My Top 10 Weirld Al Yankovic Music Videos

Heyo! I figured since my Fangirl Friday: Weird Al Yankovic post was so popular; I'd rank my top 10 music videos of his! This was hard because he's got so many great videos. My ranking of them is based on sentimental value, if the music video has lived rent-free in my head, and my overall enjoyment. As well as a few other parameters because getting a list of 50+ videos to just my favorite 10 was so hard especially because I've been obsessed with his videos for as long as I've been a fan.

Friendly reminder that this is MY opinion. Your choices may be different. Weird Al has his YouTube videos blocked from being viewed on other websites, which is fair, so all videos are going to be linked in the title. However, I will try to include screenshots from some videos, so this post isn't just words. Some screenshots won't be the clearest images due to the quality of the video.

Let's get to it!

10. "White & Nerdy" from Straight Outta Lynwood (2006)

I told my story with this song over on my last Weird Al post. This was his video I EVER watched. And it very easily could have turned me off and I would have never gotten into Weird Al, however it's been almost seventeen years now. The video includes a few cameos including Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Donny Osmond and Seth Green. I ended up watching the music video for the song this parodied, "Ridin' Dirty" by Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone and Weird Al did justice recreating a few things from the original video. All of Weird Al's parodies and accompanying videos is an art form.

9. "First World Problems" from Mandatory Fun (2014)

The biggest reason this music video made the list is the goofy dancing Weird Al does and the ridiculous blonde wig he sports. We stan an ICON! In this video he portrays the infamous male version of a "Karen" also known as a "Ken". These videos and song were before their time especially with the rise in Karens and Kens in the last few years. This song also gets bonus points for having a dog. This one isn't a direct parody of any song, but the song is in the style of the Pixies.

8. "Close But No Cigar" from Straight Outta Lynwood (2006)

This video was animated by John Krilfalusi and Katie Rice. You might know John Krilfalusi for creating and animating the show, Ren & Stimpy, which I also have fond memories of. However, Krilfalusi is also the reason this video didn't rank higher. While I do believe this video altered my brain chemistry and it was one of my favorites to watch when I was younger. Without getting too much into it, the dude is bad news and the only reason he's not in jail is because of the statute of limitations on his crimes. The video made the list despite his crimes because of the work Katie Rice put into it. She doesn't deserve to have her work discredited because of the crimes of her abuser. It's a fitting video for the song and it sucks it's shadowed because of some dumb asshole.

7. "Tacky" from Mandatory Fun (2014)

I was one of the few people who didn't have to deal with overexposure to Pharrell Williams' "Happy" and I still very much love that song, even though everyone around me hated it when it first came out. But I love Weird Al's parody of it so much more. And the video has so many ICONIC cameos from Aisha Tyler, Margaret Cho, Eric Stonestreet, Kristen Schaal and Jack Black. The video deserved a spot on this list for Jack Black's cameo alone. Man is a legend. That's it. That's why the video is on this list.

6. "Trapped in the Drive-Thru" from Straight Outta Lynwood (2006)

The video is ten minutes long. It's completely animated. This one is a parody of an "Trapped in the Closet" by R. Kelly. He gets no links. Only a mention. But the video is hilarious. It's about a couple deciding what to do for dinner and settling on grabbing fast food at a drive-thru. It's another animated one. This time animated by Doug Bresler of Doogtoons. The style is charming. Also besides the whole song telling a story, the story lies in a lot of the animations as well. This is one I remember rewatching with my older brother a lot. We loved it.

5. "Jurassic Park" from Alapalooza (1993)

This video is done in stop-motion and claymation. Directed by Mark Osbourne and Scott Nordlund, the duo worked tirelessly in shifts to get the video done. It was Weird Al's first completely animated music video and it is so good. The song is a parody of "MacArthur's Park" by Jimmy Webb and the first Jurassic Park film. The video includes lots of gags. Like the plot of the 1993 film, Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs escape and are causing mayhem. Eating various park guests, including claymation Weird Al, himself. It also includes a "cameo" of claymation Steven Spielberg who directed the original film. It's iconic and includes a segment of a dancing T-Rex. Which is hands down my favorite part of the whole video.

4. "Fat" from Even Worse (1988)

I am a very big Michael Jackson fan. Having to choose between Weird Al's parodies of Michael's "Fat" or "Eat It" was hard, but I have a softer spot for "Fat" because of the video. From the near shot by shot recreation to the prosthetics on Weird Al, and the goofy dancing it is a masterpiece. The most incredible part is when Weird Al literally grows fat. The growing prosthetics are amazing. Kevin Yagher who did the make-up for the video, absolutely deserved an award for it! Weird Al's fatsuit was designed by Camilla Henneman and had a circumference of 111 inches. The song is a parody of Michael Jackson's song "Bad" from his album of the same name. Michael gave Weird Al permission to use the set that was used for his film, Moonwalker. Which is an exact replica of the set of his original video. As someone who has the "Bad" music video memorized shot by shot due to how many times I've seen it I can confidently say Weird Al did AMAZING recreating it.

Note: I linked the shortened version of Michael Jackson's "Bad" music video, but I figured I'd also include the full official version because I love it so much. It's almost 20 minutes long and is definitely a short film that I recommend.

3. "Bedrock Anthem" from Alapalooza (1993)

The only reason this ranked higher than "Fat" is because I clearly remember being obsessed with it after the first time I watched it. The song is also the reason I ended up becoming a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's a parody of TWO RHCP songs: "Under the Bridge" and "Give It Away". The video is Weird Al's directorial debut (though he did direct a segment of the "Christmas On Ground Zero" video). The video recreates the videos of the songs it parodies while also showing clips from the cartoon, The Flintstones. It is unconfirmed if where Weird Al and his band did the music video is the same place RHCP did the "Give It Away" video, but due to the use of certain landmarks it seems to be the same spot.

2. "Like a Surgeon" from Dare To Be Stupid (1985)

THIS SONG is the reason for the resurgence of my fixation on Weird Al. It is a song that gets stuck in my head a lot and I decided to indulge myself a few days before I got to see Weird: The Weird Al Story in November. And now it's been three months and I haven't shut up about him yet. It is a parody of "Like a Virgin" by Madonna. While Weird Al's video takes place in a hospital and is not a recreation of Madonna's, he does make a few references to her original video. Including a lion, and a "cameo" from a Madonna look-alike. This video is a staple and one I rewatch every few months.

1. "Dare to Be Stupid" from Dare To Be Stupid (1985)

This was the easiest part of this list. If you ever wonder what it's like in my brain, for the past 16 years, this video has been playing non-stop in the back of my brain on a small corner screen at the lowest volume that just loud enough to hear. And SOMETIMES it becomes big screen and blasts at the loudest volume in my brain. The song isn't a direct parody by a style parody of Devo. The video includes so many references and parodies of Devo's music videos. The whole thing takes place within a dream, which I love because I've definitely had a dream with that energy. This is hands down my most played Weird Al song because it scratches the good part of my brain. It's a great video.

I have another Weird Al post planned for the future which is my 10 favorite songs. That list is different from this one and is going to take a lot longer because I love all of his songs. Also still debating whether I am going to do a "Kinda Review" of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. THOUGH I am also considering a "Kinda Review" of UHF because I recently watched it for the first time and absolutely loved it.