We miss MTV, specifically an after-hours show called Amp. If one were to stay up late on a weekend (or set one’s VCR), week after week one would experience a cavalcade of amazing sights and sounds. Today music videos are everywhere, even the old ones, streaming online. But what we miss is the curation. Every year, we choose a selection of our favorites, concentrating on the instrumental and experimental fields. But we do allow a couple cross-genre selections to sneak in, because some things just have to be seen. Vimeo is still our go-to source, but we also watch videos that arrive with new albums. Once viewed primarily as promotional tools, music videos are now an art form in their own right, as you’ll see in our ten selections below, listed in recommended viewing order.
Organic Flux
Director: Dirk Koy
Yes, this is a vertical video; we don’t see many of these, but it’s perfect for the phone format. At first we only see a joyful swimming pool, but these waves are dangerous in a way that none can comprehend. Soon everything is awash in color, shape and swerve.
Bravery in Battle ~ Wetico
Video Production : Acts of Love, supported by SCPP
“Wetico” is the “instrumental climax” of the multi-media project, The House We Live In, which uses music, dialogue and images to draw attention to our planet’s environmental crisis. The production draws comparison to “Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out of Balance),” which shared many of the same points four decades earlier. If only we had listened.
Cassie Marin ~ Tonto
Director: King She
In “King She,” Cassie Marin and King She transcend the expected boundaries of a music video by turning the project into something new and beguiling. The astonishing visuals may remind some of Björk, while the real-life theme of reacting to illness is enriched by visual metaphor.
The Beatles Vs. The Stones Animation
Director: Dog & Rabbit
Music: Ollie DYG
This is not something we ever thought we’d see on our site ~ until we watched it. Ollie DYG’s musical mash-up is reminiscent of Fatboy Slim, the animation is humorous and the content resurrects an ages-old debate. Who wins? Everybody.
Reid Willis ~ Conveyer
Visuals by V O L T A I N E
This is the first cool video we saw this year, and it has stood the test of time. The album Sediment is based on concepts of movement and transformation, and the video is an apt reflection of these themes. Bodies and particles shift, multiply and recombine; every atom remains in motion.
Little Taste of Joy
Directed by Jonathan Djob Nkondo
Music by Jan Pryputniewicz and Marian Dziubiński
Kleine Kantate (1979)
A brand new video for a 44-year-old track, “Little Taste of Joy” is as mysterious as it is precise. Multiple sci-fi themes are packed into a concise format, leaving us curious and wanting more. Especially recommended for fans of the anime Scavengers Reign.
Kate NV ~ confessions at the dinner table
Created by Vladimir Shlokov
The joy of the video is its playful nature, with bouncing utensils, orchestral intrusions and a video game template (there actually is a game ~ see Kate’s site!). This poor critter is having such a great time until she falls down more stairs than John Wick. We hope she’s okay!
RARI ~ Ego Death
Directed by Alex Dossogne
We’re not sure what’s gone wrong in Franck’s life (emotionally portrayed by Ronald Leclercq), but we suspect the worst. Is this the aftermath of a family dissolution? A death seen from afar? The ravages of Alzheimer’s? No matter how one interprets the story, the effects are heartbreaking.
Chemical Brothers feat. Beck ~ Skipping Like a Stone
Directed by Pensacola
The world record for skipping stones is 88. The record distance is 121.8m. But even these records have nothing on the stone in this video, who seems to possess a preternatural intelligence. In this mini-movie, the lake is just the beginning.
Squid ~ Swing (In a Dream)
Director: Yoonha Park
This is our favorite video of the year because there is just so much to watch! As the visual field grows increasingly crowded, one begins to marvel at how hard it must have been to put this all together. Through it all, the basketball players never lose their focus.
Richard Allen
a closer listen 