The top two videos on this list couldn’t be more different in terms of concept, execution, intent, emotion, or aesthetic — or, perhaps least important of all, music. They do, however, have one thing in common: They’re both biker epics. A couple of weeks ago, Twin Shadow landed at the top of this list with his own biker epic. The message to music video directors, then, is a simple one: Make more biker epics. Check out this week’s picks below.
5. JEFF The Brotherhood – “Sixpack” (Dir. Elise Tyler & Michael Carter) (NSFW)
There’s nothing especially groundbreaking in a music video about a bunch of friends who go out into the woods to party; it’s practically a music-video subgenre unto itself. But the sun-dappled, shaggy aesthetic of this particular video, and the wide variety of fun shit that the kids in it find to do, makes this one of the better, more memorable ones. It’s basically impossible to watch this particular video without wishing you were there with everyone, even the naked fat guy. Fits the song perfectly, too.
4. Bombay Bicycle Club – “Beg” (Dir. Darcy Pendergast)
You have to be a very good dancer to make any sense out of this song’s percussively twisty Brit-rock, but the two guys in this video are ridiculously, incredibly good dancers, and it’s a lot of fun to watch them pop-lock their way across London. There is real joy at work in this video, and it can’t be easy to get that kind of thing on film, even with two subjects as great as these guys.
3. Aesop Rock – “ZZZ Top” (Dir. Pete Lee)
In which aging Chinese martial arts gold medalist and general badass Patti Li takes out an entire battalion of dudes, all of whom are invading her garage for no discernible reason. I admire any music video that knows it’s fine to just give us a straight-up fight scene devoid of context, and as a connoisseur of cinematic fight scenes, I have to say: This is a pretty good one. The final showdown with Baseball Bat Guy is my favorite kind of movie fight: The one where the two combatants develop a mutual respect, one that you only get to see through body language, before somebody eventually has to die.
2. Spiritualized – “Little Girl” (Dir. Vincent Haycock)
Motorcycle stunts are some of the most instantly exciting things you can put on film, so it takes true directorial talent to depict them as the final refuge of a desperate girl trying to escape her shitty Eastern European life. Haycock pulls it off, and he still keeps the pure exhilaration of those stunts intact. And the final scene in the crusty Euro-biker hangout is something like the cantina scene in Star Wars, except real: A quick glimpse at a weird and dangerous world that you didn’t know existed.
1. T-Ara – “Day By Day” (Dir. Cha Eun Taek)
I know certain members of the commenting community really, really wish I would stop posting K-pop videos, but, I mean, come on. Here we have a girl group who have recorded a sweet Abba pastiche of a single. So the video, naturally, is a 10-minute post-apocalyptic mutant ninja biker epic melodrama. Bonus points for the not-terrible special effects, the anime dream sequence, and the to-be-continued cliffhanger ending that actually makes me want to see the follow-up. There’s a version of this video out there with English subtitles, but it really won’t help you understand this awesome ridiculousness any better. And as long as I keep seeing stuff like this, there’s no way I’m not posting it.
You Might Also Like
 JEFF The Brotherhood – “Sixpack” Video (NSFW) |  Aesop Rock – “Cycles To Gehanna” Video |  Spiritualized – “Little Girl” Video |  Download Adult Swim’s Garage Swim Compilation |
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I wonder how much longer before Kanye grabs one of those K-Pop video directors, re-does a K-Pop-like video for some Cruel Summer track and then everyone calls it groundbreaking and innovative.
Tom’s just trying to keep us on the cutting edge guys. We’ll thank him someday.
No. You miss the point of my complaints.
The videos are fine. Some of them are even REALLY good. I’ve never denied that.
The music is complete and total crap! Some of the weakest stuff I’ve heard in years has been in the K-pop videos he posts. And that includes this tripe. This song is AWFUL! If an American artist had released this song, NOBODY at Stereogum would be paying ANY attention, unless it was to make fun of it.
Team Cerebus member.
That’s jacked up you got a down vote for joining the team. Team Cerebus is sold. People need to stop sleepin’ on us.
Or somethin’.
I agree even though I’m a huge kpop fan. I just wish he’d look past the surface and see the other diverse musicians Korea has to offer. Like the KOXX’S new video which is miles better than t-ara. Korean music isn’t just kpop, there is a very respectable hip hop world as well as indie gems that are a better representation of Korean talent beyond slick mv’s and dance moves. Not completely putting down my idols, but there are other groups and artists out there that deserve to be representatives as well if the author is enamoured with Korean pop culture.
THE KOXX’S video link in article http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/9446682.html
Fuck it, I’m just going to link bomb you guys. I don’t care how arrowed down I’m going to get.
All great lyrics ranging from rap to rock, all subtitled and beautiful videos. I love you for exposing kpop to the masses Tom, but educate yourself on the other genres :-)
**In english epik high – Map the Soul http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OkiGO7u-6w
Nell – The Day Before http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km4D0wkmaPM
Tablo – Bad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql4Hpq2vZ7A
Glen Check – Racket http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfDd9k3naOc&feature=relmfu
Drunken Tiger – Monster http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weXQqPhJ_Mo
Epik High – Run http://youtu.be/bg2Sq0rExo8
Leessang – Pursuing the happiness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6M_9ghMwkk
Tasha – Black Happiness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fAKvA7uIL8
Phantom – Hole In Your Head http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2xDKSELPgo
arrowed down
“desperate girl trying to escape her shitty Eastern European life”? This is Germany …
This is madness?
The old East Germany, on the Polish border. If that’s a fudge, it’s a slight one. Not that I know anything about these things, but it sure seemed culturally Eastern European to me.
“Not that I know anything about these things”. Yeah, we kind of got that after the time you thought Glasgow was Prague, despite the English language shop signs, taxis, and erm, a map of Glasgow featuring in the video.
Pretty sure that’s not London either (BBC vid).
note to Aesop Rock, I would be more than fine with you soundtracking an entire martial arts flick
No kidding, great song to go along with all that action. Most fun I’ve had watching a music video in a long time.
Okay Stereogum i have lots of respect for you but some of he top videos of this week are okay but not as good as the other ones which debuted this week like “IO ECHO’s” – when the lilies die music video
and enough of the Kpop, yes i have no problem with it but i find it really unfair if you give so much exposure to Kpop music yet other countries are making good music like Japan, their alternative music scene is admirable but its Kpop this and that (we get the point, you are being paid lots of money by those top Korean record labels like SM Entertainment & YG entertainment) , give other nations the spotlight if u will force us to watch you big budget, post-apocalyptic themed videos
btw the whole post-apocalyptic theme is getting old, didn’t justin beaver do it with chris brown tsk tsk
gosh atleast give some time for japanese artists, yeah kpop record label money is good but it doesn’t hide the fact that there are other better pop artists in the world
what the heck, that next BIGbang video is upon us anyway
it is a pity
ps. there are some Japanese pop artists, who have been doing what these GROUNDBREAKING kpop artists are doing, ayumi hamasaki & Namie Amuro fyi
After all, if there’s one lesson the 20th century taught us, it’s that we Americans spend way too much time celebrating and propping up the Korean continent.
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Not to be mean, but I just can’t get into his song you posted. Not that interesting at all. It’s like a lot of Indie Pop Rock that is just boring. All sounds the same.
WELL i give up!!! have fun with T-Ara and all the kpop you need… smh