Top 25 Music Videos of 2006
Story by Pitchfork Staff
Spaceman falling through the stratosphere, four freaks leapfrogging treadmills, a chorus line of communist dancing bears: The music videos of 2006 have left us laughing, wide-eyed, and wondering what new green-screen tricks these bands and late-night talk show hosts will dream up in '07. Until then, here-- alphabetically!-- are our 25 favorite videos of 2006.
Lily Allen: "Smile"
Directed by Sophie Muller
My first take on this video was that Lily was trying to win back her straying boyfriend, which would have negated the whole point of the song. Fortunately, she has a different aim. Paying hooligans to mug him, trash his apartment, and ruin his DJ gig, she's fucking with him for sport. It's not even revenge really, just a little mean-spirited fun at the jerk's expense. As funny as the video is (especially the punchline shot of the dude looking dejected as another DJ spins), it's truly best when the camera's up in Lily's face, capturing every smirk and grin as she tries to maintain her Serious Face. That gesture of her hand covering her mouth at 2:15 ought to make her famous. [Stephen M. Deusner]
http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/?id=9d260304-39a6-4a2c-8a02-cca3424e2140&delivery=stream
Arctic Monkeys: "Leave Before the Lights Come On"
Directed by John Hardwick
As videos get tinier-- literally on YouTube and fiscally due to hemorrhaging marketing budgets-- blowout spectacles from marquee acts become sillier and more difficult to pull off. So give England's most ballyhooed new rock saviors credit for choosing clever modesty to complement this top 5 UK hit; instead of trying to ignite fireworks inside a cardboard box, the pocket-sized short scores with story, humor, and that rarest of music video traits-- quality acting. Shaun of the Dead's Kate Ashfield forces a confused sympathy for her would-be roof jumper through a carefully furrowed brow while In America star Paddy Considine flips between relief and anger with believable bewilderment. And they do it all without a single line of intrusive dialogue. Sure, the video's twisty narrative doesn't really correspond with the song's tale of morning-after realization but it's got all the same quaint quirks that took Alex Turner & co. beyond the hype. Two tales of hopeless 21st century romance in one go. [Ryan Dombal]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEukS2YN9B8
Basement Jaxx: "Take Me Back To Your House"
Directed by Dougal Wilson
The only music video in the history of music videos in which a pack of high-kicking Communist bears out-dances the beautiful girl. Usually it's the other way around. [Ryan Dombal]
http://www.colonelblimp.com/directors/dougalwilson/
Beyonce: "Ring the Alarm"
Directed by Sophie Muller
Almost as good as Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction. [Ryan Dombal]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j980AUw5JC4
Boards of Canada: "Dayvan Cowboy"
Directed by Melissa Olson
This is why Boards of Canada need to keep making records, to soundtrack the most gorgeous archival science footage imaginable. In 1960, Joseph Kittinger took a balloon up to 102,800 feet and JUMPED OUT OF THE FUCKING THING. I could watch slo-mo footage of his fall forever, and hey, if BoC would lay an ambient drone behind it, all the better. But then director Melissa Olson's imagination kicks in: What if Major Kittinger had a strapped on a surfboard before going up? [Mark Richardson]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2zKARkpDW4
Cat Power: "Lived in Bars"
Directed by Robert Gordon
Pardon the pun, but this video has a lived-in feel. That knee-level camera feels very natural, capturing Chan's strange, sleepy charisma as she shows off her muscular biceps and dances around a crowded bar, perfectly wardrobed in a white strapless dress and backwards cap. But the real stars of "Lived in Bars" are the bargoers themselves (among whose ranks mingle members of her ace backing band). Their drawn faces hint at the desperation identified with life spent inside the bottle, but their collective exuberance suggests a happy, supportive, welcoming community inside those walls. [Stephen M. Deusner]
http://www.matadorrecords.com/cat_power/music.html
The Concretes: "Chosen One"
Directed by Daniel Levi
