After we posted our favorite videos of 2012 (which drunkenly received a horrible title, but whatever, these things happen) we noticed a glaring omission from Mac DeMarco... "Ode To Viceroy" was on our list for consideration but it was sadly overlooked when it came time for the results.
Within the past month, he also posted a 2nd equally rad promo video for his album 2 (for the song "Dreamin'" one of our favs)...
Showing posts with label Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012. Show all posts
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Monday, December 17, 2012
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #1: Jack White "Freedom At 21"
Hype Williams: Still the one classic 90's video director who remains as relevant as ever. Between "Stupid Hoe" and "Freedom at 21," we had no other choice but to award Hype as our "video director of the year" (if that means anything). For this Jack White clip, he incorporates all the same structure as his most classic hiphop promos - wild color contrasts, lens morphing, experimental frame-rates, general excitement - typical of all his best work, rolled into into an unexpectedly badass rock video. As much as we want to be tired of Jack White, he keeps surprising us year after year, with this rockstar moment shining brighter than anything he's done since at least a half-decade ago.
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012: More honorable mentions
For those who don't know, this isn't a strict Top 10, and some of the honorable mentions might actually be better than the videos that actually made the list, although the numbered Top 10 are the ones we have the most fun watching. However, these also rule...
Liars "Brats"
Strangely enough, this is exactly what we'd expect from Liars videos based on their album art (more so than previous Liars videos). We're pretty sure the hunter and anthropomorphic bunny are intended to emulate a couple famous cartoon icons, but we'll let you decide. Also bunny's weird human ass makes us kind of uncomfortable.
Frank Ocean "Pyramids"
Mostly included for the absinthe. Fancy Frank.
Ariel Pink "Only In My Dreams"
Looks EXACTLY like the type of thing that would randomly show up on MTV2 back in 1998. Part of us wants to say "this is the type of critique that only we would notice," although the VHS-nostalgia inserted at the beginning gives us a hint that this may be intentional.
Liars "Brats"
Strangely enough, this is exactly what we'd expect from Liars videos based on their album art (more so than previous Liars videos). We're pretty sure the hunter and anthropomorphic bunny are intended to emulate a couple famous cartoon icons, but we'll let you decide. Also bunny's weird human ass makes us kind of uncomfortable.
Frank Ocean "Pyramids"
Mostly included for the absinthe. Fancy Frank.
Ariel Pink "Only In My Dreams"
Looks EXACTLY like the type of thing that would randomly show up on MTV2 back in 1998. Part of us wants to say "this is the type of critique that only we would notice," although the VHS-nostalgia inserted at the beginning gives us a hint that this may be intentional.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #2: Andrew W.K. "It's Time To Party (Sound Effects Only Version)"
We posted the "song" version a few months back incorrectly assuming it was the "sound effects only" version. However, "sound fx version" is the true jam, even though it's not technically a music video without the song, but if you know the song well enough, you can play it in your head while the video is progressing, which has possibly never been attempted with a music video prior to "It's Time To Party."
So basically this video describes a typical day in the life of AWK. Decent premise.
So basically this video describes a typical day in the life of AWK. Decent premise.
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #3: High On Fire "Fertile Green"
Trying to grasp exactly what's going on in this. Youtube description explains: "The video follows the story of Balteazeen, the Christ Twin, who sacrificed himself to give Jesus life. Forever hunted, he roams the slaughterhouse of Time, searching for answers to the riddle of his own existence...
A strange but fair enlightenment, albeit not what we got out of this at all. High On Fire's more aggressive approach to stoner-metal adds a layer of mysterious darkness to the animated hallucinogenic simulation, all non-linear and dreamlike.
A strange but fair enlightenment, albeit not what we got out of this at all. High On Fire's more aggressive approach to stoner-metal adds a layer of mysterious darkness to the animated hallucinogenic simulation, all non-linear and dreamlike.
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #4: Tame Impala "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards"
Apt song title, since the animation makes it feel like we're hearkening back old-school psychedelic stream-of-consciousness often seen during throughout the early 90's on MTV's Liquid Television. (For example: http://liquidtelevision.com/video/anyway/ P.S. Holy fuck, this archive is outstanding. MTV finally did something right.)
