It just barely missed this week's list, but I'd like to take a moment for Young Thug's clip for the Lil Baby/Gunna collab "Chanel." I would like to thank this video for returning terrible Xena-episode-level CGI to rap videos. It's been too long! I'd also like to thank it for revealing that all of Atlanta is made out of liquid metal Terminators and/or giant snakes. Good to know! Thanksgiving was last week, so this week's list covers the past two weeks, as well as one video from the week before that I totally missed somehow. The picks are below.
5. Adrianne Lenker - "symbol" (Dir. V Haddad)
God bless New York City, a whole town full of performers.
4. Gesaffelstein - "Reset" (Dir. Manu Cossu)
There is something so hypnotic about seeing a chaotic, big-budget rap video, but with all the rapping utterly silenced. It becomes a strange study in pantomime, in performance.
3. The Armed - "Heavily Lined" (Dir. Tony Wolski)
This one takes a little while to get going, but when it does, hoo boy. I couldn't stop thinking of the scene from the Jersey Shore pilot where Snooki walks into the apartment for the first time, yelling about "party's here!"
2. SSION - "Inherit" (Dir. Cody Critcheloe)
I liked A Star Is Born, but imagine if it looked this hard at performance or narcissism or predatory industry behavior. Imagine if it had this much to say.
1. The 1975 - "Sincerity Is Scary" (Dir. Warren Fu)
It doesn't happen all that often, but every once in a while, silliness can be transcendent.
