Best of 2012

Over the past couple months different websites and blogs have been putting articles out about the best music videos of 2012. A lot of the lists consist of the same music videos, and somehow all of the lists end with Gangnam Style at number one. Although Gangnam Style was the most popular video of the past year, I personally don’t think it was the best music video of 2012. After reviewing the other videos on the multiple lists, I have determined my top four music videos of 2012.

 At number four I have HYFR by Drake and Lil Wayne:

This video made my top five, not because I’m a huge Drake fan, but because of the subject matter. The video portrays Drake re-enacting his bar mitzvah, but in a much more glamorous setting. Drake completely accepts his Jewish upbringing in the video and collaborates it with his rap career. I consider this one of the best videos of 2012 because it is unlike any other rap video ever. Plus Lil Wayne’s panda hat is pretty cool. 

Oblivion by Grimes steals my number three spot:

This video is completely hilarious. I’m not a huge fan of the song but it fits perfectly with the music video. This mousy pink haired girl with an electronic sounding song has staged her video at real world sporting events. Grimes creates this oxymoron within her entire video. It’s obvious she doesn’t fit in at any of these locations, which makes the video so amazing. The best part is the impromptu dance party in the men’s locker room.

At number two I chose The Shins, Simple Song:

This may be one of the greatest music videos I have ever seen. The whole time watching it I was thinking this is completely magical. The use of light to portray the past versus present made the whole video cohesive between every shot. It was humorous and completely depressing at the same time, with a small hint of romance. The Shins combine so many things to create a perfectly unified video for a great and “simple song.”

Grabbing the gold is MIA’s, Bad Girls:

Hold on Gangnam Style I'm gonna let you finish, but MIA had the best video of the year. This video is completely fabulous, and brings a weird glamour to the Middle East. At first I was confused with what was going on but as I listened to the lyrics, “Live Fast, Die Young. Bad Girls Do It Well.” It all made sense. MIA is touching on the social hierarchy issues that Middle Eastern women face, as well as women everywhere. Some people around the world may find this video offensive, which is why I love it so much. I find this video so exciting to watch because of the fast cars, the leaning cars, the fashion, the bombs going off, and the overall randomness of everything. Also I just can’t get the song out of my head.

Honorable Mentions include: Macklemore’s Thrift Shop (because the fashion is amazing), Icona Pop’s, I Love It (check out the use of text), Gotye’s, Somebody That I Used to Know, and Jack White’s, Sixteen Saltines (for the crazy imagery).