In this week’s top music-video picks, Fergie goes back to the Jazz Age, MGMT gets weird, and Sigur Rós makes social media into a music video. From hip-hop to electronic and indie rock, see which music videos are going viral.
A Little Party Never Killed Nobody—Fergie feat. Q-Tip and GoonRock
This song was recorded for the soundtrack to the not-so-well received Baz Luhrmann spectacle The Great Gatsby. The video, released this week, is a little late, considering that the movie opened in theaters almost three months ago. But maybe that’s a good thing. The video's aesthetics blend 1920s Art Deco style, clothes, and makeup with modern-day club beats and DJs.
Hopeless Wanderer—Mumford & Sons
There’s probably nothing to say about this video that hasn’t already been said. Folk band Mumford & Sons subvert expectations with this great folk parody starring Jason Sudeikis, Ed Helms, Jason Bateman, and Will Forte doing their best Mumford & Sons impressions. The song is great and the video is hopelessly funny.
Bad for My Body—Deap Vally
In a world of bubbly pop princesses, never has there been more need for skuzzy hard-rocking ladies like the duo that makes up Deap Vally. The video is all fuzzy, scrambled VHS-looking footage of the girls rocking out, doing Japanese karaoke and frolicking on the beach. Watching them bang away at their instruments is worth the look.
Your Life Is a Lie—MGMT
Coming from their upcoming third album, Alien Days, MGMT’s confrontational “Your Life Is a Lie” is a bizarre exercise. You think you’re married to a pretty blonde? Nope, it’s a creepy man in a blond wig. Is that the band and a friend playing the piano? No, it’s a group of animated skeletons. This video even purports that people still use telephone fax machines. Delightfully weird, and that’s the truth.
Supersoaker—Kings of Leon
This bouncy track from Kings of Leon brings the second retro-inspired video to this week’s list, but this time instead of the 1920s, the focus is 1950s American life. Kids flirt in a soda shop and the girls and cars are all classic. “Supersoaker” director W.I.Z. said of the video, “My inspiration is the hungry beat of Nathan's snare drum and the soul in Caleb's rasping voice. The look is an imagined hybrid of pop-art screenprint, hand tinting, and Technicolor film.”
What a Difference Your Love Makes—Basement Jaxx
U.K. electronic duo Basement Jaxx have released two great singles in the past few months: "Back 2 the Wild" and now the vibrant and infectious “What a Difference Your Love Makes.” The video, which was filmed in Alexandria, Johannesburg’s oldest township, follows the adventures of two “pantsula dancers.” Pantsula is a dance movement that was popularized in the 1980s in South Africa's townships, performed by youths as a form of self-expression; it’s a bit like breakdancing. The performances in the video are outstanding and the song is terrific.
#Stormur- Sigur Rós
http://stormur.sigur-ros.co.uk/
You may notice that instead of a video, there is only a link for #stormur by Sigur Rós. For #stormur, the band decided to crowdsource this video. Lazy or brilliant? Fans with Instagram accounts can take Instagram video, tag it as #stormur and it will appear as part of the “video” on the website. The video is ever-changing with different videos going onto the site as people add them. The experience is unique to each viewer and everyone is welcome to contribute. Feel free to go out and be part of one of the best videos of the week!