The 20 Best Music Videos Of 2018, From Childish Gambino To Washington
Featuring culture shifters, comedic gold and sci-fi adventures.
Why do we still make lists like these? It’s simple: The music video remains one of the most engaging art-forms there is. You can cry irrelevance all you want, but directors and producers are still finding ways to experiment with the form and engage the collective conscience along the way.
From culture shifters to comedic gold, here are the 20 best videos of the year.
The 1975 — ‘Sincerity is Scary’ And ‘TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME’
It was a banner year for Britain’s great pop hope, and that was certainly assisted by what were easily two of 2018’s best videos. The former, directed by Warren Fu, is a ray of surrealist sunshine that pays tribute to everything from Michael Jackson to Singin’ in the Rain.
The latter, meanwhile, is a love letter of sorts to the band’s fans. The way they interact with frontman Matt Healy, who also directed, is just about the most wholesome thing caught on tape this year.
Anderson .Paak — ‘Bubblin’
You ever see those rap videos where they’re just throwing a seemingly endless supply of cash around? ‘Bubblin’ is a throwback to big-budget hip-hop clips of yore, while also ensuring that the wink is very much present as .Paak and co. indulge in the finer things. C.R.E.A.M., y’all.
Ariana Grande — ‘thank u, next’
What can you say about this that hasn’t already been said? The most-watched video of the year is a lipstick-kiss-sealed love letter to sleepover movies from the turn of the century, as proved by several of its key stars and a few hilariously-gratuitous cameos. Although anchored in nostalgia, there’s also a real sense of joy and hope for Grande’s future – it’s just nice to see her laughing and smiling after the year she’s had.
Aunty Donna — The Album Videos
After flirting with music in their sketches over the years – including possibly their most famous video, ‘Bikie Wars’ – Melbourne sketch-comedy cookers Aunty Donna went the whole hog in 2018 with an entire webseries dedicated to music videos.
It was too hard to pick between them, so we’re including all eight on the list here. Highlights include Broden embracing his inner dad on ‘Chuffed,’ Zach going full musical theatre on ‘Doin’ a Poo’ and Mark becoming a fucked-up furry on ‘Professor Whiskers.’ Fucken sick!
Bec Stevens — ‘They Don’t Build Cars Like This Anymore’
G’day from SA! Charming troubadour Bec Stevens made her video-clip debut here, serving as our bike-riding anti-hero who ruins a chain of people’s days in a series of unfortunate events.
The video climaxes with poor Stevens getting her comeuppance – and let’s just say things end up in muddy territory.
The Beths — ‘Future Me Hates Me’
For the title track of their hugely-impressive debut album, twee Auckland natives The Beths re-enacted the humble school play — complete with tacky costumes and a general lack of plot for good measure.
The on-stage action switches between The Beths themselves and the incredibly-game child performers, before the two acts blur into one hilarious, heartwarming sci-fi adventure. Welcome to the future.
BROCKHAMPTON — ‘NEW ORLEANS’
Total Aussie bias here, but c’mon – it’s the hottest act in hip-hop right now starting a party in the same room you probably saw Infinity War. After showing a documentary at the Event Cinemas on George Street in Sydney, the group surprised fans by revealing they were going to shoot a music video for iridescence‘s opener right then and there.
How did the crowd feel about that? Perfectly fine.
Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B — ‘Finesse’ (Remix)
We were but three days into 2018 when Bruno dropped the video for 24k Magic‘s final single. One might have anticipated a throwback video, given the song is a major new jack swing homage.
Few, however, could have anticipated the lengths Mars would go to – this is about as accurate a recreation of this bygone era of rnb as humanly possible, from the colour grading right down to the choice of footwear. With exceptional choreography and a resplendent brightness, ‘Finesse’ could easily lay claim to the title of the year’s best pop video.
Cash Savage and the Last Drinks — ‘Pack Animals’
What happens when stock footage becomes sentient? For the lead single of her exceptional Good Citizens, Cash Savage inserts herself into a few generic scenes one might find in a free clips archive – among them working in an office, playing cards with mates and talking shit over beers.
As the intensity of the song builds, the mood in each scenario sours significantly. It’s up to Savage to keep it all together, and to her credit she powers through like an absolute trooper. Genuinely hilarious.
Charli XCX feat. Troye Sivan — ‘1999’
Like ‘Finesse,’ ‘1999’ was a one of many nostalgia-heavy pop videos that did big numbers over on YouTube. The argument could be made that ‘Finesse’ is better because Mars could actually remember the era he’s glorifying – come on, Troye, you were four in 1999.
Pettiness aside, this was a masterfully-assembled clip – a trainspotter’s delight full of easter eggs and pristine charm. Enjoy it while you can – there’s this thing called Y2K just around the corner.
