Welcome to Fall Fest, as hosted by Pharrell Williams, Daft Punk and film director Edgar Wright. Despite the intergallactic leanings of all involved, things are kept fairly natural as they pay homage to the breeziest element. That's not to say they entirely stay earthbound: We have a troupe of ribbon dancers who could have blown in from the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon remake and the (forgive the pun, please) very rocking Daft Punk cameo takes flight as well.
HELLYEAH is MUDVAYNE singer Chad Gray, former PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, NOTHINGFACE's Tom Maxwell on guitar and new bassist, Kyle Sanders (former member of BLOODSIMPLE and the brother of MASTODON's Troy Sanders)
Lil Chris is part of a new generation of video directors — and I mean that literally, since his Dad is director and Robot Films owner Chris Robinson. "Boss Ass Bitch" starts off like a Boyz II Men homage, but then gets a a lot more modern but letting things get as ratchet and fun as the track.
Beyonce's Visual Album kicks off with "Pretty Hurt," drawing upon memories of childhood beauty pageants, but with a specific focus on the forced smiles, forced diets and other pressures. Eventually it all comes to a head for Miss Third Ward with pageant host Harvey Keitel.
There's a decent chance that Tyler The Creator crosses way too many lines for you to really get with him — most bars feature at least one word that's not considered kosher for polite society — but "Tamale" is him at his random best, pinging back and forth between making serious points and getting silly. Visually, it's a blast, but there' usually a counterbalance: The ass trampoline gets contrasted with a censored bit of presumed violence, and just when you think he's about to take the piss out of a boring indie rock Zombie appregio riff, he uses as a chance to get deep.
Also worth noting: Tyler could probably have a lucrative career as a director — yes, he's Wolf Haley — if he gets tired of rhyming.
The Miami Vice vibe is purely intentional as Drake and his posse (including A$AP Rocky) live out an action-adventure fantasy where they go guns a'blazing to rescue his girl from an evil mobster.
Fittingly, the video is black & white, using vfx dots and graphing coordinates to make sure you learn to the "Black Jack White" dance. There's something intriguing about it — even the odd props, like an old-fashioned NordicTrack exercise machine.
Depending on your age and geography, Montauk either brings to mind images of Hamptons preppy chic, or the working-class fisherman enclave that it was for so long (or, if you're Mick Jagger, you think of Memory Motel).
Avril Lavigne does seem able to stay forever end: The song sticks to the "Complicated" formula, the video is set at a high school prom, and she's still a sk8tr girl. And despite the super prominent Radiohead references don't expect this video to look any different from what you might expect from the pop-rocker.
If anything, the '90s influence here seems to be more Hole "Miss World" than anything Radiohead...
Tyler, The Creator's plastic appearance makes sense once the camera pulls out and we see it's life in a dollhouse situation for the rapper and his girl.
Director Chris Robinson takes superstars A$AP Rocky and Skrillex to the Dominican Republic for the gorgeous-meets-dangerous scenery and the grimiest basement party of all time. The vibe is fun (assuming City of Godis your kind of fun) and the partying truly epic - plus you get to see Skrillex in his natural habitat, baking in the tropical sun.
Memories get distorted as if reflected in a funhouse mirror in this ode to enduring love. The centerpiece is an old, synchronous couple who visit a fun house of memories, remembering the ups and downs that brought them closer together, but they pass the ring onto Justin TImberlake for the last last third of this 8+ minute clip so he can navigate his own maze of mirrors.
The siren song of rock 'n' roll comes calling again for David Bowie, tempting him from his "nice life" with his lovely wife into something filled with more madness and more sex. Can he resist? Well, we already know the answer to that, but director Floria Sigismondi brings the mixed emotions to the surface in this slightly NSFW video starring Bowie alongside Tilda Swinton as his wife.
Get in the ring with Tyler, The Creator aka director Wolf Haley as he mugs and wrestles his way through a cast of characters in a video that's more akin to the OFWGKTA skit show Loiter Squad than the intensity of his breakthrough "Yonkers" clip.
