It's about the music, maaan: Bands from Muppets history with inspired roots

The legacy of Jim Henson's Muppets is rightfully celebrated in a number of ways—from action figures and comics to the Siskel Center's Muppets: Music And Magic retrospective, which runs November 7th to December 2nd and starts with a screening of Henson rarities. And while static collectibles like toys and comics bring a piece of that magic home, they don't do a lot with the music that's been at the core of the Muppets since they first appeared back in the '70s—the decade of various styles and genres aptly celebrated and teased by the fuzzy critters. The A.V. Club decided to examine the more compelling musical forays that the various Muppet bands have undertaken.

Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem
Genre: Psychedelic rock
Where they came from: Probably the most famous of the Muppet bands, Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem appeared in 1979's The Muppet Movie after beginning their career as the house band of The Muppet Show.
Who they are: A late-'60s, Bay area hippie-throwback comprised of bandleader Dr. Teeth, drummer Animal, and flower girl lead guitarist Janis, along with Floyd, Lips, and Zoot.
Do they pull it off?: Dr. Teeth's psychedelia is more Aerosmith than Syd Barrett, but lyrics like "Now begins the changing mental rearranging / Nothing's really where it's at / Now the Eiffel Tower's holding up a flower / Can you picture that?" wouldn't sound out of place on a Frank Zappa record.

The Vile Bunch

Genre: Metal
Where they came from: In their only appearance, Scooter spots the Vile Bunch and informs the episode's guest, Alice Cooper, that those aren't Muppet Show monsters. Cooper replies, "I know, they're mine." So, apparently they came from Detroit.
Who they are: A scary-looking guy with a sharp silver beak, a drummer that looks like a shark, a fairly punk-rock looking guitarist, and a couple of less distinctive-looking monsters.
Do they pull it off?: The Vile Bunch don't play songs in the style of Alice Cooper, they play "School's Out" and "Welcome To My Nightmare" pretty straight. As tributes go, it's not as much fun as some of the others.

Nine Inch Snails

Genre: Industrial rock
Where they came from: Nine Inch Snails are one of the less prominent Muppet bands, appearing only in a single episode of Muppets Tonight from 1997.
Who they are: A quartet of gloomy, pierced gastropods who perform dirge-like industrial jams like "This Living Shell".
Do they pull it off?: If it weren't for the Muppet vocals and the snail-themed (though still suicidal) lyrics like, "I can't escape / This living shell / Pour me some salt / Turn me to gel", the lone Nine Inch Snails recording would be all-but indistinguishable from the post-Nine Inch Nails industrial bands like Stabbing Westward and Gravity Kills that it parodies.

The Lead Police

Genre: New wave
Where they came from: In response to Oscar The Grouch's sarcastic, "Who do you people think you are, the lead police?" on Sesame Street, the band popped up to sing a song about the dangers of eating paint chips.
Who they are: There's not a lot of personality to the Lead Police—perhaps a nod to their inspiration?—but they're four feathercut-coiffed Muppets in leather jackets.
Do they pull it off?: Absolutely, though they had almost two decades to get the parody down: The Lead Police skit didn't see daylight until 1996. Still, they're a pretty note-perfect take on Sting and the boys.