This really cute video is from The Flight of the Conchords’ series. The Midnight Beast properly love these guys, and it’s obvious why. In this video, Bret singing to a girl about how much he adores her. The funny touches are added by his mate Jemaine who repeats his simple lyrics in a deep, gruff voice. The video’s not much to look at, unless you’re into really cute beardy types who sing and play guitar (of course you are!). And it totally takes the mickey out of singer-songwriters who can’t just say what they really mean!
In 2008, Natalie Portman broke away from her butter-wouldn’t-melt worthy-vegan-girl image in this foul-mouthed rap for Saturday Night Live. The black-and-white video, her shouty voice and the cropped hair (growing back from the skinhead she sported for V For Vendetta) makes it all a bit gritty. As does her throwing chairs and swearing loads. The bit about the clean-living actress drinking until she’s sick, and that she cheated her way through Harvard and took loads of drugs - are mega LOLs.
The Midnight Beast boys say that The Lonely Island are a big inspiration for them, and you can see why. I’m On A Boat is a brilliant mickey-take, showing up rappers’ bling lifestyles and excesses for being so ridiculous. Their tongues are firmly in their cheek - or in their glasses of ‘Santana champ’ when they’re feeling thirsty. Getting T-Pain to guest star on the track was a brilliant move, too, making the song and video more realistic. Oh, and the massive yacht helps.
Weird Al Yankovic was one of the first people to parody videos, first taking Michael Jackson’s Bad and making a whole new song based on the premise that it’s about the superstar being fat. Not that he was. He was skinnier than a cigarette paper. That’s probably what makes it so funny! Oh, and the dancing in the fatsuit brings the LOLs, too. Weird Al carried on in this butter-clogged vein for a while, covering Michael Jackson’s hit Beat It, but dropping the B to make it sound phatter.
And we can't forget The Midnight Beast boys, who shot to fame on YouTube after doing a parody version of Ke$ha’s Tik Tok. Even though the original song – all about partying and going wild – was silly enough, Stef, Ash and Dru send it up in this low-budget video, by asking whether Ke$ha’s all mouth and no trousers when it comes to being “really mad”.