"Drone Bomb Me" might seem ripe for an overly political video, but artistic director Riccardo Tisci and director Nabil go for something totally different, enlisting supermodel Naomi Campbell for a devastatingly simple performance.
Chicago folkies Whitney get their redneck on in “No Woman,” burning fireworks and throwing axes at trees, all the while rueing that they’re getting old. Hah! Young’ns.
This is one of those videos that remind me of the early days of alternative — a homespun, analog and within six degrees of R.E.M. — but what makes it particularly resonant is the last three minutes, when we look out the window and the visuals take on a spark and color as the guitars crescendo and wash reality away under a sound wave. Consider it an acid test: Is it noise, or blissed-out catharsis?
I've heard of recording sessions taking forever, but there's definitely some sort of time paradox at work in this Yeasayer video, aging the band well past their freshness date. --> watch "Longevity"
Yeasayer "Longevity" (Secretly Canadian)Timothy Saccenti, director | Garen Barsegian, producer | Radical Media, production co | Ivan Abel, DP | Ryan McKenna, editor | Stephanie Barkley, production designer | Jennifer Heath, exec. producer
When we talk about fishing, we're talking about death. Keep that in mind when/if you decide to introduce your kid to the rod and reel, because there's a chance he'll become as fixated on the plight of the fishies as the young existentialist in this Bowerbirds video. And, unlike in the music videos, he probably won't have the power to bring them back to life. --> watch "Tuck The Darkness In"
Worst. Bachelorette. Party. Ever. Or, the weirdest, as the adult entertainers for this soiree are three creepy singer/dancers and a bulheaded dope who looms over the proceedings like some kind of shaman pimp. Things build to a climax, but it's more nasuating than erotic (literally) for our ladies. For the viewer, it's compelling and odd, very odd. --> watch "One Second Of Love"
Nite Jewel "One Second Of Love" (Secretly Canadian)Delaney Bishop, director | Belinda Salazar, producer | Richard Briglia, DP | Bucky Fisk, editor
What at first seems like an ode to the Old West, turns into something more existential as a bound hostage learns that it's sometimes not worth the effort. --> watch "Brothers"
Best use of a clay bust since the classic Lionel Richie "Hello" video? Yes, and even though the plotline of this Yeasayer clip is a bit more existential as it concerns the fantasies of a lonely motorcycle dude, it's as strangely, if not perversely sexy. --> watch "I Remember"
The bald hairy rotund slimeball dating the hot young starlet is classic Hollywood. Director Andreas Nilsson's tale for this Yeasayer video is similar to that, but blown out to full wackiness with an actual hairy testicular-shaped creature capturing the heart of actual starlet Kristen Bell.