With video budgets as sallow as they've ever been, 2006 saw the game's low-to-mid-level directors eschew FX and equipment-heavy work in favor of formal minimalism and low-budget ingenuity. As a result, the one-take video enjoyed a bit of a renaissance, and while the majority of clips to come out of that particular wave felt more like film school experiments than finished works, Daniel Levi's promo for the Concretes proved the exception to the rule. Constructed as one long zoom out, "Chosen One" is a fake (ie. composited) one-taker that imagines each beautifully art directed set piece as a toy miniature in the one following it, sort of like that old painting-within-a-painting headfuck, only as imagined by the fine folks at Playmobil. [Mark Pytlik]
http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/musicvideos/2387/
CSS: "Alala"
Directed by Cat Solen
The cat makes this one. Despite all the blood and guts and fisticuffs, it's the image of this creepy creepy kitty with two different colored eyes that seems the most outrageous, glaring at us from its lofty feline perch, mocking our human pettiness, judging us all. [Matthew Solarski]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cnOvMFnRvs
Daft Punk: "Prime Time of Your Life"
Directed by Tony Gardener
Human After All is still a disappointment, but its videos (particularly the mini-tyrant touting creepfest "Technologic" and this disturbing clip) give its nihilistic oscillations much needed context. Directed by special effects guru Tony Gardener-- who got his start on Michael Jackson's peerless ghoulfest "Thriller", and designed the Punks' signature robo headtraps-- "Prime Time of Your Life" is like the insane anorexia PSA the government doesn't want you to see. Visual cues including bloodless home-shopping hosts, outlandish self-mutilation, and a boney Britney Spears are so utterly ham-fisted and goofy they double-back and prove revelatory. Coupled with the video's ideas of corruptive perfection, the song's title phrase turns into a blaring mantra of unattainable happiness. Unlike the bouncy bags of bones featured in Michel Gondry's "Around the World" clip, the skeletons here are empty, vampiric vessels. [RyanDombal] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvXqsLQPaKA
Emily Haines: "Doctor Blind"
Directed by Jaron Albertin
Improbably, two directors set videos in shuttered department stores this year. First was Michel Gondry's wide-eyed Macy's-comes-alive holiday piece for Kanye West's "Heard 'Em Say", which, in addition to sharing an uncomfortable amount of unacknowledged similarities with special FX godfather Mike Jittlov's 1974 short Swing Shift, ultimately suffered the indignity of being shelved by West in favor of a hastily-commissioned ink-and-paper reading from Bill Plympton. Second up was this, Jaron Albertin's frigid clip for Emily Haines, which uses the chilly grey atmospheres of a discount department store as a metaphor for the after hours disconnect that comes as a consequence of every little blue pill. Coldly rendered, and imbued with some beautifully narcotized movements, "Doctor Blind" looks and feels absolutely pristine. That it also happens to boast one of the year's best pure concepts is testament to Albertin's talent. [Mark Pytlik]
http://studio.adbeast.com/files/00000016/1386820_dr_blind_Large.mov
The Horrors: "Sheena Is a Parasite"
Directed by Chris Cunningham
Chris Cunningham knows from high production values, but he also knows when to let a single brilliant idea play itself out in a quick setup. Whatever is coming out of Samantha Morton's face at the end there had to cost a few bucks, but the rest of it is just stuff you have laying around your apartment. And check out the kid playing bass with the raccoon eyeliner: he's seen it all. Too much, maybe. [Mark Richardson]
http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/musicvideos/3076/
Hot Chip: "Over & Over"
Directed by Nima Nourizadeh
Those of us who absolutely could not watch a late-period Star Wars without buckling under the absurd image of a bunch of heavily made-up ack-tors play saving the universe in a giant lime-colored warehouse found lots to love in Nima Nourizadeh's green screen pisstake for Hot Chip. Ostensibly a behind-the-scenes look at a big budget production, "Over & Over" laid waste to the inherent silliness of performing for CG while simultaneously celebrating Hot Chip's fun-at-all-costs mandate, self-consciousness and skin-tight lycra bodysuits be damned. Boasting great performances and tons of little jokes for the taking, this video is nearly as infectious as the song itself, which around these parts is high praise indeed. [Mark Pytlik]
