On the intro to last week's 5 Best Videos post, I complained that music videos had not yet shaken themselves to life this year -- that, even factoring in the holiday break, we hadn't seen a single great video. Well, the break is over! Music videos are back, baby! We got a whole mess of really good videos this week, and I couldn't even find room for all of them on this list. (Apologies to Shabazz Palaces, Flying Lotus, and A-Trak, all of whom made deserving videos that got crowded out.) Any one of the five videos below would've been #1 last week. Here's this week's list:
5. Weyes Blood - "Bad Magic" (Dir. Joey Frank)
The invention of the drone camera may have changed low-budget music videos -- and, for that matter, low-budget filmmaking -- forever. A few years ago, you would've needed a helicopter to get these scenes of sweeping natural beauty. And for some reason, the shots of Natalie Mering adoringly lifting the drone into the sky just kill me.
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4. Mount Eerie - "This" (Dir. Peter J. Brant)
A series of disconnected images so evocative that you can almost breathe them in. If I could get a gif of that sword slicing through the water on me, I probably would.
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3. Moon Duo - "Animal" (Dir. Richie Jackson)
Kyle Mooney's reaction at the end of the video is pretty much my reaction to this entire thing.
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2. Childish Gambino - "Sober" (Dir. Hiro Murai)
Two albums and a fuckton of EPs and mixtapes in, I am still not sold on the idea of Donald Glover as a rapper. I am, however, entirely sold on the idea of Donald Glover as a horror-movie monster, mostly just on the strength of this video. Someone, preferably Hiro Murai, should get on that.
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1. FKA twigs - "Pendulum" (Dir. FKA twigs)
Your homework assignment for the weekend: Stay up until 4AM, eat a bunch of junk food, and watch this video just as you're about to fall asleep. Then, when you wake up, write down everything you dreamed about.
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