The 5 Best Videos Of The Week

The 5 Best Videos Of The Week

I haven’t had a lot of time in my life for the new N.E.R.D. album, but I’ve got plenty for their videos and, even more, their recent TV performances. Without access to their boldfaced-name guest stars, N.E.R.D. have instead turned those performances into celebrations of dance, ceding their stages and TV slots to people who know how to perform a lot better than they do. The group’s performance on Ellen yesterday was the best of its kind that I’ve seen in a long, long time. Sadly, it’s not an official music video, so it’s not on this list. Instead, this week’s picks are below.

5. Kris Wu, Rich Bryan, Trippie Redd, Joji, & Baauer – “18” (Dir. BRTHR)

If Asian pop stars are discovering SoundCloud rap, a whole lot of weird things are about to start happening.

4. Justin Timberlake – “Say Something” (Feat. Chris Stapleton) (Dir. Arturo Perez Jr.)

Finally, a pretty good JT video! It’s pretty funny that, in his quest for perceived authenticity, Timberlake drafted our biggest roots-country star and our finest French purveyors of rustic, lo-fi performance videos into an elaborately choreographed spectacle. But at the end of the day, the man is still a pop star.

3. Hinds – “New For You” (Dir. Lucía Pardo)

It’s just lovely that, in Spain, even the sloppily charismatic twee-pop bands are big soccer heads.

2. Kali Uchis – “After The Storm” (Feat. Tyler, The Creator & Bootsy Collins) (Dir. Nadia Lee Cohen)

This one works as a supreme “Black Hole Sun”-style celebration of plastic, unnatural suburban fakeness even before Tyler, The Creator shows up as a human plant. More pop videos should strive to be this surreal while also being this watchable.

1. Tommy Cash – “Pussy Money Weed” (Dir. Tommy Cash)

I haven’t experienced a brace of wait, what the fuck? this pure and jolting from a music video since Die Antwoord came along a decade ago. This kid is from Estonia, and no, I don’t know whether he’s serious or not. I don’t want to know, either.

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