One of my biggest criticisms of Frank Ocean (hold on, let me finish) is his lack of music videos. Cliches exist for a reason and the following statement may sound as such, but the power music has in etching an emotion in our imagination is awe-inspiring.
Seeing is believing, and to have a visual representation of a tune you love often affirms everything you’ve thought and felt. This is why music videos are one of my favourite art forms.
With a bit of personal knowledge in mind, allow me to share with you my favourite music videos this year, tagged with my interpretation because I aced NCEA Level 3. That’s all the credentials you need.
Everything But The Girl - 'Nothing Left To Lose'
After dipping from the music scene for two decades, influential English electronic music duo ‘Everything But The Girl’ mark their return with a groove-inducing garage track with stunning visuals to match.
Layered with meaning, the music video is a call to the age-old saying ‘misery loves company’ - but not as we traditionally understand it. In the video, seemingly isolated individuals dance in unison, a rhythmic reminder that a sense of community allows us to share our burdens.
Yaeji - 'For Granted'
Giving us a glimpse into her mindset and what to expect in her upcoming album ‘With My Hammer’, Korean-American DJ, producer and singer, Yaeji invites us to consider the power of gratitude and redefining yourself in the lead single ‘For Granted’.
The tune's ethos, brilliantly transposed to the visual art form, is a stark reminder that the evolution of your being is without limits, and the power held in harnessing your truest self is unimaginable. We can see this in the multitude of vibrant outfits, and a shoebox-shaped room that presents as a blank canvas.
The piecemeal display of her personality on the white walls and its subsequent destruction at the hands of a hammer is encouragement to be fearless about who you want to be and to be unafraid of starting over.
Bicep - 'Water'
Trippy as trippy comes! It’s as if we’ve been dropped into the sterile environment of a Windows XP screensaver.
The music video for 'Waters' by Bicep reminds me of those accounts by people who say they’ve been awake the whole time during surgery, feeling every excoriating moment. I’m gonna put on my NCEA Level 3 hat on and hazard a wild guess that the anxiety-inducing maze, the white walls and the repeated images of white rabbits are a motif of love and its purity and how bloody scary it is to let go and navigate loving someone.
Yeah, I got a bit fruity with it but that’s the fun of it!
