Top 5 Music Videos of the Week: Frankie Rose, Belle Game + More
All the sound and the fury of the best of modern music is hidden deep within the reaches of YouTube, ready to be fished out and put on display. Let’s see what we caught this week!
5. Lafa Taylor and Aabo, “Already Found”
Videos done all in one shot are a gimmick, but they are at least a cool gimmick when pulled off as well as director Lafa Taylor does in “Already Found.” Not only is it a seamless dance and musical experience, the whole thing is also shot backwards and incorporates on-the-fly visual effects to compliment the “Mr. Krinkle”-esque approach to random weirdness. “Already Found” is far more lighthearted and whimsical, though, and a joy to saunter through.
4. Great Grandpa, “No”
Now this is one of the odder videos I’ve run across in a while. Lisa Jake delivers a South Park-ian animated adventure where a caterpillar tries to escape an increasingly monstrous set of spiders. Eventually, she morphs into a butterfly superhero with the power to love people hard enough that they fall to their deaths. I’m not sure what the moral of that particular story is, but it’s probably “be careful who you try to eat.” The result is fun as can be.
3. Belle Game, “Spirit”
This is a simply incredible short film. Directed by Kheaven Lewandowski and set to Belle Game’s haunting track, it follows Esther Singh, one of the last female death riders in India. You can read more about the Wall of Death here, but I would honestly recommend just checking out the short. Singh is utterly captivating, at once tragic and majestic as she rides her bike through the rough and dirty world of carnival spectacle. It is unforgettable.
2. Steelism, “Eno Nothing”
Utilizing the distinctive pop culture collage animation of Ben McLeavy, Jeremy Fetzer and Spencer Cullum Jr. go on an interstellar journey in search of meaning and Brian Eno. Along the way they meet killer turtles, Cthulhu, and a helpful Ferengi. It’s a low, groovy experience possibly made slightly better by the fact that I accidentally double dosed on my psych meds before I watched it (it happens), but it’s still a solid collaboration between some very amazing instrumentalists and a rising star in the modern music video art form. It’s well worth checking out.
1. Frankie Rose, “Red Museum”
Directed by Genevieve Jacuzzi, “Red Museum” is a flashback piece calling to mind the glory days of late-night MTV, a time when every music video was wet and gay and on fire. The video is a shifting mass of faces and colors, lovingly rendered for maximum delirium. Nothing could possibly be more soothing, and it’s one of those videos that makes me love the art form.
