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The 10 Best Music Videos of 2022

The announcement of our favorite music videos traditionally come a little later than all the others who have caught the review fever. Time is short. Nevertheless, it was once again a pleasure to observe the hustle and bustle of the many creative directors. I’m not at all sure there are many more like me. In any case, while researching, you don’t find many websites that have compiled a »Best of« anymore. Maybe people just leave the search for new music videos to chance these days? Or the YouTube algorithm? Music videos are being watched more than ever in any case. As a small conclusion for this year, perhaps it can be noted that there were many great videos. However, I have found no brilliant videos.

So now have fun with the following music videos. Either click from clip to clip on this page or change the channel and watch all 10 clips in the specially created playlist The 10 Best Musix Videos of 2022.

Make sure that the playback quality is in HD!

10. Magdalena Bay – Dreamcatching

At first you think of a remake of Heidi, but that changes quickly. »The video uses AI neural networks to create the landscapes and worlds we long for in the lyrics, a computer’s interpretation of our dreams«, Magdalena Bay explained in a statement.

9. Action Bronson – SubZero

Directed by James Larese, the wonderfully oldschool clip for the smooth track features Bronson boogie-boarding through a flooded, lightning-strewn city. Everything else in »Subzero« has to be seen to be believed.

8. A$AP Rocky – D.M.B.

The video for D.M.B. was written, directed, and executive produced by A$AP Rocky for AWGE, a creative agency founded by him personally. And one can only marvel that his directing talent is in no way inferior to his music. The visual is described as »an ode to the classic love story, with Rocky and Rihanna depicting true ride-or-die characters in a devoted relationship despite their circumstances.« A great editing makes the clip look like it wasn’t directed at all.

7. black midi – Sugar/Tzu

Absolutely hold out until the end. „Sugar/Tzu“ is fascinating from the beginning, but towards the end the clip becomes a nightmare. Warning! Not for people who react to stressful and flickering cuts.

6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Spitting Off the Edge of the World ft. Perfume Genius

Not so special at all, but nevertheless the new video of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs fascinated me from the first to the last second. This may be due to the fact that „Spitting Off the Edge of the World“ is a wonderful song.

5. Vi**gra Boys — Punk Rock Loser

Vi**gra Boys are back with their western themed video for »Punk Rock Loser«. Like no other, singer Sebastian Murphy knows how to stage himself perfectly with a gap in his teeth, a tiny beer belly and his face tattoo.

4. Deichkind – In Der Natur

Germany’s number one video creatives. Her collection of good music videos now fills the evening. „In Der Natur“ shines right at the beginning with yodeling stand-up paddler in traditional alpine costume. But it gets even better.

3. Megan Thee Stallion & Dua Lipa – Sweetest Pie

The two stars‘ collaboration comes with a crazy high glossy visual directed by Dave Meyers. Possibly the most otherworldly and fantastically fashionable music video for ages. Does anyone still remember WAP?

2. Pharrell Williams – Cash In Cash Out

Not a particularly good song by Pharrell Williams (although there are many who see it differently). The video is nevertheless one of the best of 2022. The great, François Rousselet-directed clip, which features CGI claymation-like figures of Pharrell Williams, Tyler the Creator, and 21 Savage, takes viewers on an oddly familiar trip through childhood toy territory.

1. black midi – Welcome To Hell

black midi make the difference! One year after the video for Slow, his extraordinary first visual for the London-based band, Swedish animator Gustaf Holtenäs has collaborated once again with the precocious math-rock outfit, and the result is another jaw-dropping tour de force. There is probably no one at the moment who gives so much importance to the art in music videos as black midi (except maybe Björk). But she does not go to me at all right now.

The 10 Best Music Videos of 2021

Music videos – there must be hundreds of thousands of them published on YouTube and other channels every year. It’s hard to know where to begin. And when you look at the hundreds of millions of views, you understand how popular music videos are these days. How they have become a mass phenomenon, so to speak, outside of media perception. Let’s be honest: The ratings MTV achieved in the 1990s were probably comparatively irrelevant compared to what’s happening on the Internet right now. So the fact that the quality of many music videos is outstanding will come as no surprise at first. We have selected ten of these music videos from the year 2021 and claim that you must have seen them. For a little bit more perspective in the jungle of possibilities.

