The 5 Best Videos Of The Week
The people behind the CMA Awards may or may not be trying to bury it, but Beyoncé and the Dixie Chicks’ performance of “Daddy Lessons” at the big country-music awards show was easily the most electric piece of music-related video I saw this week. That just goes to show: Sometimes it’s not a good idea to give racists what they want. We would probably all do well to remember that this Tuesday. In any case, this turned out to be a great week for music videos, and our picks for the week’s five best are below.
5. Lambchop – “NIV” (Dir. Elise Tyler)
Less a music video, more a powerful, emotionally walloping mini-documentary about American homelessness that happens to have a Lambchop song playing in the background.
4. clipping. – “Shooter” (Dir. Carlos Lopez Estrada)
Estrada and clipping. have already made a number of striking, memorable green-screen fantasias together. This one stands out because it shows that Daveed Diggs can dance. I mean, I probably could’ve guessed that. He was on Broadway and all. But it’s still cool to see.
3. Future – “Used To This” (Feat. Drake) (Dir. Eif Rivera)
Look, I know this one shouldn’t be up so high. It’s a flashy and well-made moderatly-high-budget rap video, not some artistic masterwork. I just really like Drake’s dancing, is all.
2. Jane Zhang – “Dust My Shoulders Off” (Dir. Outerspace Leo)
This video has such a dumb central idea: See Jane Zhang posing in weirdly perfect recreations of famous paintings! But it executes it so perfectly, with such energy, that it won me over anyway.
1. ABRA – “Pull Up” (Dir. ABRA)
ABRA is on a very short list — one that pretty much includes Grimes and nobody else — of people who direct better videos for themselves than anyone else directs for anyone. This one tells a story about an extremely intoxicated, borderline-dangerous night out in New York City, and it makes it look like a fucking Michael Mann movie. It’s beautiful.