Bonus points for also including favourite and/or most interesting.
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I know OP and multiple commenters already said OkGo, but these songs/videos have been a micro obsession of mine the past week and I can’t pass up the chance to share them
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MejbOFk7H6c
For this one, the entire song is played via percussive methods by driving a car on a prepared track with improvised instruments. Damian, the lead singer, had to learn stunt driving to drive the car at specific speeds for different parts of the track. They calculated the spacing of instruments over the distance as well as how much time it would take to maneuver to different parts of the course and the speeds necessary to maintain the correct beats per minute. They used over 280 guitars and 55 pianos, and modified the car with audio equipment and levers to control what mallets were extended. The song ends up sounding rough, frustrated, desperate and pained which is perfect for the lyrics, and IMO better than the studio version.
The other one is Upside Down and Inside Out. The song alone is not my cup of tea, and yet with this video it’s really incredible. They recorded the video in 27 second increments of parabolic flight to make the whole thing happen while they’re weightless. In the times between takes, they had to endure 30 seconds of 2x gravity and then wait 5-10 minutes to climb again. The sequences are edited together, so if any of them didn’t make it back to their marks in time the take wasn’t usable. They spent two weeks messing around experimenting with choreography and props, and one week filming.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LWGJA9i18Co
They do making of’s on a lot of their videos, and it’s truly incredible the amount of time and planning and preparation and ambition they have for them.
Linkin Park - Pts of arthty is wild!
Björk - All is full of Love is also something else.
I haven’t seen Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice mentioned yet, so I’ll vote for that. I’m sure I can think of better ones but that’s what came to mind first when I read the question.
Oh this one is cool too: Animals As Leaders - Monomyth. I love how thr dancers were able choreograph over odd time signatures.
Oh shit I finally remembered what the best one is! Igorrr - Very Noise. Best plot twist at 1:41.
Probably Mind Playing Tricks on Me by the Geto Boys. I wasn’t even into hip hop music at the time but I remember being very affected by this poignant story of a man descending into paranoia as he struggled to keep up gangster appearances. It was unusual for a video of that era to show so much vulnerability, and the twist ending was wild.
This song was surprisingly wholesome:
Gosh, there are so many.
If I had a while to think about it I’d probably pick one that is deeply moving, profound, have great effects or animation, but off the top of my head there are only recent ones that make me laugh.
Nobody Speak by DJ Shadow and Run the Jewels It’s the video that makes this so good.
Cocaine Country Dancing by Paul Cauthen The cinematography on this one is fantastic
Baby’s On Fire by Die Antwoord It’s too bad they turned out to be real scumbags. Their visual aesthetics were on another world
Punk Rock Loser by The Viagra Boys
Honorable mention, all of Dirt Nasty’s vids are funny as fuck. Juvenile, and they all seem like genuinely terrible people, yes. Still funny. Warning, absolutely not for the faint of heart.
The masterpiece:
Swerve You can tell they blew the budget on drugs cause the whole thing is sock puppets 🤣
Arrogant American Freestyle Threw this one in cause it’s an impressive barrage of word salad improv
Aside from just funny there are bands that constantly put out great videos.
Cage the Elephant’s works are visual masterpieces.
So are Alt-J
21 Pilots had a great concept album.
I could go on forever because this question is so broad but I’ll toss this last one out, something a little different, for since it’s almost Halloween:
Bastards if Young by The Replacements
Just a dude listening to the song on his stereo
Sports - Viagra Boys
I heard this on the radio at work near when it released and I laughed so hard that I had to walk into the back. Completely forgot about it then found it organically youtube a few years ago and had the same reaction. Is it the best? Well, no. But it is a unique experience.I think most of their music videos are pretty good, but I’ve always liked this one the most I think.
Electric Callboy - We Got The Moves
Knew the song but hadn’t watch the video. Incredible the little hands and microphone 😂
The finger hands are my favorite.
Everlong by the Foo Fighters. Sid and Nancy meet evil dead directed by Michele Gandry.
Weezer - Pork and Beans
When it first came out it was a distillation of a bunch of cool stuff on this Youtube thing. Now it’s a time capsule of nostalgia for a time when creativity ruled. Plus it’s one of my favorite Weezer songs.
I enjoyed troublemaker too, breaking world records
For me it will always be A-Ha’s “Take On Me”, though basically any of OK Go’s videos also deserve consideration for sheer creativity.
For anyone who might not have seen it: Take On Me - A-Ha.
Take on Me is the correct answer.
Ok Go was the first one I thought of
The first one I thought of, but not the one I decided on.
If you haven’t played this video game music video, this might be one of the more creative ones out there.
Thriller -Michael Jackson.
Uncontacted tribes in the Amazon know how to do the Thriller dance.
