Top 50 Music Videos of 2007

[Henry Gale]

I hadn't seen that Sergio Leone fan clip for Arcade Fire's "My Body Is A Cage" or the vids for "Don't You Evah" by Spoon, and UGK's "Int'l Players Anthem" but since I did with this list last night I've have been in love with them.

But I had seen the videos for Bat For Lashes, Bjork, Feist, Daft Punk and Justice live performaces, and the ones for Jay-Z's "Roc Boys" and Zach Galifianikis and Will Oldham's somehow official video for Kanye's "Can't Tell Me Nothing", and was happily surprised to see them all included.

Also, that Robyn video is all kinds of ridiculousness and hilarity. This is really the same one who was big here back in the '90s?

[Stay Puft]

Lots of good stuff there. All My Friends is a fun video. Knife is pretty cool, too.

For what it's worth, nothing I've seen this year has topped Wolf Parade's I'll Believe in Anything:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G1eLTV89dM

So awesome.

Watching it again, I can notice a few hidden cuts, but that's okay. Even though the opening shot of Snake Eyes is actually something like 13 shots masked together, makes it no less impressive.

Yeah, a couple cuts are noticeable even on first viewing, but who cares? It's my favorite Feist video. Just a lot of fun.

[Qrazy]

Lots of good stuff there. All My Friends is a fun video. Knife is pretty cool, too.

For what it's worth, nothing I've seen this year has topped Wolf Parade's I'll Believe in Anything:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G1eLTV89dM

So awesome.



Yeah, a couple cuts are noticeable even on first viewing, but who cares? It's my favorite Feist video. Just a lot of fun.

I don't think they even really try to hide the cuts that much anyway. Looks much better to cut into slo-mo then to have a continuous shot that goes from normal to slo to normal... not only difficult but just lacks punch.

I kept waiting for the Dan Deacon video to get less crappy, but then it didn't.

[Stay Puft]

I kept waiting for the Dan Deacon video to get less crappy, but then it didn't.

Oh, you're no fun.

That video is a riot. I love the polygonal cats.

[origami_mustache]

But I had seen the videos for Justice live performaces...

Also, that Robyn video is all kinds of ridiculousness and hilarity. This is really the same one who was big here back in the '90s?

The Justice performace is cool, but I still think they should have gone with their' video for D.A.N.C.E.



and the Robyn video takes literalism to a new level haha.

[origami_mustache]

This video should have made the list as well:

The Chemical Brothers (Featuring Fat Lip) - "The Salmon Dance"

[Ivan Drago]

I downloaded all of Daft Punk's Discovery album.

It rules. So hard.

[origami_mustache]

I downloaded all of Daft Punk's Discovery album.

It rules. So hard.

That is correct...have you heard the new live album?

[Ivan Drago]

That is correct...have you heard the new live album?

Does it have the track that had the music video posted in this thread? If so, I've heard some of it.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Having watched the majority of the videos posted on Pitchfork, I'm now certain that techno music is the most boring genre of music I've ever heard.

[origami_mustache]

Having watched the majority of the videos posted on Pitchfork, I'm now certain that techno music is the most boring genre of music I've ever heard.

hahaha techno is such an antiquated term...there are so many subgenres of electronic music.

[Ezee E]

Having watched the majority of the videos posted on Pitchfork, I'm now certain that techno music is the most boring genre of music I've ever heard.

I like it if it's in a club with a DJ that changes it much sooner then the length of the track. Otherwise it's just repetitive and dull after six minutes.

[Kurosawa Fan]

hahaha techno is such an antiquated term...there are so many subgenres of electronic music.

Any and all qualify.

[Qrazy]

Having watched the majority of the videos posted on Pitchfork, I'm now certain that techno music is the most boring genre of music I've ever heard.

Nope, it's awesome.

When it's good.

[MacGuffin]

Basically, anything that Kompakt Records produces is outstanding electronic music.

[origami_mustache]

Another great video that didn't make the list:

The Twang - "Two Lovers"
directed by Justin Kerrigan and starring Danny Dyer

[Derek]

Having watched the majority of the videos posted on Pitchfork, I'm now certain that techno music is the most boring genre of music I've ever heard.

I disagree completely, but someone who likes The Editors certainly knows more of boring music than I do. Honestly though, the electronic music on that list is hardly representative of the best out there this year. Only "Beautiful Life" would be up there for me and that video (which is lame) has an inferior, shortened version that's not nearly as good as the album cut. Well, I also love "D.A.N.C.E." for it's clever updating of the cheesy 80s pop aesthetic...but the rest of that album is quite different. Anyway, I can't say I was a fan of electronic music more than a few years ago (when all my roommate would play was Paul Oakenfold and crappy remixes), but it's actually quite a diverse and exciting genre once you're willing to sink your teeth into it.

