A list of every great video released this year would go on and on and on — case in point: I've highlighted well over 300 videos as being the best so far this year — so, this list omits many things that are insanely great, or greatly insane.
If all you want is the list, and I know you love lists like Brick loves lamp, there here it is:
- DJ Snake & Lil Jon "Turn Down For What" (Daniels, dir.)
- Sia "Chandelier" (Sia & Daniel Askill, dir.)
- Cage The Elephant "Cigarette Daydreams" (Mark Pellington, dir.)
- Beyonce "7/11"
- OK Go "The Writings on the Wall" (Aaron Duffy, Damian Kulash, Jr. & Bob Partington, dir.)
- Chet Faker "Gold" (Hiro Murai, dir.)
- Taylor Swift "Blank Space" (Joseph Kahn, dir.)
- She and Him "Stay Awhile" (Canada, dir.)
- Katy Perry "Dark Horse" (Mathew Cullen, dir.)
- Arcade Fire "We Exist" (David Wilson, dir.)
- Paolo Nutini "Iron Sky" (Daniel Wolfe, dir.)
If you want something more, perhaps some explanation, then you should certainly read on...
DJ Snake & Lil Jon "Turn Down For What" (Daniels, dir.)
I had a conversation with someone very smart the other day about whether the best video of the year was "Turn Down For What" or "Chandelier". You could flip a coin, or you can use it as a sort of test to see if you like music videos as pure diversion, or if you want something a bit more mysterious and probing. He picked "Chandelier", but for me it's "Turn Down For What," which I think can only exist as a music video, whereas "Chandelier" can work on a stage or a TV show or as performance art. A fine distinction, maybe a meaningless one, but so it goes. Also, I like the idea of destroying the world with nothing more than the power of the pelvis. (Which reminds me of another video, actually...)
Sia "Chandelier" (Sia & Daniel Askill, dir.)
Don't let the above explanation fool you: "Chandelier" is more than a great dance and an amazing great performance. Everything works in harmony here, especially the camerawork to capture it all. In terms of impact, this was probably the biggest video of the year with dancer Maddie Ziegler capturing nearly everyone's imagination. And although parodying or recreating the dance itself was the easy meme, it's a video that's remains open to interpretation, allowing the viewer to unravel it in all sorts of ways.
Cage The Elephant "Cigarette Daydreams" (Mark Pellington, dir.)
A complex exploration of memory, pain, guilt, filmmaking and eventually love from a director who might stand alone in terms of using music videos as his primary expression.
You have to be really good to make it look this easy. Beyonce is really good.
OK Go "The Writings on the Wall" (Aaron Duffy, Damian Kulash, Jr. & Bob Partington, dir.)
Consistency counts, but this OK Go video might be the most impressive and complex video they've ever nailed — which is really saying something.
Chet Faker "Gold" (Hiro Murai, dir.)
A haunting journey down a lost highway. On skates.
Taylor Swift "Blank Space" (Joseph Kahn, dir.)
A big video with the world's biggest pop star in a video that plays like a more complex and regal version of Fatal Attraction, as refracted through a Kubrick lens.
She and Him "Stay Awhile" (Canada, dir.)
It's one trick, but it's a good one...
Katy Perry "Dark Horse" (Mathew Cullen, dir.)
Who would have thought that you could make a production on the scale of Cleopatra in 2014? It's sheer spectacle, but big enough and good enough to not need to worry about silly things like meaning and context.
Arcade Fire "We Exist" (David Wilson, dir.)
Similar to "Chandelier" and part of a bigger trend of choreographed pieces as music videos, but with multiple layers of meaning that all comes together in a rock 'n' roll catharsis.
Paolo Nutini "Iron Sky" (Daniel Wolfe, dir.)
Maybe not a video you'll want to watch twice — fuck, based on the YouTube counts it seems lots of people didn't even watch it once — but probably better and more disturbing that whatever sci-fi crap you caught at the multiplex.