http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/musicvideos/2420/
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness: "The Owl"
Directed by Emmanuel Ho
Created independently, without the support of a production company, this painstakingly composed piece from 20-year-old Canadian animation student Emmanuel Ho is proof of the increased democratization of the music video market. Showcasing Ho's clean, geometric design style and his laser-sharp eye for movement, "The Owl" squeezes drama out of every tensile guitar part in the Austin quartet's broody instrumental, to the extent that it's hard to imagine a more established director doing more with this source material. [Mark Pytlik]
http://www.scjag.com/mp3/sc/theowl.mov
Justice Vs. Simian: "We Are Your Friends"
Directed by Rozan & Schmeltz
I love any video that comes with a warning. This one states that these stunts were performed by trained professionals, but it's difficult to take it very seriously: Save the very businesslike cat, they all look too surprised and hung over to be on the clock. Or maybe that's just because the video is shot in morning-after slow motion that's excruciating to watch, like "Jackass" produced by Rube Goldberg. "We Are Your Friends" won Best Video at the MTV Europe Video Awards, prompting a bitter tirade from Kanye that was the PR equivalent of being covered in flour and baked beans. [Stephen M. Deusner]
http://partizan.com/player/loadplayer57.html
Juvenile: "Get Ya Hustle On"
Directed by Ben Mor
A porcelain angel introduces this video; then, a message appears: "This is a tribute to those who died in the wrath of Hurricane Katrina." Luckily, the schmaltz ends right there. As the tittering synths menace and chatter, Juvenile starts barking alongside an overturned pick-up truck in the Lower Ninth Ward. "To all my people on them corners I consider as dogs/ I wish that I could break a package down and send it to y'all," he says, offering a woeful, drug-dealing solution to Katrina's wake. And it only gets harsher from there. The video's washed-out coloring emphasizes the surreal plight of New Orleans, and its three adolescent wanderers-- doning George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Ray Nagin masks-- stroll around dazed. From the battered limo to the horse-drawn SUV, "Get Ya Hustle On" puts typical hip-hop visuals through a horror-show lens while combating destruction with both anger and despair. [Ryan Dombal]
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Lqvu4XioSDo
Klaxons: "Magick"
Directed by Saam
This poor bastard makes an unholy mess on the tour bus, but they're keeping him in the band until the practice space touch-ups are finished. [Mark Richardson]
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VACsPG8sgMY
Liars: "It Fit When I Was a Kid"
Directed by Julian Gross
The track, like most of Drum's Not Dead, is grim and heavy but this video is one chuckle after another, and it's even a little cute. In this version-- one of three created for the song-- every word of the stream-of-consciousness lyrics is rendered in real time, and down to the smallest detail: It's "boot" and not "boots", so the cowboy has a peg leg. Also explains rather well why you didn't need a lyric sheet to enjoy the record. [Mark Richardson]
http://www.mute.com/releases/viewRelease.jsp?id=2637040
OK Go: "Here It Goes Again"
Directed by OK Go
Four guys, eight treadmills, one solid classic. So much has already been said about this video that the most I can tell you is just to sit back and enjoy. While doing so, keep an eye on the dude in the pink shirt and vest; notice the extra kick in his step, the way he mugs for the camera. Totally into it. Watch out for the guy in the red pants losing his balance near the beginning. And watch the other two concentrating so hard to hit their marks. Watch the band having a lot of fun as they get good exercise while staving off obscurity. Watch for this on best-videos-ever lists for years to come. Watch yourself hit replay. Here we go again. [Stephen M. Deusner]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI
The Rapture: "Whoo! Alright--Yeah...Uh Huh"
Directed by Ben Dickinson
Number one on my Christmas list this year: Groovy Goggles, or whatever the hell it is that makes every NY back alley and cramped apartment the Rapture tread look like a "Schoolhouse Rock" short on ecstasy.
