I'm not calling "music videos" of high/artistic quality "music videos" anymore. That calls to mind rappers with models and pop singers walking down streets lip synching into a camera, and that's not what I want you to think of when I introduce these visuals.
Cinnamon Chasers - Luv Deluxe
Winner of "Best Music Video" at South by Southwest 2010 (a.k.a. SXSW), "Luv Deluxe" is a song that I highly recommend playing around 2AM on steamy nighttime summer roads with the windows down. The visual tells the story that everyone imagines themselves at the center of as a teenager, but never lives out. Cinnamon Chasers have created a remarkably full song that will resonate with anyone who ever wondered what could happen if they picked up their keys and drove west.
Janelle Monae - Cold War
This video is so intimate it borders on discomfort. I felt as though I was violating Monae's privacy by watching all the through the video. On this striking accompaniment for a beautiful song, Monae sings:
I'm trying to find my peace; I was made to believe there's something wrong with me, and it hurts my heart. Lord have mercy, ain't it plain to see?
Yes it is, Ms. Monae. We don't need cuts to scenes of cliché domestic violence images to explain the emotion, and the director refuses to fall into that trap, letting Monae's tearful face and soulful voice cary it. It does so much more work emotionally then, say, a hobbit and Megan Fox can.
Kanye West - Power
Yes this is the second straight post with this song in it, but this video really has no precedent for what it's trying to do. It's laden with classical symbolism, and only lasts 90 seconds. While 808's crossed the line between different musical genres, this effectively marches straight through three different genres of art. The director, visual artist Marco Brambilla, said of the video to MTV (which provided the ultimate comedic juxtaposition by premiering this after Jersey Shore):
“It didn’t answer all the questions,” he added. “It just becomes more provocative and a little bit more tense at the end, because it cuts away just before the action within it resolves itself, so it kind of leaves you with the feeling that something’s about to happen.”
I am unspeakably excited for his album, which is now due out in November, and apparently will no longer be called Good Ass Job. A decision I agree with, as the former title sounds way too domestic to have a song like "Power" on it.