In this week’s top music video picks, we take a journey through the domino effect, some sci-fi dancing, and a sizzling 1950s New Orleans. From hip-hop to electronic and indie rock, and featuring artists like Justin Bieber and Russ Chimes, see which music videos are becoming viral.
30 Seconds to Mars: “Up in the Air”
This video kicks off with a seizure warning for viewers with epilepsy. Enough said. It’s also relatively epic—running over eight minutes long—and fans of Jared Leto will get to see the scruffy, long-haired dreamboat shirtless. This clip includes a nearly-naked Dita Von Teese riding a comfy, pink mechanical bull, a number of wild animals (lions and zebras!) trotting along in a large warehouse, Olympian gold-medalist Jordyn Wieber doing backflips, and much more. Where does a band get this kind of budget for a music video nowadays?
Russ Chimes: “Turn Me Out”
Can you feel the music? Russ Chimes is determined to make fans bust out their best moves with his nu disco, indie-dance track, “Turn Me Out.” The Londoner’s video features a number of 20-somethings dancing and wearing outfits fit for a U.K. indie fashion shoot. The stars of the video also get a little weird partway through the clip (see 2:08).
A-Trak & Tommy Trash: “Tuna Melt”
When a director enlists the help of Lunatim Rex (a.k.a. Kinetic King), he means serious business. The Kinetic King, who holds a Guinness World Record for stick bombs—a construction of popsicle sticks woven together that explode when one stick is released due to the tension—played a major role in A-Trak and Tommy Trash’s remarkable video. The nearly four-minute clip not only features intricately laid dominoes, but also tiles and slices of toasts experiencing the domino effect. There’s an impressive arrangement of stick bombs and a memorable underwater scene as well. The behind-the-scenes video is also worth a look.
Will.i.am (featuring Justin Bieber): “That Power”
We’re seeing double… or rather septuple. In Will.i.am’s sci-fi video for “That Power,” he enlists the help of his dancing doppelgängers to groove in unison against the backdrop of Japanese landscapes and busy city streets. Justin Bieber drops in occasionally via a Star Wars-esque hologram. George Lucas would be proud!
Thee Oh Sees: “Toe Cutter”
With a song title like “Toe Cutter,” it can be expected that the music video that goes along with it isn’t for the faint of heart. Director John Strong cleverly tells a darkly humorous story about a serial killer repeatedly encountering some unexpected witnesses in this track by San Francisco garage rock band Thee Oh Sees.
Alicia Keys (featuring Maxwell): “Fire We Make”
Alicia Keys exemplifies sensuality and class in her “Fire We Make” video. Two strangers, played by Keys and fellow R&B crooner Maxwell, exchange some steamy glances at an inn in this video set in 1950s New Orleans, and Keys goes to her room to writhe around and fantasize about him. Everything in this clip is colored in sepia (so viewers won’t forget it’s a period piece) and we learn it gets so hot in the South that Keys has to keep a bowl of ice next to her in case she needs to rub it all over her body to cool down. Ice away, girl, ice away.
Bonobo (featuring Grey Reverend): “First Fires”
Bonobo’s emotive music video for “First Fires” feels like a reworked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. A couple fights and viewers get to peek into their past as they travel back in time to happier moments, cut across some beautiful and intimate cinematography.