Black Hand Cinema

WATCH IT: Taylor Swift "I Knew You Were Trouble" (Anthony Mandler, dir.)

Having spent many years cultivating a flawless public image, it's doubtful that we'll ever see Taylor Swift going as deep off the edge as Rihanna or Lana Del Rey, but "I Knew You Were Trouble" is certainly a step in that direction. The action starts with a wistful spoken intro before getting stick-in-your-cranium catchy, but the imaging is rough and tumble throughout.

WATCH IT: Rihanna "Diamonds" (Anthony Mandler, dir.)

Rihanna continues her blistering music video pace, delivering a hypnotic, soaring clip that could almost be in competition as a Bond theme song. Director Anthony Mandler's clip hints at a film trailer for a sexy action movie no one has ever seen. Rihanna loses her grip on a tattooed arm, runs away down a nocturnal road and ends up in the midst of a violent urban uprising, all while floating away on a mysterious sea and singing about sky diamonds. --> watch "Diamonds"

WATCH IT: Lana Del Rey "Ride" (Anthony Mandler, dir.)

America is open roads, motorcyles and pinball. It's Jack Daniels, guns and flags. It's biker dudes, starlet girls, shots at fame and falls from grace. It's sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll. To paraphrase Lana Del Rey, it's fucking crazy. But even if it's disconnected from the actual country we live in, it's the glamorous and dangerous image that conquered the imagination of people areound the world — which I think is one reason Ms. Del Rey has found mass success in Europe, while remaining a cult artist here in the States.

WATCH IT: Muse "Madness" - Anthony Mandler, dir.

Muse do not fear dubstep. Or any genre, for that matter. "Madness" is a sleek hit that skirts around all sorts of easy description, calling to mind everything from U2 "Numb" to Prince "Kiss" to George Michael "Faith" and lots more that is good. The video is about Madness, of course, but its up to you whether that word best describes the moment of intense passion that happens between two stranger on a train, or the riot of a war that threatens to also engulf them. --> watch "Madness"