Number two: grills like Mattie Safer's, a rooftop shindig to show them off at, and a little bit of sun to help them shine. [Matthew Solarski]
http://mov.waverlyfilms.com/wayuh.mov
The Thermals: "A Pillar of Salt"
Directed by Whitey
The time clock punch may refer to the fact that we're about to see the most worn of music video tropes: a still camera with the band performing as the costumes, props, and players change every few frames. No sign of Anthony Kiedis, so that's a big plus right there, and then we got balloons and a pillow fight and colorful paint and even Colin Meloy to strum a few chords. I've had worse jobs. [Mark Richardson]
http://media.subpop.com/downloads/free/A_Pillar_of_Salt390.mov
TV on the Radio: "Wolf Like Me"
Directed by Jon Watts
While the song never stumbles, Jon Watts' video for "Wolf Like Me" veers dangerously close to cloying quaintness. Thankfully some choice kooky intertitles (hey kid: name your band "Biology Prevails!"), a dated coloration process, those strange wolves, and a little smoke and scratchiness keep it on course, reminding us that buried beneath all the ferocious layers, TV on the Radio are a band with a sense of humor. "...So yeah, we're werewolves" indeed. [Matthew Solarski]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUB1xSAAADk
Vitalic: "Poney Pt. 1" (aka "Birds")
Directed by Pleix
On paper, "Vitalic + puppies + lasers" reads suspiciously too good to be true. Fortunately, as evidenced by their previous eye-popping work for the likes of Kid606 and Plaid, the French design and animation collective known as Pleix have a long and esteemed history of making "too good" a truth. Shot at rates up to 2000 frames per second using a slow-motion camera rig, this short film-slash-unofficial video proves that anything-- even a bounding, dopey-looking poodle-- can be slowed down to menacing speed. A huge web hit, "Birds" deservedly transcended mere video status, in turn becoming Pleix's live-action calling card and introducing the serrated electro of "Poney Pt. 1" to legions of "funny dog video" YouTube searchers. God bless the Internet. [Mark Pytlik]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgvUALlH4z4
Scott Walker: "Jesse"
Directed by Graham Wood; Animated by Ian Freeman
At its best, cinema-- whether feature length or music short-- is a transformative experience, bleeding on beyond the final frame to color (or shade, as it were), the world outside the theater. Graham Wood and Ian Freeman's portrait of Walker's "Jesse" excels in this respect, so don't be surprised to see life cast in a Memphis moonlit kaleidoscope of dread or hear Elvis' dead twin brother breathing in your ear after you escape from this one. If nothing else, you'll never look at that little dude outside the men's room quite the same way again. [Matthew Solarski]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt2DfJhQmgU
Xiu Xiu: "Boy Soprano"
Directed by Jose Perez III
Just as they Xiu-jack conventional pop structure with "Boy Soprano", Xiu Xiu and director Jose Perez III make the video game video-- once the territory of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Limp Bizkit featuring Method Man-- their own perfect trainwreck in this cynical clip. Like Xiu Xiu the band, Xiu Xiu the game presents ridiculously hopeless situations, but you can't help but wish they'd escape somehow-- jump, duck, or throw a damn fireball already, whatever. Not that it'd help any. Because face it, when a thousand 8-bit squirrels come swooping down from the heavens thirsty for blood, you're fucked. [Matthew Solarski]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJFmpLvofrM
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Gold Lion"
Directed by Patrick Daughters
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs went beyond Thunderdome for this video. They get as far away from the city landscapes and small stages with which they long been identified and transplant their sound to the middle of a desert as barren as their music is newly extravagant. Looking battle-scarred and war-weary, dusted with soot and grime from touring, they form their own Burning Man Festival, with a giant, flaming Wagon Wheel at its center. If the guys look stolid in these surroundings, Karen O goes psycho, with a hungry look in her eyes that's part post-apocalyptic warrior, part post-punk princess, not to mention a wardrobe that asks, Gwen who? [Stephen M. Deusner]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8cw-bFpqyM
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