a horrible case of “Muppet Brain” this week and I spent it walking around listening to some originals, some covers – bands covering Muppets and Muppets covering other songs –  and a pretty cool mashup or two. As always, this isn’t a end all be all list of the best ones – although it IS close – here are some marvelous Muppet-y musical morsels!

OK GO – The Muppet Show Theme Song

In 2011, Walt Disney Records released one of the best compilation albums in recent memory. This entire article could be comprised of just tracks from Muppets: The Green Album and it almost was, in fact. Weezer and Hayley Williams performing “Rainbow Connection,” Alkaline Trio rocks out a version of “Movin’ Right Along“, Andrew Bird’s version of “Bein’ Green” is phenomenal, and even Amy Lee of Evanescence (*shudder*) performs a cover of “Halfway Down the Stairs” which, under normal circumstances, was perfect when Robin the Frog did it. Much like Saturday Morning: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits, if you’re reading this, chances are that the purchase of Muppets: The Green Album would be a sound investment.

Cake – Mahna Mahna

Can a categorically already perfect song like the Sesame Street version of Mahna Mahna be improved? Some, meaning me, would argue that yes, yes you can. Cake did it in 2002 for an album called For The Kids. Some forget that Sesame Street’s version was a cover itself and the original Mah Nà Mah Nà from 1968 by Italian musician Piero Umiliani is pretty darn great too. The Muppets often covered a lot of songs which leads us to…

Kermit The Frog – Once In A Lifetime

Having Kermit cover the Talking Heads is only slightly better than having Gonzo cover Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself“.

Did I say mash-ups earlier? Is that what this next one would be considered or is it a re-mix?

Pogo – Muppet Mash

We’ve talked about Pogo before so what else can we say? His re-mixes and mash-ups are some of the best sampled music that still somehow manages to be incredibly original. This one is especially great as it combines so many Henson creations in one super catchy song. Re-mash-ups. That’s the new name for these.

Ending this week’s article, I was a bit torn. I wanted to incorporate Fraggle Rock in some way but lost myself in a few hours of Fraggle songs. At the moment it’s 3am in Chicago and I really should be in bed instead of debating between two favorites. I suppose I’ll just have to share both.

The Doozers – Yes We Can

This song has been with me since I was a kid and I still think the Obama’s “Yes We Can” 2008 presidential campaign missed out on a fantastic theme song. The songs of Fraggle Rock, for the most part, were pretty uplifting, even when they made visits to Christmas specials…

The Fraggles – Pass It On

Fraggle Jesus apparently didn’t exist so when the Fraggles had their cameo in the Henson intellectual property extravaganza that was A Muppet Family Christmas the Fraggles shared their custom of, well, sharing with Kermit and Robin. Also, I should note that A Muppet Family Christmas is far superior to A Muppet Christmas Carol which, by comparison, is crap. [Editor’s Note: Blake’s feelings toward this Christmas classic do not reflect those of anyone else on the Nerdist writing or editorial staff. He’s wrong is what I’m saying.]

I bet you forgot the most bad-ass Muppet music moment of all time? Nope.

The Muppet Show – Buddy Rich vs Animal Drum Battle

What Muppet songs are your favorites? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter.

Featured Image: DeviantArt