Monday, December 10, 2012
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 (HM): Action Bronson: "Bird on a Wire" / Action Bronson "The Symbol"
Our 2nd Honorable Mention comes from Action Bronson. "Bird on a Wire" is notable since it's the first time we've been able to see how enormously huge this guy truly is, which makes him all the more amazing. In a year when Fat Joe and Jonah Hill both lost weight (fuckin sell outs), here comes fat fuck Action Bronson who does not give a FUCK, smoking blunts while walking down the street and eating ice cream, taking his time n shit. Who the fuck cares... You only go around once.
The video for "The Symbol" rules also... In fact, Bronson had a pretty consistent run of videos this year, including these 2 along with "Steve Wynn," "Hookers at the Point," "Hot Shots Part Deux," and a couple others. It's been years since we've seen such a consistently awesome run of videos from a single artist.
The video for "The Symbol" rules also... In fact, Bronson had a pretty consistent run of videos this year, including these 2 along with "Steve Wynn," "Hookers at the Point," "Hot Shots Part Deux," and a couple others. It's been years since we've seen such a consistently awesome run of videos from a single artist.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #05: The Alchemist + Oh No (Gangrene) "Vodka & Ayahuasca"
You learn something new everyday... According to Wikipedia, World's Widest Police Videos has actually been off-the-air since 2001 and just returned to Spike TV in May 2012. We assumed this was one of those shows like COPS that's simply always existed (although it just won't be the same in 10-30 years when John Bunnell inevitably retires).
As for "Vodka & Ayahuasca," the premise is the most simple out of everything in this Top 10 so far. So yeah, no spoilers this time...
As for "Vodka & Ayahuasca," the premise is the most simple out of everything in this Top 10 so far. So yeah, no spoilers this time...
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #06: Jack White "Sixteen Saltines"
"Sixteen Saltines" is fucking chaotic. The first time we watched it, we noticed some Gummo qualities, which made this an immediate top 10 contender. More recently, we took special notice of a very non-Gummo moment when a kid starts levitating in the middle of an inner-city basketball game. It also didn't immediately hit us that all the crazy characters in this video are high school age and younger.
We decided to do some digging and found Pitchfork's write-up, revealing the man responsible for this video: AG Rojas, who just happens to be the same guy who directed Earl Sweatshirt's equally Gummo-esq "EARL," a video that we wrongly assumed was directed by Tyler The Creator.
This is good news. We mentioned just yesterday that we've been searching for "the next big names" in music video directors, and this guy is apparently so DL that he doesn't yet have a wikipedia entry, thus making it all the more difficult to discover what other videos he's done. We will get to the bottom of this, don't you worry...
EDIT: Okay, that took about 30 seconds. All of his videos are at his Vimeo page: http://vimeo.com/whatupag
We decided to do some digging and found Pitchfork's write-up, revealing the man responsible for this video: AG Rojas, who just happens to be the same guy who directed Earl Sweatshirt's equally Gummo-esq "EARL," a video that we wrongly assumed was directed by Tyler The Creator.
This is good news. We mentioned just yesterday that we've been searching for "the next big names" in music video directors, and this guy is apparently so DL that he doesn't yet have a wikipedia entry, thus making it all the more difficult to discover what other videos he's done. We will get to the bottom of this, don't you worry...
EDIT: Okay, that took about 30 seconds. All of his videos are at his Vimeo page: http://vimeo.com/whatupag
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #07: Nicki Minaj "Stupid Hoe"
We posted this on Super Bowl 2012 when "Nicki [finally] won us over." 10 months later, this seems like a distant memory. Apparently there was a time prior to "Stupid Hoe" when we weren't feeling her shit quite as hard.
Hype Williams always seems up for a challenge. This time around, he wisely contrasts the song's immense density with (seemingly) simple shots, each associated with a solid bright color. (Hype's video for "Crush On You" uses a similar motif, a strange coincidence since rumors speculate the lyrics of "Stupid Hoe" are pointed directly at Lil Kim. More like LOL Kim, am I right you guys?)
As for Nicki's performance in the video, she's still doing that thing where you wanna say "hey she actually looks kinda hot in this part," and then her face turns into the cover of eels' Beautiful Freak LP and that blue-balls feeling starts to settle in. (Ouch.) She also morphs into a lion (scary!) followed by the quick back-and-forth climax which may induce convulsions (yet strangely easier to watch than the instant-seizure pop video of the year).
Also there's a milli-second shot where she's holding a plastic container of cut-up pineapple which is cool because pineapple rules. Health-nut.
