The 7 Best Music Videos of January 2018: Troye Sivan, Sigrid, and “In Living Color”
That thing where we watch all of the music videos that came out in the last few weeks so you don’t have to.
7. CupcakKe: “Duck Duck Goose”
Director: CupcakKe
Whether she’s beating a boy with a bat or eating donuts off her breasts while dressed as a dog, CupcakKe always seems to be having a great time in her music videos. Not that she needs to try very hard. The Chicago rapper’s gloriously graphic lyrics paint vivid pictures of survival and sexual liberation, with a heavy hand of humor. In the video for Ephorize’s “Duck Duck Goose,” CupcakKe paws at a selection of dildos, rocks both rubber duck pasties and a chicken onesie, and slaps a rubbery cock against a model Statue of Liberty. It’s just a joy to watch her lounge in bed while casually rapping about castration. –QM
6. Haim: “Night So Long” (Live at the Greek)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
The fruitful love affair between Haim and Paul Thomas Anderson continues on this simple yet powerful clip filmed at L.A.’s Greek Theatre. For most of the video, the trio are shown delivering their ghostly ballad to precisely no one during soundcheck—until a fingersnap edit suddenly puts them in front of a sea of cellphone lights. It’s the type of filmic sleight of hand that can make you gasp a little bit: night becomes day, emptiness is made full, and lonely voices find their home. –RD
5. Allie X: “Casanova”
Director: India Sleem
Dua Lipa’s breakout “New Rules” video set some modern guidelines of its own, offering a never-ending succession of GIF-able tableaus, color-coordinated outfits, and highly stylized movements. Allie X’s “Casanova” has all of those same qualities, making it the the first truly stylish video of 2018. As Allie sings of Casanova’s cruel web, her suited squad pose behind her with empty gazes, as if to emphasize the obsession he has inspired. The video’s extreme aesthetic precision so clearly mirrors the song’s narrative of obsession that, by the end, Casanova is the only guy on anyone’s mind. –QM
4. Justin Timberlake: “Filthy”
Director: Mark Romanek
It seems like distant history by now, but Justin Timberlake’s doomed Man of the Woods campaign actually kicked off with a pretty great music video! Helmed by one of the most celebrated video auteurs ever, Mark Romanek, the clip is a futuristic farce in which Timberlake plays a tech guru showing off his JT-1000 pop robot, who awes an audience with dance moves that are ridiculous and risqué in equal measure. Timberlake seemingly gets to have it all here: He lets loose his comedy chops as a nerdy Wizard of Oz figure, maintains adult dignity while outsourcing all the song-and-dance to some slick CGI, and leads us to consider what we even want a pop star to be nowadays. Is the clip a condemnation of automated entertainment, or a celebration of innovation? An enticing preview of a future when Michael Jackson bots perform infinite Moonwalks, or a sly send-up of a culture punch-drunk on mechanized simulacra? These are big questions and, for just a second there, it seemed like Justin Timberlake was keen to take them on. –RD
3. Bruno Mars: “Finesse (Remix)” [ft. Cardi B]
Director: Bruno Mars and Florent Dechard
While some of us spent January glued to our SAD lamps as bomb cyclones roared outside, Bruno Mars was on fire. Sure, plenty of people rightfully thought his Grammys sweep was undeserved, but it’s hard to truly hate someone who pulls off a completely-random-yet-somehow-crucial “In Living Color” tribute. He may not be J. Lo but, man, Bruno turns out to be a great fly girl. Throw in music’s biggest ham, Cardi B, full-body shimmying in some short shorts, and it’s game over. Blame it on the blinding confidence of its stars, but this clip never quite succumbs to its own camp. –QM
2. Sigrid: “Strangers”
Director: Ivana Bobic
This 21-year-old Norwegian singer and songwriter makes smart pop music that Robyn fans could love, and “Strangers” is her biggest and best track to date. It’s about getting lost in Hollywood’s romantic fantasies, and the video offers a perfect complement. Sigrid dances around a beautifully dressed soundstage where what’s behind the scenes and in the foreground are one in the same; a shot of the singer’s hair swirling around her head pans out to show a dude blasting her with a fan. But these moments of transparency aren’t portrayed as dramatic reveals—they’re shown as a matter of fact. This rings true with how we live today, constantly shifting from the lonesome stage of our own minds to the crowded platforms of social media without much fanfare.
The clip’s casual concept adds depth to what is certainly one of the most vibrant music video performances in recent memory. In a bright yellow shirt and jeans, Sigrid cuts through pop monotony with some of the most awesomely weird bedroom-mirror moves since Lorde first came on the scene. Meanwhile, her face, a malleable wonder, delivers every line and mood with the commitment of a future Oscar winner. In a time of rampant fakery, Sigrid’s star power could not feel more real. –RD
1. Troye Sivan: “My My My!”
Director: Grant Singer
Troye Sivan is no longer an influential Australian teen vlogger with a blossoming music career. Now he’s swiveling his hips in abandoned warehouses, dirty dancing down metal staircases, and sashaying through grimy lavatories. In his past videos, Sivan has relied on montages of LGBTQ history and queer love stories to portray his experience. Though these sequences were moving, hearing Sivan declare his euphoria while reveling in his own confidence here feels even more powerful.
Directed by Grant Singer, who has helped Lorde, the Weeknd, and even Taylor and Zayn achieve their visions while also cloaking them in a layer of carefree sensuality, “My My My!” is undeniably hot. There are heavy nods to the rock’n’roll androgyny of former Saint Laurent creative director Hedi Slimane (who has hosted Sivan on the runway), and one of the models in the clip is also an adult film star. It’s very #Fashion, but without any of the pretensions or posturing that often accompanies that world. Instead, Sivan looks wholly unencumbered, his passion insuppressible. –QM
For more of Pitchfork’s favorite music videos, check out past columns.
