The 5 Best Videos Of The Week

straight2video

The 5 Best Videos Of The Week

straight2video

I came so close to including the Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger’s “Animals” video this week, partly because it’s good on its own merits and partly because “eyelinered Jodorowskian hippie cult leader” is a way better look for Sean Lennon than “Cibo Matto bassist” or “guy in the East Village X-Large store waiting for people to recognize him” or whatever other roles I’ve seen him in. But there were too many good videos this week, and five of them are below.

5. Wild Beasts – “A Simple Beautiful Truth” (Dir. Klaus Thymann)

Upon reflection, yes, the world really did need an updated version of “I Can’t Dance.” I wish this one started off with a parody of the old Bugle Boy Jeans commercials, but you can’t always get what you want.

4. School Of Language – “Dress Up” (Dir. Andy Martin)

Think of how much of a pain in the ass this must’ve been to make — of David Brewis standing very still, moving three inches to his left, and then standing very still again. And because of all that work, he ends up with this piece of absolutely fascinating kinetic motion. Because sometimes absurd dedication pays off.

3. Danny Brown – “25 Bucks” (Feat. Purity Ring) (Dir. NORTON)

Music videos can introduce fascinating pieces of visual trickery, or they can interact with the song’s lyrics in meaningful ways. They usually can’t do both at once. And yet here’s Danny Brown, remembering a hard upbringing while floating through frozen scenes of his younger self. And no, it doesn’t much bother me that One Direction got there first.

2. Warpaint – “Disco // Very” + “Keep It Healthy” (Dir. Laban Pheidias)

There are levels of Cali boho swag in this video that, if properly harnessed, could solve this planet’s energy crisis forever. All of us are failing at life by not being friends with these women.

1. Queens Of The Stone Age – “Smooth Sailing” (Dir. Hiro Murai)

The best part of this video isn’t that Josh Homme plays a drug-zonked sociopathic Japanese businessman. It’s that he’s not even the video’s main drug-zonked sociopathic Japanese businessman.

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