Hype Williams always seems up for a challenge. This time around, he wisely contrasts the song's immense density with (seemingly) simple shots, each associated with a solid bright color. (Hype's video for "Crush On You" uses a similar motif, a strange coincidence since rumors speculate the lyrics of "Stupid Hoe" are pointed directly at Lil Kim. More like LOL Kim, am I right you guys?)
As for Nicki's performance in the video, she's still doing that thing where you wanna say "hey she actually looks kinda hot in this part," and then her face turns into the cover of eels' Beautiful Freak LP and that blue-balls feeling starts to settle in. (Ouch.) She also morphs into a lion (scary!) followed by the quick back-and-forth climax which may induce convulsions (yet strangely easier to watch than the instant-seizure pop video of the year).
Also there's a milli-second shot where she's holding a plastic container of cut-up pineapple which is cool because pineapple rules. Health-nut.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #8: Odd Future "Rella" / Odd Future "Oldie"
The "Rella" video seemed polarizing among OFWGKTA followers. Either way, it speaks volumes about how fucking bizarre these guys are (or at least how bizarre Tyler is, and how far the other members of the crew are willing to participate in his ideas). Hodgy's first verse nicely sets the tone as "indescribable," preparing us to follow around Domo Genesis for a minute or so as he slaps bitches across the face and robs children of their ice cream delight, until he sees his prized goal bitch: Tyler the Centaur. Will Domo slap the king bitch, or tumble back down the mountain? Edge-of-your-seat madness.
One month later, Odd Future wisely decided to neutralize this chaos with "Oldie," a seemingly spur-of-the-moment opportunity seizure (shot, edited and premiered all in the same day). It may be a while again before literally every crew member can all be present in the same place at the same time, especially considering that Frank Ocean's name now seems to be surpassing the Odd Future brand itself.
So the Terry Richardson photo session was unexpectedly taken hostage and coupled as a videoshoot, which is initially exciting in itself, but the individual performances and the party-vibe are what truly makes this one so special. They're human after all.
One month later, Odd Future wisely decided to neutralize this chaos with "Oldie," a seemingly spur-of-the-moment opportunity seizure (shot, edited and premiered all in the same day). It may be a while again before literally every crew member can all be present in the same place at the same time, especially considering that Frank Ocean's name now seems to be surpassing the Odd Future brand itself.
So the Terry Richardson photo session was unexpectedly taken hostage and coupled as a videoshoot, which is initially exciting in itself, but the individual performances and the party-vibe are what truly makes this one so special. They're human after all.
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #9: Trash Talk "Slander"
One dude gets fucked, leading someone else to state "this dude's fucked," and then later on someone drives a motorcycle over someone's face. A crowd-surfer uses an actual surfboard. Also the very first shot of the video shows an upside-down car on fire. Very accurate cartoon emulation of all Trash Talk concerts. (And the concerts are normally less than 2 minutes long.)
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 #10: Boody & Le1f "Soda"
This one's not too hard to figure out. You take Boody... You add some Le1f... Don't even bother shaking them up though because either way the chemical reaction of these two mighty forces is just gonna explode in your face upon contact.
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 (HM): Scott Walker "Epizootics!"
Okay, so it looks like somehow we got stuck with the name "Lickity Slick Vid Clips" instead of "Best music videos of the year." No problems here.
And it looks like an effort was made to note the lack of "go-to" directors and bands that normally tie the loose ends, rounding out our "best videos" special.
We mentioned a list of these go-to's in a previous entry, although we neglected to mention Hammer & Tongs who unfortunately announced their split in 2012.
The freshness of the best 90's and early-2000's video directors doesn't seem as though it's getting supplanted by any young modern filmmakers. For whatever reason, short films and animation shorts are viewed as the preferred launching pads.
Our first Honorable Mention bares resemblance some of the more bizarre or "arty" shorts that might be screened at Sundance, more so than it resembles a music video. Scott Walker sings about someone who's frightened by Hawaiian people while showing slow-motion shots of a creepy-looking Hawaiian girl who possibly has rotting teeth. There's a quick flash of a pig's face. And then later, an uncomfortable shot of a daddy-long-legs chillin' next to someone's navel area. These visuals would be meaningless or even ugly on their own, but instead they depend on the song, providing a vital compelling aura.
And it looks like an effort was made to note the lack of "go-to" directors and bands that normally tie the loose ends, rounding out our "best videos" special.
We mentioned a list of these go-to's in a previous entry, although we neglected to mention Hammer & Tongs who unfortunately announced their split in 2012.
