For the Record: This Week’s Best Music Videos

 

 

 

• PJ Harvey‘s “The Wheel” clip was shot in Kosovo, but the images and subject matter apply to a dozen other places with a similar violent past and hopeful atmosphere, and it is both chilling and beautiful:

 

 

 

 

• Judging from the backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation, I’m sure there’s plenty in Coldplay‘s “Hymn for the Weekend” video that is offensive to India’s culture. But to me, it’s full of vibrant, gorgeous imagery, to go along with a vibrant, gorgeous song:

 

 

 

 

• Primal Scream and Sky Ferreira teaming up actually makes a lot of sense. Their new one “Where The Light Gets In”, the first single from upcoming album Chaosmosis, is a fun electropop track accompanied by a sparkly clip:

 

 

 

 

• Former One Directioner Zayn Malik‘s debut solo single “Pillowtalk” is surprisingly actually good. And the video may have answered one question (yes, he is dating Gigi Hadid) but it left us with many more. Why is he crying black tears? Why is there a woman with spikes in her face? What do the two women boxing in skin tight suits and heels symbolize? Was he high when he filmed this or is he just a terrible actor?

 

 

 

 

• And Leon Bridges is back with his soulful guitar with “Rivers”, his comment on the Baltimore unrest:

 

 

 

 

• A Chemical Brothers and Beck collaboration, with a video rich in choreography and special effects seems too good to be true, and unfortunately it is. Sadly, the song kind of sucks:

 

 

 

 

• Dream Theater don’t need much of a fancy video when it’s so much fun to just watch them rip apart their instruments. And the song definitely doesn’t disappoint:

 

 

 

 

• The Dead Weather‘s “Impossible Winner” is an amazing song, from the beautiful piano and strings melodies to Alison Mosshart‘s voice which seems better suited to another decade. The brand new clip, in which the band members are held in some sort of freak show traveling car, borders on creepy:

 

 

 

 

• I love Timbaland, but I really didn’t need to see his dance moves in this one. And his newest single “Don’t Get No Betta”, off upcoming album Textbook Timbo, is pretty damn good, if you can forgive the exaggerated autotune. The song and video feature Jhené Aiko‘s sister, singer and dancer Mila J:

 

 

 

 

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