A jittery performance video that's not afraid to pack in lots of good ideas in just two minutes, including a manic edit, a literally dragging performance and a very cool guitar cam.
A claustrophobic and rundown band rehearsal space is nothing new, but the situation for Editors is especially perplexing here with dangerously dropped ceilings, breakaway walls and a distinct lack of friction and gravity.
Update: The Katy Perry "Dark Horse" video has been quietly revised — and made a bit more fabulous — in response to the criticism about the burning man wearing an Allah pendant.
Now, the pendant has been erased and he undergoes a more glittery destruction.
If only world peace could be achieved as easily...
Into the noirish night with the Arctic Monkeys, this b/w clip mixing performance of their song "Arabelle," contains hints of sex and danger along with the swingingest doom metal riff since "War Pigs."
Spike Jonze winning an Oscar in the Screenwriting category for Her is perhaps the best lesson any up-and-coming music video director can learn.
The old rub against music video directors making movies is that it's all flash and action, but no substance or structure or story. Video people have been trained that every second needs to be amazing, needs to be impressive, even if it's at the cost of narrative cohesion or emotion.
And while Spike has delivered plenty of amazing visuals and brain teasers over the course of his feature career, it's his ability to nail emotion and story that's establishing him as primarily a movie director for a new generation of viewers.
It's like the story about Bruce Springsteen, who initially gained notice as the "Fastest Guitar in Asbury Park." It was a good niche, one he may have been able to ride into a nice career, but nowhere near as nice as the promised land he entered by learning to write and perform a perfect song.
So, Spike winning his first Oscar for WRITING and not directing — for prioritizing story and emotion over cleverness — is probably a very sweet moment for him. And a reminder that a video without an idea is... well, you can fill in the metaphor of your choice.
It's not the impending stock market crash that's going to wreck the bacchanalia for these wolves of wall street. It's something more personal and more violent.
A rapper's dream of making it big in L.A. should be in the form of a music video — and if you grew up in the pre-HD days, then 4x3 would be the accurate aspect ratio. Also, if we're thinking about the kind of videos directors dream of making, then it should be one-take, involving lots of set-ups and the long multi-room tracking shots that you've long drooled over.
So, in short: Dreams come true for Canadian rapper SonReal and director Peter Huang in this impressive video.
Short month means a short list, but lots of good stuff here... These are the best videos from what we covered during the past 28 days, presented in reverse chronological order.
See what you've been missing if you didn't buy the Beyonce Visual Album?
"Partition" has finally been officially released to the interwebs and calling it sexy would be an understatement. And hopefully you have somebody who's as willing and able to get your attention.
"You're nobody 'til somebody kills you" is a frightening hip-hop mantra, mainly because there's unfortunately a kernel of truth to it. Director Christopher Sims conjures up the ghosts of 2Pac and Biggie —casting Diddy in a role makes that connection even clearer — in a cinematic tale of a complicated hit.
Part of the Major Lazer charm is that they never quite play it straight: So, while this does come across as something close to a typical dancehall video, we also get some extra aerobic twerking and a few pet goats.
If you play guitar and have spent any amount of time scouring the web for song tutorials, video lessons or half-assed tabs, then you will likely LOVE the concept here: Real Estate's Martin Courtney and Matt Mondanile play guitar as rolling tab show you every chord, riff and note.
In a way, it may be the most elucidating music video ever made. Now, if only we could convince other guitarists to take the plunge and make this a series...
I always love a music video with a DIY element that you can make at home, asussing you're properly equipped. In the same way They Might Be Giants "When Will You Die" and the accompanying 1/27 scale paper van that would require a very large printer (or lots of Scotch Tape and time) if you wanted to recreate the video, making the characters here would require a 3D printer and serious nerd skills.
