When MTV stopped playing music videos, many prognosticators claimed that the music video would go the way of the dodo. How wrong they were. Nowadays, music videos are better than they’ve ever been, and every weekend, I’m going to round up the best music videos released that week.
Note: Please read all of the blurbs in a sultry, Daisy Fuentes accent.
5. Sky Ferriera: “Everything is Embarrassing”
I know that I just claimed that this was a round-up of the “best” videos of the week, but this is not a good video. In fact, it’s a pretty awful video that looks like it was shot for a student project. The lighting is weird, the shots uneven, and worst of all, the gorgeous part-time model that is supposed to be the star of the show is trying way, way, way too hard to be sexy here. Ferriera oozes allure and probably would look sexy mowing the lawn, so all of her hair-tossling, lip-pouting, and body-arching comes across as complete overkill. Luckily, it’s soundtracked by one of the best singles of the year, so it still makes the list, but only just. Some serious Lana Del Cray potential here.
4. Echo Lake: “Another Day”
Road videos will never go out of style, and “Another Day” beautifully explores the healing powers of being out in nature with people you love. Though the Londoners tragically lost drummer Peter Hayes earlier this year, they are continuing to press on, and with work this excellent, his legacy will be well honored.
3. AlunaGeorge: “Watching Over You”
The video for the new single from the highly-touted Londoners takes us on a night drive through God-knows-where and the conscious of someone who is dreaming about cartoons, Mario Brothers, and nebulous galaxies. The clip nicely highlights the dreamy mood of the track and captures those totally random thoughts you have on long drives.
2. Solange: “Losing You”
Probably how they should have handled the Ferriera clip, Beyoncés sister galavants aimlessly around beautiful South Africa in quirky digs being whimsical and looking sincere. Well done whoever directed this. An incredible track to boot.
1. Perfume Genius: “Take Me Home”
Seattle-based vocalist/chronic over-sharer Mike Hadreas is no stranger to striking videos. “Hood,” the lead single of his crushing second LP Put Your Back N 2 It, was originally banned by YouTube, due to images of the diminutive singer cuddling up to gargantuan porn star Arpad Miklos. YouTube was rightly chastised for their homophobic response and quickly reinstated the video. As powerful and affecting as his previous videos are, “Take Me Home” goes even further, seeing Hadreas strut, gyrate, and devour a Twinkie as a disheveled, cross-dressing streetwalker. Though his videos force the viewer to confront things that may make many of them (myself, included at times) uncomfortable at first, they all have really incredible moments of beauty that hopefully will serve to open up some of the viewers minds just that little bit. That’s what makes them so special.