Childish Gambino — ‘This is America’
It was the shot heard ’round the world. Donald Glover lured us into a false sense of security by opening the year’s most talked-about video with an innocent shot of a man playing guitar. That same guy promptly gets fucking murdered by Gambino himself, and everything goes to hell from there.
‘…America’ demands repeat viewings – you pick up something new every single time, its writhing dance routines and intense tracking shots lingering in the back of your mind long after it fades to black.
Drake — Scorpion Videos
Drizzy had a busy year, and fair enough too – your boy was out here with a 90-goddamn-minute record to try and sell. Looking back on 2018, it’s safe to say he got the job done. He didn’t do it alone, however – across four videos, he roped in help from the likes of his Degrassi classmates, a myriad of powerful women and even Will goddamn Smith. That’s not even touching the grand gestures of ‘God’s Plan’, which, self-aggrandising aside, has some genuinely touching moments.
Full credit to phenomenal Canadian director Karena Evans, who was at the helm for all four clips and brought high-def sheen and movie-like cinematography to each. Nice one, Aubrey. Still not listening to Scorpion all the way through again, though.
IDLES — ‘COLOSSUS’
The longer the song, the more you have to work with from a video perspective. In the case of the lead single from IDLES’ incredible second album, it’s about Chekov’s gun – or, more fittingly, enough guns to necessitate an entire rack.
The song’s slow-burn build gives you several key visuals that are seemingly at random until the payoff of the final verse, which means this Will Hooper-directed clip is absolutely one for those that appreciate a fine eye for precise detail. Bonus points for vocalist Joe Talbot’s menacing glares directly down the barrel throughout – that’s not a man to be shafted right there.
Kanye West & Lil Pump feat. Adele Givens — ‘I Love It’
Oh, what, you thought we were going to ignore the one with the giant fucking suits and the human statues? Like hell we were going to leave out this Lynchian dystopia – it’s quite possibly the weirdest video Yeezy has ever appeared in, and we’re including the one where he got murdered in the desert.
Kurt Vile — ‘Loading Zones’
Our shaggy-haired hero is the central focus of this Bottle It In cut, circumventing Philadelphia parking laws by only stopping in the song’s titular loading zones for the maximum amount of time before moving on.
He’s tailed by two hapless cops, who try and fail to nab him each time – including one hilarious instant where Kurt takes a parking ticket and mistakes it for the officer wanting an autograph. It also happens to be a beautifully-shot tour of the city, and you’re just happy to be a passenger along for the ride.
Oneohtrix Point Never — ‘Black Snow’
Not gonna lie – you could probably watch this every single day for a month and still have absolutely no fucking clue what’s going on. From what can be gathered, some sort of alien cowboy is planning to… do something with the moon, before… line dancers… look, you’ve just gotta watch this one, okay? It’s wonderfully weird and entirely immersive.
Tierra Whack — ‘Whack World’
It wasn’t enough to drop one of the best short albums of the year – Tierra Whack went above and beyond by turning in a 15-minute short film that doubled as a complete album playback. In retrospect, this seemed like the best possible way to convey Whack World to… well, the world.
Once you’re entrenched in the stunning visuals, as put together by French directorial team Thibaut Duverneix and Mathieu Léger, you’ll never be able to hear Whack World again without also simultaneously seeing it.
Tommy Cash — ‘X-RAY’
This shit makes Die Antwoord’s discography look like a Disney movie. Meet Tommy Cash, all the way from Estonia, who here presents himself as a suited-up cult leader with a third eye. Like you do, really. Needless to say, there’s some pretty hectic shit going on down at the compound. Just try and keep up.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra — ‘Hunnybee’
Nothing much happens in the video for ‘Hunnybee’ – truth be told, if it was a live-action clip, it probably wouldn’t have made this list. What gets it across the line is Greg Sharp’s absolutely gorgeous animation, which feels almost manga-like in its shaping and attention to detail.
Brimming with gorgeous colour and immaculate craftsmanship, the video for ‘Hunnybee’ has to be commended for creating one of the year’s most striking and instantly-recognisable visual accompaniments.
Washington — ‘Claws’
It’s been a little while since we heard from Megan Washington. She’s had a baby, gotten married and reverted back to her old mononym in the time it took to put out a new single. Thankfully, it was all worth the wait – and this impeccably-choreographed video played a big part in that.
Shot on location at a Brisbane hotel with a remarkable dance ensemble, Meg and co. find simple beauty in sequential movement. It’s a striking aesthetic, and one that complements the song perfectly – such is the calling card of a great video.
David James Young is a writer and podcaster who has perfected the “ra-ra-raaaaaage” scream from rage. Get him to do it for you if you ever see him. He tweets at @DJYwrites.