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Tuesday 22 January 2019

The Best music videos of 2018...I think.

I miss MTV.
Not MTV of today - filled with reality shows. No. I miss the pure MTV music video channel of my youth.
I miss having the time to just sit and watch it too.

You can learn a lot from music videos - cultural trends, fashion, new art directional styles, editing techniques, scene transitions and pure wacky ways of seeing the world. They also have their fingers on the pulse far more than any TV show or newspaper. 

So, with Christmas providing a much needed lull I decided to see what was happening out there in 2018. 

And here are my picks. 

1. Janelle Monae - Make Me feel. 

This is so Prince isn't it? And the style is very iPod. I just love he fashion as well. I would wear those see through embroidered trousers if I had the guts. Apparently this video is about Janelle's bi-sexuality - running from man to woman unable to choose. 



2. John Mayer - New Light

This is so shit it's kinda genius. Apparently John Mayer asked some guy in LA who specialises in making bat mitzvah videos.

It also reminds me of my favourite show "Glow" - there is a great episode where they spent the whole episode showing the recorded TV show complete with tacky scene transitions and bad acting. That's what this is like. 



3. Travis Scott: “SICKO MODE” [ft. Drake]

Directed by Dave Meyers and Travis Scott.

There is so much going on in this video. Really interesting camera techniques and trickery, some neon paint, coloured smoke, singing murals, very jiggly butts (like how does that butt actually move like that?) and Drake sounding super cool. 



4. Drake - Nice for What.

Sorry for another Drake but this guy is on it with his video game. For "Nice for what" Drake gave the camera to 22-year-old director Karena Evans. She shot scenes of powerful women celebrating their worth and doing their thing. The result is a video that's joyful and strong - nice one Drake, nice one Evans. 



5. The Carters: “APESHIT”

Probably the most talked about video of the year. Beyonce and Jay Z in the Louvre and some amazing modern dance. New, pop and cool meets classic high brow art. The meeting is mesmerising and you need not delve into anything deeper than that. But if you do then the message is about blackness, its relationship to Western colonialism and about black capitalism as act of radical subversion. Deep man.



Oh and if you are not viewing this on a public screen you may wanna check out the video for Duck Duck Goose by Cupcakke. She is not shy.