1) Kaiser Chiefs, Coming Home
I actually want to squeal when I watch this, so delightful is every little detail. Shot on the Yorkshire moors in January near the Yorkshire town of Blubberhouses (also known as Cote De Blubberhouses when the Tour De France swung through), if there’s one thing I know (this being the land of my forefathers) it’s that it must have been FLIPPING PARKY to film. A one shot take, it required Mr Charisma, Ricky Wilson, to pull off a star turn, which of course, he duly obliged with. It’s quintessential quirky with its visual nuggets: Cowboys, ghosts, VJ hoovering the grass, cups of tea and deckchairs, and so damn Yorkshire with its stunning back drop. Just adorable!
2) Coldplay, Midnight
Here’s an example of how the visuals completely match the mood of a song – the vocoder vocals and infrared imaging project an eerie and chilling feel, and I’m not surprised that Fantastic Mr Fox is slinking about looking somewhat shifty. Chris Martin (or is it Marcel Marceau?) jitters about with his body shapes and patterns, and it’s good to see the warmth of his heartbeat.
3) Ed Sheeran, Thinking Out Loud
It’s been another incredible year for Midas Man Ed, and is there anything he can’t do? Add ballroom dancing to his array of talents. Heaven knows how much time and effort must have gone into this video, but the result is a gorgeously romantic and beautifully choreographed love dance. (Nothing like some of the fumbling toe stamping efforts of mine). Brittany Cherry is Ed’s Ola Jordan, and what a super job she makes of her task.
4) George Ezra, Listen To The Man
If there’s one thing a girl likes, it’s a guy with a sense of humour who can laugh at himself. Along with all his music related talents, George has a bag full of personality and looks to have had the time of his life in 2014, making him very easy to follow. He’s also got Twitter cracked, and a positive social media profile counts for a lot in modern times. In this video, national treasure Ian McKellen attempts to upstage young “Geoff”, and all the Ezra pouts in the world don’t stop it.
5) U2, The Miracle Of Joey Ramone
You might think that this is just an ordinary video of a rock band singing a song. Well yes…that’s what I like about it. There are some frankly baffling music videos out there, where the “creatives” have clearly had way too many shandys and got a bit carried away with themselves. I especially like the poetry-in-motion slow mo bit where The Edge lifts his leg and does a kind of Tai Chi turn. The guy is a hero.
And as one playlist:
music waffle. 