Top 10 Funny Music Videos of the 2000s

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It's no secret most music videos are glitzy, humorless affairs created solely to persuade impressionable tweens to purchase a digital file or two. But fortunately there are some that go beyond merely promoting the artist in front of the wind machine to become a great short film. And in a select few cases, they're also funny as hell.

Here are the top 10 funny music videos of the 2000s:




10. 'Can't Tell Me Nothin',' Kanye West

Mr. West himself was executive producer of this clip, though it's about as far as you can get from his usual hip and stylish offerings. There's cornfields and cows and a troupe of pinafore-clad step dancers. Alt-comedy genius Zach Galifianakis is a bearded mountain man lip-syncing Kanye's verses and staring down the camera with hillbilly intensity. He bumps and grinds on a tractor and bounces in his front-end loader. It's undoubtedly weird, but who says farmers can't be ballin'?



9. 'Triumph of a Heart,' Björk

There are those who think that cats are funny and those who don't. This video is definitely for the former group. The video opens on Björk fresh from a lovers' spat, gazing sulkily at a kitty in an undershirt. She heads off for a boozy night out and leaves her feline companion at home to watch the clock. There's some spontaneous beat-boxing and yodeling at the bar (this track is from the album 'Medulla,' which involved no instruments other than voices). But the hands-down highlight is a cat/human dance sequence that's even better than Nora, the piano-playing kitty.


8. 'Bad Cover Version,' Pulp

There have been other parodies of charity singalongs since this video was released in 2001 (as in 'He Needs a Kidney' on a recent '30 Rock' episode ) but this one gets the nod for its spot-on celebrity impersonators. Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Bono, George Michael, Missy Elliott, Liam Gallagher and even long-dead Kurt Cobain all get a walloping in this cheeky video (in which the impersonators actually sing all the lines). The lookalikes all sport fake smiles and mug for the camera, which perfectly illustrates the event's artificial camaraderie.



7. 'The Old Prince Still Lives at Home,' Shad

This Canadian rapper does a note-perfect re-creation of the opening credits from Will Smith's '90s sitcom 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.' In this case, the shots work backwards as the song is about Shad having to live with his folks. From the Prince's trademark huge-brimmed cap to the angry mom tidying up his room, it's a rad replication. Plus, there's an added joke near the end when the financially challenged rapper can't afford the whole beat.



6. 'Pork and Beans,' Weezer

Rumor had it that this tune was created to appease Weezer's record label, which insisted a radio hit be included in their 2008 album. The video follows in the song's irreverent lyrical footsteps, reproducing most of the major Internet memes of the '00s. The band performs as Coke-and-Mentos-combining lab techs, there's nods to the 'Star Wars' kid, the Soulja Boy dance, the dramatic prairie dog, and even Chris Crocker, the weeping Britney Spears defender, makes a cameo. Plus, Miss South Carolina and Kevin Federline pop up for more Z-list fun.



5. 'Still Waiting,' Sum 41

These pop-punk goofballs have a penchant for funny videos (also check out 'In Too Deep,' an amusing homage to Rodney Dangerfield's 'Back to School'). Here, they parody clueless record execs and garage revival bands like the Strokes and the Hives. 'MADtv' funnyman Will Sasso plays a smarmy suit who decides he's changing the name of the band to the Sums and redubbing the members Sven, Thurston, Holmes and Sergio. The guys perform in matching suits and skinny ties while random shots of arcade games pop up à la the Strokes video for 'Last Nite.'



4. 'Touch My Body,' Mariah Carey

'30 Rock' fans take note: This video is required viewing if only to see Kenneth hamming it up (with extra chuckle). Jack McBrayer is an IT nerd sent to examine Ms. Carey's hard drive. He fantasizes about what it would be like to date the comely megastar, which involves sexy activities like Laser Tag, Frisbee and a walk with a unicorn. It isn't the first time Mariah has sent herself up (see 'Heartbreaker'), and it's a refreshing counterpoint to what might be the least subtle lyrics of her career ("Put me on the floor/Wrestle me around/Play with me some more"), which is really saying something.



3. 'Sixteen Military Wives,' The Decemberists

In a style reminiscent of Wes Anderson's film 'Rushmore,' this clever clip is set at private school's Model United Nations. Lead singer Colin Meloy plays Henry, the lovelorn US representative who declares war on Luxembourg because of jealousy. His campaign includes economic sanctions (in the form of a cafeteria ban) and revelations of weapons of mass destruction (a slingshot discovered during a locker search). It's a sly and subtle commentary on big countries that bully little ones.



2. 'Since U Been Gone,' Kidz Bop

A gangly preteen sings Kelly Clarkson's monster hit into a hairbrush, then takes to the stage backed up by animal mascots (my favorite is the walrus drummer). A throng of elementary schoolers pump their fists in the air with wild abandon. Catch the video's best moment at around 2:35 (after the tiger does the air splits). That little guy's got more intensity than a Romanian weightlifter.



1. 'Weapon of Choice,' Fatboy Slim

Music video auteur Spike Jonze scores again with this Christopher Walken tour de force. The onetime 'King of New York' looks defeated and old in an empty hotel, only to burst into an amazing dance sequence, complete with swiveling hips and a little bit of the old soft shoe. By the time he leaps off the balcony and continues to hoof it aloft, our suspicions are confirmed: Walken is the coolest man in Hollywood -- and he's magical, too!

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