6 Classic Songs That Were Supposed to Be Jokes | Cracked.com[h=2]#5. "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)" -- Beastie Boys[/h]
Featured on the Beastie Boys' debut album,
Licensed to Ill (1986), "Fight for Your Right" was the group's first hit and helped establish the persona of the badass, take-no-shit, hard-rocking party boys that they totally weren't, at all.
In fact, the Beasties hated the whole rocker scene, feeling it was populated by obnoxious, testosterone-laden douchebags. They wanted to poke fun at mindless party anthems like "Smoking in the Boys Room," so
they cut the lyrics to "Fight for Your Right" as an in-joke before going on tour.
Their producer, Rick Rubin, added some drums and a blaring guitar riff and released the track, which soon became a big hit. Thinking the song's success was hilarious, the Beasties made what they assumed was an equally ridiculous video to go along with it.
This, shockingly, is disingenuous.
Slowly, they began to realize that the whole "parody" part was lost on most of the listening public, and the majority of their newfound fan base was now made up of the same toolbags they were making fun of.
The kind who would happily waste good pie.
Despite being the song that put them on MTV, the Beastie Boys publicly denounced "Fight for Your Right" and haven't performed it live since 1987. They would not be the first or the last band to find out that the whole "make an intentionally stupid song mocking other bands" thing can come back to bite you ...