Last night, Janelle Monáe unveiled the 45-minute short-film companion piece to Dirty Computer, her excellent new album. There aren't many artists who could convince me to watch what's essentially a music video that long, but Monáe is one of them. (I haven't watched it yet; work and Infinity War have gotten in the way. But I will.) This week's picks are below.
5. Ariana Grande - "No Tears Left To Cry" (Dir. Dave Meyers)
The Breakin' rotating-room effect meets the Inception city-folding-in-on-itself effect, all in the service of pop glory.
4. Sean Paul - "Tip Pon It" (Feat. Major Lazer) (Dir. Alexandre Courtès)
So is Sean Paul a giant? Or is the French film crew just tiny? Is it a Gulliver's Travels situation? Also, whose disembodied pulsating ass is that, and where is it going on that flatbed truck? So many questions!
3. Rae Sremmurd - "Close" (Feat. Travis Scott) (Dir. Mike Piscitelli)
Someone please greenlight the trap-themed remake of The Lost Boys already.
2. Father John Misty - "Mr. Tillman" (Dir. Jeff Desom & Carlos Lopez Estrada)
Plot twist: Josh Tillman finds the Time Stone, but he gets confused trying to work it, and he gets himself stuck.
1. J. Cole - "Kevin's Heart" (Dir. J. Cole & Scott Lazer)
Cole's "ATM" video just missed this list; it's a dizzy burst of late-'90s Busta Rhymes visuals put in service with a parable about money addiction or whatever. It's a lot of fun. But it's nowhere near as good as a serious, sober meditation of guilt and fame and public perception that still has Kevin Hart muttering about dick hands on his jacket.
