Christmas in Space, Merkel and the Merkelettes (self-issued)

Having just gotten last year's entry by these Philly jokesters, it was fresh in my mind to go after the 2021 entry in the series upon its Christmas Eve release. This year's conceit is the current obsession of billionaires with space travel, especially Amazon, and running character Rich Mahogany's need to testify in front of Congress about that company's imaginary adventures in space involving floating warehouses and Merkel's misadventures there. Lots of references to "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Peanuts," and "The Grinch" of course, along with a lot of dated political references in the congressional segments. "Spaceward" and "Christmas In Space" are folky ruminations following the storyline, "Christmas Spirit in the Sky" parodies the 60s hit by Norman Greenbaum, "Straight Up" steals the Paula Abdul smash, "Whoville In the End" plays off "Blowin' In the Wind," one of the sketches, "Mr. Mahogany Is a Little Freaked Out," incorporates a takeoff on John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels," "Still Alive" is a vocal solo by "Mother," the spaceship's artificial intelligence character, though if it's a parody I don't recognize the original song, and "The Merkelettes" is a concluding number based on Marshall Tucker Band's "Take the Highway." This doesn't lend itself to playlisting, unfortunately, as the tunes are too tightly wound into the sketch material, but that doesn't mean you won't enjoy listening to this album on its own merits. As usual, it's on Bandcamp.