In this week’s top music-video picks, we blow up the moon, dance with dogs, and fight tigers with Katy Perry. From hip-hop to electronic and indie rock, with artists like Capital Cities and Swiss Lips, see which music videos are becoming viral.
Alice in Chains, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here"
Alice in Chains, the long-running godfathers of grunge, released this song, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here," as one of two singles off their fifth studio album. The song is a sludgy, hard-rocking tune with a video that will give you a nostalgia trip. Kids sit and watch a children’s show that looks like what Pee-wee’s Playhouse would be if it were taken over by Marilyn Manson. It’s a commentary on how children learn certain beliefs from an early age, particularly about religion. By the end, it becomes a shrieking nightmare. (Warning: Do not watch if you have a fear of clowns.)
Katy Perry, "Roar"
This video has been anticipated ever since the release of the emoji-filled lyrics. Katy Perry’s jungle romp has her landing in the jungle and her prissy, selfie-taking boyfriend is immediately eaten by a tiger. Throughout the course of the video, she becomes a regular jungle girl, making friends with the animals and swinging around in a leopard bikini top and grass skirt. It’s silly, but it’s impossible not to smile watching this video. This song roared right in and knocked "Blurred Lines" off the No. 1 spot on the charts.
Korn, "Never Never"
It’s Korn against the clock in this video, literally. The band spends time battling a clock-demon woman in a fabulous dress who tries to kill the band with her giant hands and numerals. Korn frontman Jonathan Davis said about the song “It's a relationship song. You go through that s--- and you get hurt so bad. Then you think, 'It's not worth it anymore. I'm not going to f------ love again.' You experience so many pressures to be a good dad, a good husband, a good lover, or whatever. Being in a relationship is a lot of work." It’s a rough ride for a band that’s known to stir things up.
Ariana Grande, "Baby I"
It would be easy to dismiss former Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande as another in the wave of Autotuned pop princesses who made the leap from TV to music. However, this girl has the chops to recall '90s Mariah Carey. In fact, a lot about this seems like Mariah Carey, including backup dancers frolicking in New York wearing some distinctly '90s getups. This isn’t her first time on the best-music-videos list and hopefully it’s not the last.
Capital Cities, "Kangaroo Court"
This song has been around for a few weeks, but this video takes it to a whole new level. A poor zebra wants access to an exclusive club and decides to disguise himself as a more socially acceptable mustang to gain entry. It works and he gets the attention of a pretty poodle, but things quickly go awry, leading them all to a literal kangaroo court. Darren Criss of Glee guest stars in the video as the angry bulldog boyfriend of the poodle. “When you’re working on a show like Glee, you have lot of different crazy costumes and wardrobe and a lot of makeup things every now and then. I myself haven’t had any prosthetic animal makeup before. I’m really excited about it—I don’t even want to take it off,” said Criss.
Swiss Lips, "Carolyn"
It’s a 16-bit race to save the girl! A tireless videogame hero chases the bad guys who kidnapped his dream girl around the world and even to the moon. Alas, she betrays him, but he manages to get away. The song is fabulous and the video is retro-fun, but that’s not all. Viewers can actually play the game in the video at http://www.remixcarolyn.com.
Dizzee Rascal feat. Will.i.am., "Something Really Bad"
This last one gets points for how visually interesting it is. The video is all blacks and whites with a heaping helping of geometric shapes. It creates an ultramodern vibe that matches the club jam-type music.
