Put a sock in It

Beyoncé Knowles' "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)": possibly the most irritating song of the decade. And this is the decade that gave us the Crazy Frog.

Every time I hear Beyoncé's vocalised hyperventilating, I feel like tearing my ears off with my bare hands.

Worst of all, it's one of those annoying songs that's frustratingly catchy, so even after its mercifully brief three minutes has run its course, the torture lingers. It's a bit like getting a paper cut; it's short, sharp and painful, but it hurts like hell for ages.

Oh, you know it does.

YouTune

For the past few days, I've been completely unable to get Weezer's "Pork and Beans" (from their self-titled sixth album) out of my head.

It's got an incredibly infectious chorus and some great lyrics about being yourself, gleefully raising the proverbial middle finger at people who call others down.

The real hook, though, is its trippy music video, which is actually a three-minute tribute to the numerous "celebrities" YouTube has created. Many of the references went over my head, but there were a few I'd come across in the past. Weezer managed to actually round up dozens of these (in)famous faces to star, including the Evolution of Dance guy (YouTube's most watched video ever with over 100 million views!), the Miss Teen USA candidate who gave an incomprehensible answer to a simple question, the Numa Numa bloke, and, bizarrely, the guy who bawled his eyes out at Britney Spears' treatment by the press (which I won't link to because it's all a bit tragic and you know who I mean anyway).

Other YouTube phenomena are also paid tribute to, including Daft Hands, the guy who wore 155 t-shirts at once and that brilliant Diet Coke/Mentos experiment. The Sneezing Panda even gets a little cameo during the video's epic finale.

Admittedly, most of those videos aren't worth the time of day. In fact, I'd be the first to admit that YouTube is full of irritating gonks after their five minutes of fame. But the difference with the acts Weezer have selected is that, for the most part, "fame" seems to have been thrust upon them. And it's not the kind of fame most people would pine for; incessant cyber-mocking might be a more fitting description. Which is precisely why the song works.

Even if the video clip's over your head, there's no doubt the song will become stuck in it.