Music videos are a great way for artists to show their creativity beyond the music they release. Sometimes, they build on the story, matching the tone of the song. Other times, it’s just an opportunity for an artist to tell a story beyond the song. And sometimes, bands just have fun with their music videos and create the silliest videos that may not even make sense with the chosen song.
Music videos used to be a big deal, something people looked forward to. MTV and VH1 had entire programs devoted to music video countdowns and premieres of videos from the biggest artists at the time. How you feel about music videos can indicate your age. Today, music videos aren’t as much of a spectacle as they used to be.
For me personally, I grew up with music videos playing all the time on MTV and VH1. I have memories of falling asleep with the TV on and waking up in the wee hours of the morning to see a music video with the wildest stuff going on. It was those middle-of-the-night videos and many more in the years to come that cracked me up. I remembered them because of their goofiness. These are the types of music videos I want to highlight today – the ones that I think will that I guarantee will make you laugh.
“Down Under” - Men at Work
It’s clear from the first couple of seconds of this video that Men at Work had a lot of fun making the music video for “Down Under.” Fans of this song know that the main character of this song encounters many unique people, including a man who’s 6ft 4 and full of muscles. Each character from the song is exaggerated in such a goofy fun way in this video. This is the video that inspired me to make this blog at all because I couldn’t stop laughing while watching this for the first time.
“Send Help” - The Acacia Strain
The music video for the third track off of The Acacia Strain’s album Coma Witch is not the sort of video you’d expect from a Deathcore band. That’s exactly why I love it and exactly why it’s so funny. The video starts out with an introduction of the band and song title on a bowling alley’s screen. The rest of the video is the band getting ready to go bowling and then playing in a bowling alley. The juxtaposition of such heavy music paired with the simple act of bowling is so silly to me. I also love the old couple bowling nearby who are totally confused by the whole situation but are ballroom dancing to the song by the end. How can anyone watch this and not get a chuckle out of it?
Another great music video that falls into the “fun cheerful activities paired with heavy music” category is “My Horses Are Many” by Phinehas, except in theirs it’s in a fun park featuring an arcade and mini golf course. Check that out here.
“Jack Sparrow” - Lonely Island
Anyone who’s familiar with Andy Samberg’s parody group The Lonely Island should know why one of their music videos had to make the list. I do acknowledge that it may be funnier for people who hold nostalgia for when these music videos came out, but they’re still pretty funny to me. It was so hard to select just one. I toggled between so many but in the end, I know that “Jack Sparrow” is guaranteed to make you laugh. On top of the trio, Michael Bolton is featured in this song and video. While the Lonely Island crew are going for a cool club vibe, what Bolton really wants to talk about is Jack Sparrow. His interruptions are so goofy, and the video holds up after all these years.
“The 7th Element” - Vitas
“The 7th Element” came out in 2001 but it gained a second wind of traction in 2015 when clips of this Vitas music video went viral after it was used for memes. My favorite was one where they spliced a character from the movie Inside Out asking, “Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head?” with a clip from “The 7th Element.” You can watch the video I’m referring to here. Even if you aren’t familiar with the meme, you’ll probably still get a laugh out of this music video of the flashy disco setting and the singer wearing an all-white outfit that makes him resemble an alien. If you’re not convinced, wait until the chorus hits and tell me you didn’t chuckle, at least a little.
“I’ll Kill You That Way” - The Merkins
The Merkins are another great parody group out there that horror fans are going to get an extra kick out of. Imagine that all the iconic killers of horror franchises were in a boy band. Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, Leatherface, and Ghostface come together to sing new versions of Backstreet Boys hits, and they’re called The Slashstreet Boys. While the concept alone is funny, it’s the lyrics that make their reimagining of Backstreet Boys songs so hilarious. “I’ll Kill You That Way” reimagines the classic “I Want It That Way” by making it all about how these fictional killers will murder their victims while giving them all-white boyband-style outfits. It’s so silly, and I love it.
“All the Small Things” - Blink 182
Blink 182 has always been known for being goofy guys who don’t take themselves too seriously. As one of the biggest pop punk bands to this day, their songs have reached a huge audience, yet they still stick to their humorous, immature roots. “All the Small Things” is just one of a handful of music videos from the band that are funny. I chose this one specifically because of how shamelessly silly they made it. From the silly outfits to the dramatic boy band-like recreations to running naked on the beach, there’s a lot to laugh at in the music video for one of their biggest hits.
“I Mean It” - G Eazy
G Eazy says what he means, and he isn’t afraid to tell people so. To get that point across, the rapper appears as a news anchor for These Things Happen, Nightly News (lyrics from the song) reminding people that if he says something, he means it. What makes it so funny to me is that G Eazy is saying these aggressive, confrontational lines but he’s delivering like he’s reporting the news. There’s something so funny to me about delivering “If I ever said I’d f*cked your b*tch, just know I mean it” like he’s reporting on a story. There are also people all over watching him on TV and almost getting hypnotized by his repetition of the phrase, “I mean it”, mouthing it to themselves. The humor of this one may be subjective and not be as funny to you, but I hope it is.
That’s all I have for you today, but there are so many funny music videos out there that there’s a good chance I will create a part two at some point. I’m also thinking about devoting a whole blog post to great parody bands or songs, so you can look forward to that! Did you find a new music video to laugh at? Which music video always makes you laugh? Let me know in the comments!
Written by Kristen Petronio