Among so many other things, this week was a monument to the power of music and video, combined -- whether it be the slow-buffering image of Kanye West playing his iPod demos to an arena full of well-wishers or the oddly gratifying spectacle of Rudolph Giuliani spluttering nonsense invective about the Super Bowl halftime show. And it was also a week in which we saw some truly great music videos -- one of which stopped the world, another of which broke free of the world's gravitational pull. This week's picks are below.
5. Son Lux - "Undone" (Dir. David Terry Fine)
A beautifully-executed dance recital that's also an X-Files mystery, with each new thrust or twirl threatening to become a plot twist.
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4. Kevin Morby - "I Have Been To The Mountain" (Dir. Phillip Lopez)
I'll have what he's having.
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3. Flatbush Zombies - "Bounce" (Dir. Fredo Tovar & Scott Fleishman)
If a music video takes the aesthetics of a '70s grindhouse movie, I'll probably like it. If a music video takes the entire narrative structure of a '70s grindhouse movie and plays it all the way out, I will absolutely fucking love it.
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2. OK Go - "Upside Down & Inside Out" (Dir. Fredo Tovar & Scott Fleishman)
Sure, it's a gimmick, but what a gimmick! The idea of flying high enough to go into zero-gravity is the sort of thing that gives me nightmares. This band went up there and did an entire surreal-clownery dance routine, all as one unbroken shot. It's just an incredible achievement.
1. Beyoncé - "Formation" (Dir. Melina Matsoukas)
I mean. Come on. OK Go could've filmed a video inside the earth's crust, and it still wouldn't have come close.
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