The freshness of the best 90's and early-2000's video directors doesn't seem as though it's getting supplanted by any young modern filmmakers. For whatever reason, short films and animation shorts are viewed as the preferred launching pads.
Our first Honorable Mention bares resemblance some of the more bizarre or "arty" shorts that might be screened at Sundance, more so than it resembles a music video. Scott Walker sings about someone who's frightened by Hawaiian people while showing slow-motion shots of a creepy-looking Hawaiian girl who possibly has rotting teeth. There's a quick flash of a pig's face. And then later, an uncomfortable shot of a daddy-long-legs chillin' next to someone's navel area. These visuals would be meaningless or even ugly on their own, but instead they depend on the song, providing a vital compelling aura.
Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012 (Bonus)
A few bonuses tried to sneak in earlier today...
Prolly shouldn't be on sleeping drugs while writing this, so if any of this seems redundant just ignore and we'll be back to normal by tomorrow.
YN Rick Kids "Hot Cheetos & Takis"
DAME JONES and his rich kid squad tried to hit us up with some HOT CHEETOS & TAKIS. We're already linked to this video but here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YLy4j8EZIk
PSY "Gangnam Style"
Earlier today, PSY made the enormous mistake of backing down from his brilliant anti-American sentiments from back in 2004. But his video is a few days short of breaking 1 billiion Youtube views so we'll forgive him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0
Danny Brown "Grown Up"
One of those videos where a kid pretends he's the rapper and walks around lipsynching, except this time it has charm and the kid does a good performance so it's a-okay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHfWY0is3rE
DAAP "Headache"
These dudes got a headache this big. They have a dilemma and are unsure how to get it straight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf5mIhQ_xgk
M.I.A. "Bad Girls"
M.I.A. is all like "let's go off to the desert and shoot a video there where we could easily get murdered by like the taliban or some shit, and we'll have like the best time ever man." And everyone's like "hell yeah." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yuqxl284cg
The Death Set "They Come To Get Us"
This video from The Death Set is contain a shot from Troll 2 which is pretty much the only reason why it's here. http://youtu.be/dleV9-9xXsw
Farrah Abraham "On My Own"
Farrah Abraham plays in a park with her daughter, and halfway through the video it's revealed she's at her baby's daddy's tombstone.
Prolly shouldn't be on sleeping drugs while writing this, so if any of this seems redundant just ignore and we'll be back to normal by tomorrow.
YN Rick Kids "Hot Cheetos & Takis"
DAME JONES and his rich kid squad tried to hit us up with some HOT CHEETOS & TAKIS. We're already linked to this video but here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YLy4j8EZIk PSY "Gangnam Style"
Earlier today, PSY made the enormous mistake of backing down from his brilliant anti-American sentiments from back in 2004. But his video is a few days short of breaking 1 billiion Youtube views so we'll forgive him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0
Danny Brown "Grown Up"
One of those videos where a kid pretends he's the rapper and walks around lipsynching, except this time it has charm and the kid does a good performance so it's a-okay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHfWY0is3rE DAAP "Headache"
These dudes got a headache this big. They have a dilemma and are unsure how to get it straight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf5mIhQ_xgk
M.I.A. "Bad Girls"
M.I.A. is all like "let's go off to the desert and shoot a video there where we could easily get murdered by like the taliban or some shit, and we'll have like the best time ever man." And everyone's like "hell yeah." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yuqxl284cg
The Death Set "They Come To Get Us"
This video from The Death Set is contain a shot from Troll 2 which is pretty much the only reason why it's here. http://youtu.be/dleV9-9xXsw Farrah Abraham "On My Own"
Farrah Abraham plays in a park with her daughter, and halfway through the video it's revealed she's at her baby's daddy's tombstone.
Porn For Kids 2012
Is this really gonna be the title of "best videos of 2012" special? I mean we could just be horrible lame and boring and title it "best videos of the year" and then just pull out the poison berries.
Okay, since the berries are slick, we're gonna change the name to "Lickity Slick Vid Clips 2012." Cool new rule.
It may be worth mentioning that the usual ringers who round up the years best videos have all but disappeared over the past 12 months... Were was Gondry? Spike Jonze? Cunningham? Jonathan Glazer? Jonas Akerlund? Shynola? Mike Mills? Samuel Bayer? Or the artist who normally throw together the most absurd displays as of late... Gaga? Rammstein? They're nowhere to be seen. It took some digging, but we're found some nice vids. Hopefully they'll live up to the hype...
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