Music videos accomplish what has never been done before in the history of media: They make experimentation a commercial enterprise. They afford musicians, filmmakers, and multimedia artists the chance to have their craziest ideas not only produced, but shown to a large audience. What’s more, in the age of Internet video, indie productions are now on equal footing with million-dollar productions. There’s no visual medium more diverse or creative than music videos. Thirty years after the launch of MTV, the format is not only alive and well, but it’s matured, expanded, and become a part of our global culture. When The Beatles, and later Mike Nesmith, laid the foundation for what we’d come to know as a music video, could they possibly have known how big this concept would become?
The prevalence of online video has changed the way we watch movies, television… everything really. It’s not just the revolution that’s televised, but cute animals, skate tricks, accidents, celebrations, millions of memes in the making, and amidst all this chaos, brilliant, fun, and mind-altering visual art. On 1/11/11, we unveiled Cluster 1, a sister site to Consequence of Sound dedicated to filtering out the schlock and giving you only the best short films, animation, docs, and since we’re CoS, a ton of amazing music videos. In just under a year, we’ve posted over 1,000 of them, all handpicked.
Now, it comes to the task of choosing 25 of the best videos we’ve seen all year. These aren’t just the ones that moved us, blew our minds, or made us lol, but a selection embodying the year in videos. Fancy dancin’ Thom Yorke memed his way across the internet, Beyoncé changed outfits like a kerjillion times, Gaga became a man and a fish and then checked into a fashionable mental institution, and while those mega-stars shook the world at large, countless others were wowing the small screen, trending through Tumblr, and becoming secret sensations. We’ve got indie sci-fi from Russia, the most awe-inspiring NSFW video you’ve ever seen, demonic puppets, ’90s sitcom parodies, and so, so, so much more. This was a good year.
Each and every one of these videos is incredible. We hope you’re prepared. Just click forward. An audiovisual onslaught awaits you.
-Cap Blackard
Art Director/Executive Producer, Cluster 1
25. Gentlemen Drivers – “Valdor”
Catchy songs aren’t a problem for French electropop collective Gentlemen Drivers; party-thumping single “Valdor” certainly fits into that category. Its video, however, is a different breed beast. Think Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”, only set within a fake sitcom and featuring a Thanksgiving turkey that mutilates humans. Over the years, the Internet has stripped “bizarre” of its power. But sometimes, and this is rare, its true meaning bleeds through – literally and metaphorically, come to think of it. Here’s one such example. -Ted Maider
Director: Allen Cordell
24. Battles feat. Gary Numan – “My Machines”
The Creators Project is a high-concept art initiative that’s been turning heads in the industry. So, when they decided to take on the music video for Battles’ “My Machines” and include guest vocalist Gary Numan, it was guaranteed to be an event. They didn’t disappoint. The video takes a thoughtless everyday activity (a man heads up an escalator with groceries) and combines it with an all-too-human fear of machines. Just what happens when an on/off switch doesn’t work? Who or what are we at the mercy of? As the horrific eye candy proceeds, the electronically driven rock of Battles adds to the impact and drama. With its slick look and clinical, high-contrast shooting style, “My Machines” leaves the viewer with a sense of unease and one incorrigible thought: Perhaps machines have more of an upper hand than we’d like to give them credit for. Creepy. -Karina Halle
Director: Daniels
23. Skrillex – “First of the Year (Equinox)”
There’s a skill in building up and destroying atmospheres. For Skrillex, it’s commonplace. In the Tony Truand-directed video for “First of the Year (Equinox)”, a similar feat is accomplished. What starts out as a creepy snapshot of pedophilia ends with something else entirely. As the dubstep artist shakes up the track, the music video does the same, reversing everything you thought might happen in seconds. In a word: sinister. In two words: very fitting. -Joe Marvilli
Director: Tony Truand
