Slipknot | Snuff

“I think everybody was feeling the pressure of this video because of the caliber of the song and what the song could do and what it makes people feel — I think everybody was worried. And I knew that my treatment was going to be a hard sell. If they don’t really see it and taste it and deem it something that can be worthwhile, you’re not going to get a chance to do it. So it was very important that I write something that was not going to justify the word ‘snuff’ in what the literal word [means], because I don’t support that, and I’m not going to make something that would support that. I had to go [deep], and a lot of it just came around this story that Corey has written and these lyrics about, more or less, this person who’s so gone and will not return, that she’s basically dead, but he becomes her and that became more or less the definition of ‘snuff.’ So it was important that I tried to give Corey as much integrity behind what he was doing, because I was in his house, he played it as a demo, and it affected me then, and I’ve been writing it ever since. I wanted to do something that was a love story that could be that moment that all of us get to where we don’t realize that we could get to that place, but then time slows down and we might have a moment of just rage or depression or fits of anxiety, and life changes, and we just never knew we could actually step into those boundaries — that’s more or less what this is about. It’s not transvestite stuff or Hollywood hookers, this is just a completely detached love story.” - M. Shawn Crahan

On the background and themes of “Snuff”, vocalist Corey Taylor said the following:

“This is the slow one. It’s another personal one. Again, not naming names, it’s about someone who helped me through a lot and I thought she felt the same way that I did and then she really let me down. At the same time, it was good that she did, because it was that final push to me figuring out myself. The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory.

Robyn | Call Your Girlfriend

The music video for “Call Your Girlfriend” was directed by Max Vitali. It premiered on 2 June 2011, and features Robyn dancing alone in a warehouse. The video was choreographed by Maria “Decida” Wahlberg. Robyn confirmed a video for the song alongside the single announcement in January 2011. Tom Breihan of Pitchfork wrote that the video “is one long unbroken tracking shot of the Swedish pop queen dancing, singing, and looking like her heart is about to break. The only thing she has to keep her company is an elaborate lighting rig. It’s a true command performance, a hall-of-fame effort from an artist at the absolute peak of her powers.” Tamar Anitai of MTV Buzzworthy said that “[the clip] appears to be shot, incredibly, all in one take”. The writer said that has a “stripped-down approach”. Anitai also wrote, “In a stark, gorgeously lit gymnasium, Robyn approaches the gym-floor-turned-dance-floor with the focus of a seasoned gymnast approaching the mat before an Olympic floor routine.” Jon Blistein of Billboard magazine also gave a positive review naming Robyn a “true pop star” and referring to the video as “so simple, yet nearly impossible to look away.”

MIKA | Happy Ending

Mika described the story behind the song in an interview with the Sun newspapers, on February 2, 2007:

“It’s about a few things. In a way, it’s a kind of sad break-up song like ‘My Interpretation.’ But, at the same time, it’s about a lot of other things. I’ll never forget when I was actually recording this song in Los Angeles, I would take this drive from where I was staying to the studio, which wasn’t in the city and the amount of homeless people I saw on the way was absolutely shocking. Those horrible images of homelessness that I would see every morning really connected with that song. So it just comes to show you that a bright song in a certain mindset had a meaning that really evolves and changes as time goes by. I think that it is very important that other listeners find their own meaning to songs. So many people are very openly suggestive to the point of being abstract. It’s the most powerful thing when that becomes the song.”

The music video starts with a piano playing on its own, then the camera shows Mika on the bed. He is singing and has a pink balloon attached on his arm and while he is floating above, it reveals Mika with a pink suit. His room walls are shown full of pictures that start moving their mouths and singing with Mika. Mika passes through white balloons, which show all the times he felt different emotions. The video ends with Mika singing, and gloved hands resembling singing faces. He smiles as the screen goes black. The music video was directed by AlexandLiane.

Jay Brannan | Beautifully

Check out the Behind The Scenes video to find out more about this music video.

Gotye | Somebody That I Used To Know

The video was directed, produced and edited by Natasha Pincus.

The video shows Gotye naked (although there is no full frontal nudity) against a white backdrop. As he sings, a pattern of paint gradually covers his skin and the backdrop via stop motion animation. Kimbra then appears for her verse, also naked and already painted but with her back to the camera. She moves closer to Gotye to sing into his ear. During the final chorus, Kimbra returns to her original position and the paint on her body gradually disappears, possibly indicating that the two have separated.

