Seven Artists Who Have Made Fun of Themselves in Their Videos

Blink-182 recently released a video for their song “She’s Out of Her Mind” as part of Spotify’s new ‘Flash Frame’ series. The video is an almost shot-for-shot parody of their “What’s My Age Again” clip, only this time three female Instagram models are running around instead of the band’s members.

Just like Blink-182, there are many other artists that don’t take themselves seriously either. There are many artists who have parodied themselves in their videos as well. Whether it is getting someone else to imitate them or poking fun at their own actions, these bands are not afraid to make fun of their mannerisms or image.

Join Vinyl Bay 777 in looking at seven of these music videos, where artists.

1.       Elton John, “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore”: There was a certain point in the early 2000s when Elton John didn’t want to appear in his music videos. Instead, for his 2002 single “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore,” he recruited *NSYNC member Justin Timberlake to dress up as the 1970s version of John and walk around backstage at his show.

2.       Mumford and Sons, “Hopeless Wanderer”: Sometimes Mumford and Sons’ music can be a bit on the serious and liturgical side. So it was a real pleasure when the band released the video for “Hopeless Wanderer,” which featured comedians Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Ed Helms and Will Forte pretending to be the band. Hilarity ensues, particularly when the “band members” relieve a little bit of “sexual tension.”

3.       Bowling for Soup, “Punk Rock 101”: The whole song is a parody of how punk rock has become formulaic, but it is also a parody of them, as they are a pop-punk band.  In the video, they are getting lessons on how to act “punk,” from jumping while playing to what they should be wearing.

4.       Eminem, “The Real Slim Shady”: Eminem has released many videos where he plays variations on himself. But in “The Real Slim Shady,” he has extras dress up like him.

5.       Beastie Boys, “Make Some Noise”: “Make Some Noise” was a short film the surviving members of the Beastie Boys released to pay homage to how they started. They did not play themselves in the video though. They enlisted the talents of Seth Rogan, Elijah Wood and Danny McBride to play the trio as they meet up the many famous faces who make hilarious cameos.

6.       Foo Fighters, “Learning How To Fly”: “Learning How To Fly” is one of the Foo Fighters’ most tongue-in-cheek music videos. Not only do they play themselves, but they play almost every other character as well.

7.       Blink-182, “All the Small Things”: It is worth mentioning that “She’s Out of Her Mind” is not the first time that Blink-182 parodied themselves in one of their videos. In “All the Small Things,” included within the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and 98 Degrees spoofs, they also remade parts of “What’s My Age Again” with little people.

When artists are too serious, their music can often suffer for being too boring. However, these artists inject life into their music and fandoms by not taking themselves seriously at all. They are able to look inward and parody themselves.

Serious or not, you can find music from all of these artists at in-store at Vinyl Bay 777 and online at vinylbay777.com. Search through thousands of titles on vinyl, CD and cassette from artists of all genres.