It’s official: 2011 is over. We have said our goodbyes, tearfully and with good riddance, and now we have 11 months until the end of the world. To make these last months on Earth matter, here are a list of videos that will rightfully inform you of the trends–old favorites, unfortunate ones that refuse to go away and delightful newbies–that will keep on keepin’ on into 2012.
“Ray Charles,” Chiddy Bang
Some blame it on the hipsters with their penchant for thick glasses while others call it the “Mad Men effect,” but there ain’t no denying the explosion of all things vintage on the pop culture scene this year (see “Pan Am,” “The Playboy Club,” high-waist pants). It seems 2012 promises more of the old with Chiddy Bang riding the retro chain for the video to their newest single “Ray Charles” off their upcoming album “Breakfast.” Chiddy and Xaphoon Jones, the band’s complete cast, get meta as they watch VEVO videos in the basement of Chiddy’s mother’s house. After landing on an iconic Ray Charles clip, the two realize they have literally gotten into character as Charles and a saxophonist, and then travel through music video history in a nod to ‘80s rap videos and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s summertime. The playful track throws back to revered times that we can get behind in the New Year.
“You Da One,” Rihanna
Remember all those hypnotizing pop songs of oh-leven that seemed to only have two lyrics? They’re here to stay and still pouring out of our favorite simple-yet-seductive songstress. Rihanna’s “You Da One” may only have variations of the line “You da one [insert positive action],” but with her darling Caribbean accent and the edgy girl-next-doorness that only Rihanna can possess, we’ll take it! The video boasts black and white graphic lighting with superimposed lyrics, playing on 2011’s trend of lyric videos (“All of the Lights,” “Who’s that Chick?”) with a refreshingly calm energy. Rihanna’s nod to “A Clockwork Orange” and a–gasp!–optimistic love song gives us hope for the pop scene that grew a little too planar last year.
“And We Danced,” Macklemore x Ryan Lewis
Pick your poison–maybe it’s Skrillex, Taio Cruz or anything by LMFAO, but this year everybody had a dance track. Seattle rapper Macklemore’s “And We Danced” parodies the dance track craze through the persona of an English party boy with the bravado of a pioneer and the wardrobe of Ziggy Stardust. The epigraph for the video sets the tone as a paean to the Dancy Party and a criticism of the normal forms of fraternization in the fraternity scene. The humorous and self-deprecating lyrics combined with the simple thumping piano leave a beat fit for booty-bumping on the dance floor and a lampoon clever enough for the critical listener.
“Antidote,” Swedish House Mafia vs. Knife Party
Oversized headphones and frat houses everywhere witnessed the arrival of electronic recordings spilling over with energy and toeing the line of dubstep. “Antidote” seeps into the New Year threatening to keep the electronic/dance craze strong in 2012. This frenetic track plays over a (sort of) first-person shooter game complete with a strip club setting and insinuations of gangster dealings in some unknown country. Strangers to electronica and video games alike will find this combination a harmonious synergy, and those familiar with both will realize the marriage of violence and “The Drop” they had always suspected.
“Born to Die,” Lana Del Rey
Her breathy soulfulness and vampy style may beckon listeners to draw comparisons to the likes of Adele and Amy Winehouse, but “Born to Die” proves Lana Del Rey is a beast of her own breed. Filmed in Château de Fontaineblue, the video accompanies the fervent song with grandiose edginess. Del Rey clings to her tattooed lover in passionate embrace, while other shots show the depth of their twisted affair. Undulating shadows wash over the lover beside her, playing to the haunting nature of soured love. What appears only a simple, though satisfactory, montage of this love turns haltingly into a tragic story, with the final shot revealing the consequences of their romance. Aside from her annoying tendency to mime her own lyrics, Del Rey proves herself a born performer with the promise she will be big in 2012.