The 5 Best Videos Of The Week

The 5 Best Videos Of The Week

Chief Keef just released his “Faneto” video. How great is that? That song is like two years old, already a massive underground hit, the kind of thing where you can send vast crowds into hysterics by just playing the opening bars. It’s not going to gain anything from having a video, you know? And yet here’s Keef’s face morphing into a gorilla’s face for a split second, and I love it. It’s not a good video or anything; I just love that it exists. I love that music videos exist. This week’s picks are below.

5. PJ Harvey – “The Community Of Hope” (Dir. Seamus Murphy)

This is a weird one, since it amounts to actual poverty tourism, and since Murphy is just being almost gallingly literal — as, for that matter, is Harvey. Harvey sees a school that looks like a shithole, sings that it looks like a shithole, and then Murphy shows it in the video. But that ending, with the gospel choir finding joy in a cynical refrain, made me feel things.

4. Yours Are The Only Ears – “Low” (Dir. Taya Bayat)

Shout out to all my quiet kids, stealing a few minutes of solitude on class field trips. I know that’s not actually what’s going on here, that adults made this video, and yet that’s the headspace where this one takes me.

3. Bat For Lashes – “In God’s House” (Dir. Natasha Khan & John De Menil)

Natasha Khan brings the theatrics even — maybe even especially — when you don’t know what’s going on. That’s a great thing to bring to videos like this one.

2. Kevin Morby – “Dorothy” (Dir. Christopher Good)

As someone who watches way too many indie rock videos, I can’t tell you how boring they way too often are. And so it’s a total breath of fresh air to see one this fresh and lively and visually interesting. There’s still no budget here, and there’s a certain tweeness in the aesthetic that I don’t love. But Morby and Good went for something with this one, and they nailed it.

1. Babymetal – “Karate” (Dir. ?)

The whole idea behind Babymetal is silly and gimmicky and probably exploitative. But goddam if it doesn’t make for some fun videos.

more from Straight To Video