Electric Guest: “The Bait”
Indie pop-soul darlings Electric Guest seem to have a love affair with dancing. “The Bait” is their second dance-filled music video off of their debut album, Mondo, and is full of elaborately choreographed moves on a theatre stage, channeling their inner Newsies.
Zedd (featuring Foxes): “Clarity”
In one of the most mesmerizing music videos of the week, director Jodeb takes us on a visual journey between two people on a collision course of love, in this highly energized and moving track from electronic music producer Zedd. The breathtaking backdrops of long stretches of desert land and barren caves (check out 2:08 and 2:39)—and a superb use of macro photography—are perfectly matched with the vocals of sultry singer Foxes.
Ke$ha: “C’mon”
If you want bizarre and crazy, you’ve come to the right place! In her latest music video, the pop princess ditches her small town diner job, gets frisky with furries, and wreaks havoc on a convenience store, all while making time to have an all-out dance party. Director David Craig said in an MTV interview that the video illustrates “Planet Ke$ha.”
Santigold: “Girls”
Shortly after Lena Dunham’s success at this year’s Golden Globes for her HBO show, Girls, Santigold released her music video for the show’s soundtrack. A collage of New York women from all ages and races dancing and lip-syncing to the track—from fierce little girls on the playground to rapping grandmas—this infectious and upbeat female anthem will be getting everyone bobbing up and down on the dance floor.
Monarchy (featuring Dita Von Teese): “Disintegration”
The famous burlesque dancer and ex-lover of Marilyn Manson recently made her singing debut, in U.K. electro duo Monarchy’s latest track. The highly stylized video features the Von Teese as a frustrated ‘50s housewife with an actively eerie imagination and is full of sexual encounters with masked men in suits, writhing naked bodies…and, yes, she also sets things on fire.
Young Fathers: “Romance”
Don’t forget about rap coming out of Scotland! (When was the last time you heard that?) Scottish rap trio Young Fathers—who have roots in Liberia and Nigeria—released this artistic and intimate black and white video, which splices footage of a young beauty welding an axe, a motorcyclist popping wheelies, among other vignettes, in this R&B dub track.
Jaejoong: “Mine”
As evidenced by “Gangnam Style,” South Korean music videos seem to have a penchant for high production values. The K-pop-turned-K-rock singer Jaejoong, of famed trio JYJ, released his debut solo rock ballad this week. The video’s dark, tortured goth theme is complimented by slithering snakes, bedazzled skulls, and dark magic. But what is actually stunning about the video are the interspersed clips containing beautiful slow-motion cinematography (see 2:04).