[Qrazy]

I can't get Dizzy Rascal's Sirens out of my head.

[origami_mustache]

I disagree completely, but someone who likes The Editors certainly knows more of boring music than I do. Honestly though, the electronic music on that list is hardly representative of the best out there this year. Only "Beautiful Life" would be up there for me and that video (which is lame) has an inferior, shortened version that's not nearly as good as the album cut. Well, I also love "D.A.N.C.E." for it's clever updating of the cheesy 80s pop aesthetic...but the rest of that album is quite different. Anyway, I can't say I was a fan of electronic music more than a few years ago (when all my roommate would play was Paul Oakenfold and crappy remixes), but it's actually quite a diverse and exciting genre once you're willing to sink your teeth into it.

I agree with a lot of what you said here. The "Beautiful Life" video was crap and The Editors are excruciatingly dull. Electronic music can be very dull as well, just as any genre has it's lows, but you're right, there is a lot out there to appreciate. Anyways this thread shouldn't be about the music, it's about the videos.

[transmogrifier]

In a world where country music and The Shins exist, I think techno is pretty safe from the most boring label.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I disagree completely, but someone who likes The Editors certainly knows more of boring music than I do. Honestly though, the electronic music on that list is hardly representative of the best out there this year. Only "Beautiful Life" would be up there for me and that video (which is lame) has an inferior, shortened version that's not nearly as good as the album cut. Well, I also love "D.A.N.C.E." for it's clever updating of the cheesy 80s pop aesthetic...but the rest of that album is quite different. Anyway, I can't say I was a fan of electronic music more than a few years ago (when all my roommate would play was Paul Oakenfold and crappy remixes), but it's actually quite a diverse and exciting genre once you're willing to sink your teeth into it.

The nice thing about listening to music without the slightest hint of reputation is that I can listen without any pretensions. It's nice to be free from the binds of only appreciating what's "cool". I heard an Editors song on TV (The Weight of the World), thought it sounded pretty great, grabbed the album it was on, gave it a few listens and thought it was decent. I have no idea how that reflects my taste in music, but then again I don't read Pitchfork and the like.

As for techno, perhaps I haven't sunk my teeth in, as you say, but what I have heard (and it's not just limited to the videos on Pitchfork) has, for the most part, been based heavily on repetition, which doesn't excite me. Plus, half the time I can't tell one song from another. I've heard songs which I've liked, I never said it was throwaway, but for the most part it's a boring genre that seems appreciated by the "club crowd", with which I have zero in common.

[DSNT]

As for techno, perhaps I haven't sunk my teeth in, as you say, but what I have heard (and it's not just limited to the videos on Pitchfork) has, for the most part, been based heavily on repetition, which doesn't excite me. Plus, half the time I can't tell one song from another. I've heard songs which I've liked, I never said it was throwaway, but for the most part it's a boring genre that seems appreciated by the "club crowd", with which I have zero in common.

What have you heard?

I'm on the fence about modern techno. I didn't like a lot of the buzzworthy releases this year (especially The Field - hate hate hate), but I still find some interesting artists in the genre. Broadcast and Vitalic are good examples, and LCD Soundsystem and M.I.A., if they count.

[origami_mustache]

What have you heard?

I'm on the fence about modern techno. I didn't like a lot of the buzzworthy releases this year (especially The Field - hate hate hate), but I still find some interesting artists in the genre. Broadcast and Vitalic are good examples, and LCD Soundsystem and M.I.A., if they count.

I don't understand the hype for The Field album, it's pretty boring, but I'd consider the LCD Soundsytem album among the years best, along with the new Justice and Dan Deacon releases. I love the new M.I.A. as well although I consider it to be more hip-hop, but genre labeling really only serves as an organizational tool.

some other good electronic albums in 07:
M83, Caribou, Blockhead, Múm, Prefuse 73, Simian Mobile Disco, Madlib, DNTEL.

Oh and staying on topic this is one of my favorite videos of the year, but not on the Pitchfork top 50.
Simian Mobile Disco - "Hustler"

[Duncan]

I've been listening to Holy Fuck a lot recently. That's some really fun electronica.

[Kurosawa Fan]

What have you heard?

I'm on the fence about modern techno. I didn't like a lot of the buzzworthy releases this year (especially The Field - hate hate hate), but I still find some interesting artists in the genre. Broadcast and Vitalic are good examples, and LCD Soundsystem and M.I.A., if they count.

Off the top of my head, the following bands I've heard fairly extensively (my brother and brother-in-law both like techno): Paul Oakenfold, Olive, Moby, KMFDM, Orbital, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, Fatboy Slim, Hooverphonic

There are others, but that's the stuff I've heard the most. I realize I'm lumping all of the sub-genre's into "techno", but I was using techno as a broad term. Some of this stuff might classify as Electronica or Trip-hop, etc.