10 Most Bizarre Music Videos Of The 21st Century
Sometimes you need to get weird to stand out.
Since the 1980s, music videos have become an integral part of popular music advertising. A lot of the time they serve to simply supplement the music and great buzz and attention for the attached song.
However, more recently music videos have become art forms in their own right. There are even directors most well known for their contributions to music videos now, which would have been unheard of in the 1980s and 90s.
We now have trailers for music videos just like for movies. Sometimes music videos are just as important as the music itself. Just take Childish Gambino’s This Is America for example, a song inherently attached to its visuals.
The 21st century has seen more creativity and more experimentation with music videos. More experimentation inevitably leads to more eccentric and bizarre videos. These next ten music videos fall into this category, all serving to thrill, terrify or simply confuse their audiences.
10. Ain’t It Funny - Danny Brown
Eccentric Detroit rapper Danny Brown enlisted the help of Jonah Hill to direct this dark take on traditional American sitcoms. The concept of the music video is Danny spiralling down a rabbit hole of drug addiction within the walls of a sitcom whilst the audience laugh and take pleasure in his misfortune.
What makes this video so unnerving is that at all times you’re not quite sure whether you should be laughing or terrified. At one point Danny is urinating on a plant, turns around and has a frank discussion about his self destructive drug binges.
The video also includes a pretty horrifying visual metaphor. Danny opens up to life sized versions of different types of drugs and admits they are his only friends. The anthropomorphised drug then proceeds to stab Danny right in the stomach whilst the audience cackle in deranged laughter.
The video both serves as a commentary on society’s obsession with celebrity downfall as well as being a genuinely hilarious short film.