Let me begin by expressing my love for a good countdown (say what you want); they are one of the reasons I love this time of year. Don’t get me wrong, lights, turkey and presents are all well and good but there’s nothing like reviewing the year that’s been. So you should be prepared for a bunch of end of year round-up posts coming your way!
And I think I’ll start with music videos.
Firstly, you can rest assured that Gangnam Style will be nowhere near this list. It may have 900 million views on YouTube, but there have been so many other great videos this year that the flash-mob favourite just doesn’t quite cut it.
Secondly, this will be a long post. I desperately wanted to get this list down to a normal, manageable number, but I’ll have to settle on 16 because these videos are just that good (click the titles to watch):
Secondly, this will be a long post. I desperately wanted to get this list down to a normal, manageable number, but I’ll have to settle on 16 because these videos are just that good (click the titles to watch):
Swedish House Mafia’s farewell video is probably pretty emotional if you’re a fan; it’s basically footage from their final tour and gig in the UK (from the Milton Keynes Bowl in the ‘summer’). I wouldn’t call myself a die-hard fan but the video makes my list as it does what a Swedish House video should do: it makes you want to rave/party/drink/dance/have a good time.
Going all the way back to January, the video for 1D’s third single is simple but effective and definitely their best to date. True I mainly like it for the brilliant sights of London, but I think this video does sum up why the fivesome are so popular: it’s British, it’s fun, it’s sharp and it has countless (slightly annoying) teenage girls.
This is one of the greatest and most underrated songs of the year (I wish it had reached more people’s ears). Now, this isn’t a big-budget music video, it’s simple yet very very sexy. The colours are amazing, and there’s just something about Vince Kidd that makes him such an endearing artist.
So there’s no way I could write a list about music in 2012 without including RiRi. Where Have You Been was a pretty different video; I expected something more along the lines of We Found Love but instead, Rihanna took us around the world looking for love and pulled off some H-O-T choreography which I absolutely love (look out for the crotch-box).
Ah the second take from Madge’s MDNA. Maybe you won’t remember this video (or song, or much else from MDNA) but this music video is 100%pure Madonna-ness and it reminds me of the style of a lot of her old videos (think erotica + vogue). Give Me All Your Luvin may have been more expensive, and it did have Nicki Minaj and M.I.A in it, but Girl Gone Wild has a lot more sex to offer in my opinion.
Is it just me or are Justin Bieber’s videos getting better and better? 2012 has been a great year for Beliebers and while it’s embarrassing for a twenty-one year old man to call himself that, I have to say I am a fan. As Long as You Love me is an unexpected gem of a music video; it’s cinematic, it has a story, it even has some pretty decent acting. If only it wasn’t in widescreen.
The video for this single was always going to be amazing. From the first listen it was obviously a hit and our Cheryl didn’t let us down with the accompanying music video. Opening with a brilliant quote from the Marquis de Sade, Call My Name is 4 minutes of pop music video gold with some Ghetto-Cole crotch grabbing and criss-crossing that I’ve attempted to re-create in many a nightclub since. Plus, phwoooar!
I have to say this is one of the most intelligent music videos I have seen in a long time; it is oddly hilarious, uncomfortable and a complete stroke of genius. While most dance tracks have generic, boring, club-inspired music videos, Dancing in My Head is completely different. In the vid, our hero takes a saw to his head in order to remove his brain and forget about a girl he fancies. Sounds good? It is.
Although I’m not sure if this ‘Instructional video’ counts as an official music video I’ve decided to include it anyway. Why? Because it is absolutely brilliant: the song, the dance, them! The instructional video includes the song’s lyrics and a wonderfully camp dance that I am proud to say I now know off by heart. The Scissor Sisters are always fun and never moreso than here.
Right so some of you may know I am a huge Nicki Minaj fan and with the sheer number of videos that she makes it was obvious that she would appear on this list. I’m not even sure how many videos she’s dropped this year but I’d venture that the number is above average. Pound the Alarm is one of the best of this bunch. In it Minaj pays homage to her home country, Trinidad, and puts on a massive carnival, complete with feathers, fireworks and steel drums.
Minaj again and another amazing video! Warning: it is extremely pink and slightly epileptic (as you’d expect). But it’s not as sickly sweet as Super Bass; in it Minaj plays an arsonist who burns down a barbershop and gets a little too close to a very androgynous Cassie. Brilliant.
In the Lyric video for this song Katy got all reflective by using her Facebook updates from the past two years. The music video reflects more on her personal life during this time and involves Perry taking her inner child through a Disney-esque maze populated by evil paps and an unfaithful Prince Charming! This video has a wonderful concept and some stunning visuals.
It was a pretty clever idea, making the fans think he’d lost his camera and make the Beauty and a Beat video look like lost footage. I have to hand it to Bieber, his videos are all pretty different; I mean in this one he basically just films himself having a great time in a water park and just casually grinding on Nicki Minaj. As you do. It’s not complex but it makes fora great music video.
Taylor Swift’s pop-country smash may be one of the catchiest songs of the year and its video is equally infectious. T-Swizzle can’t seem to get rid of her ridiculously hot boyfriend Noah Mills (why would she want to?)...but,with a little help from her band of furry musicians, he eventually gets the message. It’s a fun pop-up video that is fully aware of its ridiculousness.
Another tongue-in-cheek video that doesn’t take itself too seriously; Your Body is playful, colourful and should have been a perfect comeback for Christina. In it, she plays a slightly trashy serial killer who lures three male victims to their deaths. But it’s not as dark as it sounds: pink flames, glitter-for-guts and bright paint-splashes of blood make sure of that. Christina looks confident and sexy and there are also a few retro touches that make this such a great music video.
The debut by Jeppers received some early exposure when Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ashley Tisdale and some friends posted a lip-sync video to youtube which now serves as a kind of unofficial music video. The official one, however, is much better; Carly Rae, who’s read a few too many Mills & Boon novels, tries to win over her gardener by (quite pathetically) washing her car. Let’s just say she’s no Jessica Simpson with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge. When she falls off the car and passes out she imagines herself with the sexy gardener on the cover of a romance novel, aptly titled ‘Call Me Maybe’. Then, to repay him for bringing her out of her daze, she performs with her band in the garage just for him. There are plenty of flirty eyes and some microphone action from Jeppers as she tries to get her man but, as we soon find out, he is a homosexual with a thing for emo guitar players. Do you really need to ask why this is number 1 after that description?
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