Gnarls Barkley | Crazy

Going along with the psychiatric theme of the song, Gnarls Barkley’s music video for “Crazy” is done in the style of the Rorschach inkblot test. Animated, mirrored inkblots morph into another, while taking on ambiguous shapes. Both Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse appear in the shapes, as do the band’s gunshot/heart logo, “Satan”, a cranium and various animals, including centipedes, birds, bats, spiders, and insects.

The inkblot illustrations were done by art director and motion graphic designer Bryan Louie, whose other works include commercial campaigns for the Scion tC. The music video for “Crazy” was directed by Robert Hales, who had previously directed music videos for Jet, Nine Inch Nails and Richard Ashcroft, amongst others.

The video was nominated for three 2006 MTV Video Music Awards: Best Group Video, Best Direction, and Best Editing, and won the latter two. It was also nominated for a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video, but lost to “We Are Your Friends” by Justice vs. Simian.

Before the final music video was finished, the band’s UK label released a different video to media outlets such as the BBC. This early promo, directed by Mina Song, is also completely animated and features several symbols from many cultures and religions that appear in a disjointed harmony to the lyrics. Lyrics of the song, and again the band’s gunshot/heart logo also appear prominently. The video also includes elements of the single’s cover art.

Best Coast | Our Deal

For director Drew Barrymore, her vision was two-fold: to tell a love story, but through the lens of rival graffiti gangs. “I basically challenged myself to write a mini-movie for it,” she explains. That Barrymore counts herself as a major Best Coast fan only added to the project’s appeal. “They have a Motown feel and an old garage-band feel, but they sound really fresh and new and West Coast,” she says of the L.A.-based indie-rock trio. 

Pairing the thematic tropes of West Side Story with the eighties hip-hop styles chronicled in the Fab 5 Freddy documentary Wild Style, Barrymore conceived of a star-crossed teen love story set against the rivalry of two street gangs (a fitting scenario given that the song itself, “Our Deal,” is about tragic romantic miscommunication). 

For costumes, Barrymore collaborated with stylist Alicia Lombardini, drawing on a broad range of visual references, including photographer Karlheinz Weinberger’s gang series, 1950s Teddy Boy, rockabilly pompadours, and 1980s urban street culture. Many of the pieces, including jewelry by Manon and King Baby Studio and the wolf appliqués on the Night Creeper jackets, were custom-made for the shoot. Long hours were logged detailing and diversifying each character’s look. “One of the things that drives me nuts is the sort of styling where everyone’s in white and then your lead girl’s in red,” bemoans the actress. “It just feels gimmicky.”

All American Rejects | Dirty Little Secret

The music video of the song was filmed at Dorney Park and other locations in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The video is based on the PostSecret project, where people share their secrets on postcards. These cards are sent anonymously to the project, and some are posted on the PostSecret website. The video shows a montage of people holding up PostSecret postcards, which reveal a range of fears, embarrassment, love, deception, sadness and wishes. This video was nominated “Best International Group Video” at the MuchMusic Video Awards.

The idea for the music video came when director Marcos Siega, searching for inspiration, googled the word ‘secrets’ and came upon the PostSecret website. The band paid the website for the use of the concept and some of its postcards with the money going to The Kristin Brooks Hope Center, a non-profit organization which funds a suicide hotline. The band also auctioned off some of the postcards from the video on Ebay with the proceeds also going to the Hope foundation.

Jamiroquai | Space Cowboy

A music video was shot for “Space Cowboy”, using the “Stoned Again” Mix of the song. It was directed by Vaughan Arnell and mainly featured Jay Kay dancing around a blue room with multiple versions of him and the other band members appearing and disappearing. Occasional breaks show the band members against a blacklight with marijuana-leaf motifs. The video makes use of motion control photography to allow a seemingly-continuous shot as the camera pans around the room. The US video replaced the leaves with daisies, without Jay’s consent. A video of the remix by David Morales also exists. “Space Cowboy” is a frequently covered song, with two notable cover versions; one by Jazzamor, and one by the band Jacarandaa.

U2 | Vertigo

The video for the song features U2 performing in a featureless desert as black jet streams emit from behind each band member; on the ground is a huge white bulls-eye symbol used as a motif for the album graphics. The circular platform that the band performs on constantly elevates up and down in a spiral pattern, as the wind blows in the band’s face. It was directed by the team of Alex & Martin. It was recorded in Spain, in the Natural Park of Delta del Ebro.