Top 50 Music Videos of 2007
Wed: 12-12-07

Top 50 Music Videos of 2007

Staff List by Mark Richardson and Scott Plagenhoef

If you're talking music videos in 2007, quantity was not an issue. Label-underwritten clips were just the tip of the iceberg. Bands sponsored contests, and dozens of videos would be made for a single song. Fans would make their own pieces, without being asked, just for kicks. Singers were filmed walking through Paris and riding in a cab and standing on a balcony. Not to mention the army of fans with small portable cameras, preserving surprising show moments and spontaneous performances.

So finding the best of these took some serious sifting. And yet, in a way, it was also easy. An interesting video makes itself known. Whether it's by patiently telling a drawn-out story (DJ Mehdi's "Signatune"), putting a surprising twist on a tired form (Justice's appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live"), getting over on sheer force of personality (Jay-Z: "Roc Boys [And the Winner Is]"), or being just gloriously messed up (Black Dice' "Kokomo" and Lyapis Trubetskoy's "Capital"), these videos immediately jumped to the front of a very long line, demanded our attention, and stayed with us. (Sadly, one of our favorites, the homemade animatronic Showtime Pizza band performance of Huey's "Pop, Lock and Drop It (Remix)" is no longer publically available.) Here they are, in alphabetical order.

Animal Collective: "Peacebone"
Directed by Timothy Saccenti


[from Strawberry Jam; Domino]

Arcade Fire: "My Body Is a Cage" (fan video)
Original film directed by Sergio Leone; edit by J. Tyler Helms

[from Neon Bible; Merge]

Bat for Lashes: "What's a Girl to Do?"
Directed by Dougal Wilson

[from Fur & Gold; Caroline/EMI]

Battles: "Atlas"
Directed by Timothy Saccenti


[from Mirrored; Warp]

Beirut: "Elephant Gun"
Directed by Alma Har'el


[from the Lon Gisland EP; BA DA BING! / 4AD]

Björk: "Earth Intruders"
Directed by Michel Ocelot


[from Volta; Atlantic]


Black Dice: "Kokomo"
Directed by Black Dice


[from Load Blown; Paw Tracks]

Blonde Redhead: "Top Ranking"
Directed by Mike Mills


[from 23; 4AD]

Boredoms: "77Boadrum" (excerpt)
Directed by Lucas Jensen and Adam Kurland

[from 77Boadrum]

Gui Boratto: "Beautiful Life"
Directed by Cadú Datoro

[from Chromophobia; Kompakt]
<!--pagebreak-->
Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew: "Backed Out on the..."
 Directed by George Vale


[From Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew, "Spirit If.."; Arts & Crafts]

 

Clark: "Ted"
Directed by 1stAveMachine


[from Body Riddle; Warp]

Cornelius: "Like a Rolling Stone"
Directed by Koichiro Tsujikawa
[from Sensuous; Everloving]


Daft Punk: "One More Time" / "Aerodynamic" (Live at Wireless Festival 2007)


[from Daft Punk Alive 2007; Virgin]

Dan Deacon: "The Crystal Cat"
Directed by Jimmy Joe Roche


[from Spiderman of the Rings; Carpark]

Dizzee Rascal: "Sirens"
Directed by W.I.Z.
 

[from Maths + English; XL]

DJ Mehdi: "Signatune (Thomas Bangalter More Kick Edit)"
Directed by Romain Gavras


[from Lucky Boy; Ed Banger]

Dude 'N Nem: "Watch My Feet"
Directed by Morocco Vaughn


[from Tinted Incubators; TVT]

El-P: "Smithereens (Stop Crying)"
Directed by Cassidy Gearhart

[from I'll Sleep When You're Dead; Def Jux]

 
Escort: "All Through the Night"
Directed by Irvin Coffee

[from the "All Through the Night" 12"; Escort Records]
<!--pagebreak-->

Familjen: "Det Snurrar I Min Skalle"
Directed by Johan Söderberg


[from Det Snurrar I Min Skalle; Hybridism/Adrian]

Feist: "1 2 3 4"
Directed by Patrick Daughters

[from The Reminder; Interscope]
 
 
José González: "Down the Line"
Directed by Andreas Nilsson

[from In Our Nature; Mute]
 
Grizzly Bear: "Knife"
Directed by Isaiah Saxon and Sean Hellfritsch
[from Yellow House; Warp]

Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton: "Our Hell"
Directed by Jaron Albertin

[from Knives Don't Have Your Back; Last Gang]

HEALTH: "Heaven" (fan video)
 Original film directed by Werner Herzog; edit by Eggcity
[from HEALTH; Lovepump United]

Jay-Z: "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)"
Directed by Chris Robinson
[from American Gangster; Def Jam]

Justice: "D.A.N.C.E." (Live on "Jimmy Kimmel Live")

[from †; Ed Banger/Vice]
 
LCD Soundsystem: "All My Friends"
Directed by Tom Kuntz


[from Sound of Silver; DFA/EMI] 
 
Jens Lekman: "A Little Lost"
Directed by la Blogothèque
<!--pagebreak-->Liars: "Plaster Casts of Everything"
Directed by Patrick Daughters

[from Liars; Mute]


Menomena: "Evil Bee"
Directed by Stefan Nadelman


[from Friend and Foe; Filmguerrero/Barsuk]

M.I.A.: "Bird Flu"
Directed by Deepa Mehta

[from Kala; XL]
 
Róisín Murphy: "Overpowered"
Directed by Jamie Thraves
[from Overpowered; EMI]


Of Montreal: "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse"
Directed by The Brothers Chaps

[from Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? LP; Polyvinyl]

Panda Bear: "Comfy in Nautica"
Directed by Patrick O'Dell and Sam Salganik


[from Person Pitch; Paw Tracks]

Prinzhorn Dance School: "Crackerjack Docker"
Directed by Steve Glashier

[from Prinzhorn Dance School; DFA/Astralwerks]
 

Radiohead: "Ceremony"
Directed by Dead Air Space

[from Dead Air Space] 

Fionn Regan: "Be Good or Be Gone"
Directed by Si and Ad


[from The End of History; Bella Union]
 
Rjd2: "Work It Out"
Directed by Joey Garfield

[From The Third Hand; XL]
<!--pagebreak-->Robyn: "Konichiwa Bitches"
Directed by Johan Sandberg, Fredrik Skogkvist, Henrik Timonen


[from Robyn; Konichiwa Records]

Snoop Dogg: "Sensual Seduction"
Directed by Melina
 
 
Spoon: "Don't You Evah"
Directed by Jeff Nichols; Produced by WIRED
[from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga; Merge]

Tobacco: "Hawker Boat"
Directed by Beta Carnage

[From the Fucked Up Friends DVD; Black Moth Super Rainbow]

The Tough Alliance: "A New Chance"
Directed by Marcus Söderlund 

[from A New Chance; Sincerely Yours/Summer Lovers Unlimited]

Trentemoller: "Moan"
Directed by Niels Gråbøl and Ulrik Crone

[from The Last Resort; Poker Flat]
 
Lyapis Trubetskoy: "Capital"
Directed by Aliaksei Tserakhau

[from Capital; Deti Solntsa]
 
 
UGK [ft. Outkast]: "Int'l Players Anthem"
Directed by Bryan Barber

[from UGK: Underground Kingz; Jive]
 
Kanye West: "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (alt. video ft. Will Oldham and Zach Galifianakis)
Directed by Michael Blieden

[From Graduation; Island Def Jam]

The Wrong Trousers: "Video Killed the Radio Star"
Directed by Smileypen