Welcome to the top half of our massive exploration of the best music videos of 2024 that swam outside the mainstream. I looked for the truly exceptional, and I found it in spades. Get ready for a heartwarming health journey, a brilliant take on toxic masculinity, and one of the best superhero music videos ever made.
20. “Inzuva,” She Past Away
This year has been a banner one for classic gothic music videos. In this one from She Past Away, it looks like a clown and a stripper found an old set from a 1960s Doctor Who serial and decided to summon the devil from inside it. All joking aside, directors Nedda Afsari and Michael E Linn pull of a pretty good example of German expressionism wrapped up in a spooky package.
19. “Taquero,” Marinero
The song may be a pun-heavy jam full of food and sex jokes, but the video is something else entirely. A man who runs a local street taco stand finds himself the target for assassination until his gourmet tacos wins him a loyal and devious bodyguard. Imagine if Cheech and Chong had made a John Wick short film, and you’ll get the idea.
18. “Punish,” Ethel Cain
“Punish” is easily the most beautiful music video of 2024, so long as you think darkness and loneliness is beautiful (I do). Directed by Hayden Anhedonia and Silken Weinberg and shot by Joanna Nguyen, it’s a slow-motion nightmare that feels like someone put a Robert Eggers film in a food dehydrator to make it small and travel-sized. Haunting doesn’t even begin to describe the experience of watching “Punish,” but it’s a good start.
17. “Blood for the Blood God,” Gunship feat. HEALTH & Doug Bradley
Please let this video be the thing that finally pushes Gunship into full-on mainstream popularity. Narrated by with demonic brilliance by Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), “Blood for the Blood God” is a cosmic horror show of writhing machines and nebulas in a bloody dance among the stars. There’s a plot, thanks in part to Bradley, but it’s better to think of it as a crucible of all creation’s violent history happening in one roiling cauldron.
16. “One Room Apartment,” Sister Gemini
Like a COVID flashback, Sister Gemini’s “One Room Apartment” comes screaming out of the darkness to remind us all what it was like to be alone and slowly going insane. The video is charmingly silly, with Gemini literally scaring herself with her own shadow, but there’s also just a touch of real longing and loneliness underneath her smile.
15. “Super Zero,” Samurai Pizza Cats
Deconstructing the superhero genre is big right now, but you still don’t see much of it in the music video medium. Director Oliver Schillo presents a support group meeting of retired or inactive superheroes. A younger man (played by singer Sebastian Fischer) with a Jokeresque persona dreams of riling the group up and having them demonstrate the power inside them, a fantasy that quickly turns violent. There is always something brilliant about seeing aging superheroes dealing with the loss of vitality.
14. “Tonight,” Gothminster
There is so much Gothminster lore than frankly it will need to be its own article one day. Today is not that day. Instead, we skip to the end when the Evil King Gothminster goes on a bloody rampage against would-be usurpers. Also, there are werewolves.
13. “Masc,” Chat Pile
Chat Pile had an unbroken string of excellent music videos this year to promote their album Cool World, but the best one is “Masc.” Hyper and toxic masculinity are in the news a lot lately, and for those of us who have studied the manosphere subcultures for a while the hallmarks of its self-harm and homoeroticism will be fully apparent in :Masc.” A man works out and tries to win the approval of other men as well as a smiling, would-be brood mother, all the while looking terrified and unhappy. It’s like every horrid thing Andrew Tate ever said distilled into a hit of LSD, and it’s brilliant.
12. “Heaven,” Alan Sparhawk
“Heaven” is short, weird, and unforgettable. Sparhawk (with his face pixelated), wanders various lonely places lamenting how paradise is empty. It doesn’t translate into words well, but the vibe is so godforsaken I felt physically ill watching it.
11. “The Future’s a Riot,” Alex Orange Drink
When Alex Orange Drink was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, he decided to “turn the pain into champagne” and chronicle his health journey in music video form. “The Future’s a Riot” has real footage of his diagnosis and treatment throughout the run, a somber subject elevated by the intensely upbeat song. Alex is cancer-free now and hopefully has many riots in his future. Nice to end the day on an happy note! See you soon for the thrilling conclusion.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