Either check out the ten clips on this page or head over to our YouTube channel. There you can find a playlist with all ten videos. Start once, be amazed ten times!

  • 10.  Molly Lewis – Oceanic Feeling
  • 09. Little Simz – Point And Kill feat. Obongjayar
  • 08. Marina Herlop – miu
  • 07. Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over The Country Club
  • 06. black midi – John L

Black Midi delivered two brilliant music videos in 2021. At the end, we liked „John L“ a little bit more, but it’s definitely worth taking a look at their video for „Slow„. When it comes to good music videos, they seem to know who to ask!

  • 05. Doja Cat – Need to Know
  • 04. Lil Nas X – Montero

Lil Nas X’s videos are hard to beat. Two videos from 2021 that can be found in every list these days. Which of them is better? No idea. We have rolled the dice and „Montero“ has won. Don’t miss „Industry Baby„. The only question now is why not number one? Decide for yourself…

  • 03. Arca – Prada/Rakata
  • 02. Megan Thee Stallion – Thot Shit
  • 01. Rolf Blumig – 1000 Thomas

LICHTER Focus 2016: Frontiers

For the fifth time now, the International Feature Film Program of the LICHTER Filmfest Frankfurt International is much influenced by a special topic, which dominates the current media discussion. Following »Revolution«, »City«, »Humour« and »Money«, this year’s topic is »Frontiers«. But while, concerning this matter, most people might think of the numerous wars and armed conflicts across the globe and might consider how Europe in particular and certainly also the international community handle the mass movement of fugitives, the film festival also features unobvious aspects of this topic. Frontiers do not simply run between nations and cultures. Social affiliation, worldviews and moral values, routines, and desires are defined through and across frontiers. The thirteen feature films of the international series offer versatile perspectives on visible and invisible frontiers.

LICHTER takes place from March 29th to April 3rd 2016 at several cinemas in Frankfurt and Rhine Main Area/Germany. Here is a selection of some of my favourites:

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Coma Coma (Documentary, SY/LB 2015), Arab. OV with Engl. subtitles, 98 min., Director: Sara Fattahi (Direct Link)

A dark apartment in Damascus, three women from three generations of one family and an attentive camera, the meticulous and incisive gaze recording daily events for many years. Sarah Fattahi films the other side of the Syrian civil war, the private – whilst in front of the lowered blinds their home disappears. The political reality penetrates the intimacy of family life only in bits and pieces, through emails, messages and stories. At the end it becomes obvious that the boundary between inside and outside, the self-reliance of the family, can no longer be maintained in the face of the war. Resulting from this family portrait – and without actually showing any violence – is an impressive representation of a society that decomposes little by little under the pressure of the civil war.

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Experimenter Experimenter (Biopic, USA 2015), Engl. OV, 97 min., Director: Michael Almereyda (Direct Link) German Premiere

What are the limitations of blind obedience? To answer this question, the psychologist Stanley Milgram developed a sensational experiment in 1961. He wanted to show that people are willing to follow authorities even against their own moral sense. In the Milgram-experiment, volunteers slipped into the role of teachers. Wrong answers by their “students” should be punished with electric shocks. Many »teachers« did not hesitate to even deliver fatal electric shocks regardless if the students screamed and begged for mercy. Not knowing that the students were only actors and the electric shocks were not real, the volunteers explained their conduct with having merely followed instructions. The experiment fed into the debate on deference to authority and the nature of man during the Eichmann-trial. The star-studded film shows the life of a courageous scientist between admiration and hostility.

LICHTER 2016_Internationales Programm_The Wakhan The Wakhan Front (Feature Film, F/BEL 2015), French/Arabic original with subtitles, 100 min., Director: Clément Cogitore (Direct Link) German Premiere

The Wakhan is a mountain range between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The rugged and inaccessible no-man’s-land is a hide-out for Taliban fighters. NATO commander Antarès Bonnassieuis determined to complete his mission: He has to establish order and security at the »end of the world«. His soldiers monitor mountain tops and shepherds. Only rarely does a warning shot disrupt the silence. Military routine – until one night when two soldiers disappear under mysterious circumstances. Bonnassieu starts searching. When the Taliban, too, lose men, cluelessness ensues: Is there a natural explanation – or is the Wakhan an Afghan Bermuda Triangle?

Clément Cogitore breaks with genre limitations in his feature film debut. Military rationality is challenged by supernatural forces. In a subtly philosophical manner, The Wakhan Front poses the question of power between human and nature.

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LICHTER 2016_Internationales Programm_The other Side Louisiana – The Other Side (Documentary, FR/IT 2015), Engl. OV, 92 min., Director: Roberto Minervini (Direct Link)

Deep in the wasteland of the American South, in the state of Louisiana, director Roberto Minervini opens up a door for us that leads into the abyss of today’s America: To white trash, the lost white underclass of American society. For them, the American Dream will remain a fantasy. Shaped by a life between anarchy and illegality, most of these hopeless middle-aged men and women do not have much left except for drugs, alcohol and at worst suicide. They live their everyday racism and anti-regime fanaticism without inhibitions. They feel betrayed by American society. Their alienation and disappointment becomes obvious in their campaign slogan: “Make America Great Again” The Other Side provides disturbingly deep and blunt insights into the everyday life of a society that has given up on itself.

After the successful world premiere at the Festival de Cannes 2015 in the category »Un Certain Regard«, the film is now shown in Hesse for the first time.

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The Lobster The Lobster (Feature Film, IR/GB/GRC/F/USA 2015), English OV with subtitles, 118 min., Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (Direct Link)

In the near future: After eleven years and one month of being in a relationship David is left by his wife. This is a serious offence because according to the laws of the totalitarian society every human is obliged to live in a partner relationship. However, David is given another chance. At an isolated hotel, together with numerous other people sharing his fate he has 45 days to find a new partner. If he doesn’t succeed he will be transformed into an animal of his choice and will be chased away into the woods.

The Lobster is the first English language film by the Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, whose 2009 film Dogtooth has been nominated for an Oscar and has been awarded several times in CannesÜ. With surreal images, black and even grotesquely enhanced humor, and a top-class cast even in the smallest supporting roles, The Lobster tells a dystopian fable about love, loneliness, and the overcoming of conventions.

The repeatedly decorated director Yorgos Lanthimos was once more able to convince with The Lobster and received the Jury Prize in Cannes in 2015 and was nominated for the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm).

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Masaan Masaan (Feature Film, IND/F 2015), English OV with subtitles, 103 min., Director: Neeraj Ghaywan (Direct Link) German Premiere

In his first film Masaan, Neeraj Ghaywan tells of the coming of age of young people halfway between tradition and modernity in today’s India. The student Devi gets caught by the police with her lover in a hotel room. Out of shame, the lover commits suicide. Devi and her father are blackmailed by a corrupt cop, who threatens to bring the alleged misconduct before the public.

Deepak on the other hand, who as a worker at the crematory belongs to the lower caste, is looking for a way to be able to be with his first love from a higher caste. In their own way, both Devi and Deepak struggle against the caste system, a radical sexual morality, and the brutal punishment awaiting those who break with the traditional values. Slowly, they are approaching a modernity which offers them alternatives to the hierarchy with which their fathers still came to terms with.

With wit and life, Ghaywan tells of two strong personalities, whose paths eventually cross in Varanasi, one of India’s holiest cities. In Cannes, Ghaywan has been awarded the “Promising Future Price” for his debut, which potentially tells the exemplary story of a generation which is searching for a way out of a value system with which it hardly identifies anymore.

Grocery Trip

»Grocery Trip« from Austin-based musician Pouff Pouff. Video is indeed trippy.

Go

Between dance performance and a passing parade – The Chemical Brothers‘ new clip »Go« filmed by the legendary director Michel Gondry, who has proved himself a master of the surrealist arts, is incredibly brilliant, as was to be expected. The clip features seven dancers, all dressed in the same grey working out various routines in front of a deserted apartment block.

 

Portrait

A surreal video slideshow of nightmareish, grotesque and apparently static characters by Donato Sansone aka Milkyeyes. You should also take a look at this clip. Scary!

Imperial Starport Frankfurt

As a hessian from Frankfurt, Germany, it is almost my duty to remind you that our airport is still occupied. Someone took these pictures in summer 2014 on his Flight back from the States to Frankfurt. Seems like the biggest german airport plays a key role as an imperial starport.