This list has so many great videos, they’re all different and awesome, and so many could also be also on this list. We’re living through a great time for music videos. Below it’s our list (without any specific order) of our favorite 30 music videos released during 2015.
Run The Jewels – Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck) (Feat. Zach De La Rocha) // Directed by A.G. Rojas
Directed by A.G. Rojas, the video features a battle between two exhausted men: a cop and an unarmed black man. “We were tasked with making something that expressed the intensity of senseless violence without eclipsing our humanity.” – A.G. Rojas stated.
Chvrches – Empty Threat // Directed by Austin Peters
Lauren Mayberry-lookalike and her goth friends on a road trip to a local waterpark. Fun, tons of smiles and Summer vibe all the way…
Downtown Boys – Wave in History // Directed by Faye Orlove
“Know your enemy. Know your context.” These words were animated by Faye Orlove in the opening of Downtown Boys’ new video for album track “Wave of History” which goes on to offer important statistics and highlights historic heroes who have done just that. Created weeks before the riots in Baltimore, it touches upon how far we’ve come and proves a timeless sense of urgency about how far society has yet to go.
Florence and the Machine – Delilah (The Odissey – Chapter 6) // Directed by Vincent Haycock
Florence Welch goes deep into a series of scary meets nightmare motel rooms in the video for “Delilah,” track taken from her latest album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. The video is directed by Vincent Haycock and choreographed by Holly Blakey and is the sixth installment of Welch’s melodramatic “The Odyssey” series, following “What Kind of Man,” “St. Jude,” “Ship to Wreck” and the dual-short for “Queen of Peace” and “Long & Lost.”
Lana Del Rey – High By The Beach // Directed by Jake Nava
There’s no surprise how enigmatic and mysterious Lana De Rey‘s videos can be. On “High By the Beach” she just swings around a beach mansion while a helicopter is hovering above her, where is a man with a camera, shooting photos of her. Later on, she shoots the helicopter. Pretty cool, right?
Girl Band – Paul // Directed by Bob Gallagher
The band has a notorious history of releasing visceral music videos, and “Paul” continues in that tradition, uncomfortably juxtaposing the innocent imagery of a children’s TV show with the unraveling of one of the show’s stars. It was directed by Bob Gallagher and features appearances by all of the members of Girl Band.
Bring Me The Horizon – Throne // Directed by Oliver Sykes & Plastic Kid
And the journey begins… Simple, full of melody and catchy as hell! “Throne” video goes from coffins to a weird throne, and keeps pushing the boundaries, we can even a crossover between Game of Throne(s) world and Lady Gaga weird videos. It’s massive and ludicrous.
Desaparecidos – Golden Parachutes // Directed by Luke and Joe McGarry
This new video take us on a journey through history — from Salem witch trials to the Boston Tea Party, to even 1860s New York City protest, the Triangle factory fire, Kent State and Occupy Wall Street.
Joanna Newsom – Divers // Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
The track that gives name to the album, Divers, receives the ultimate treatment with a mesmerizing and incredible video, directed by the one and only Paul Thomas Anderson.
Northlane – Impulse // Directed by Jason Eshraghian
A stunning video experience for the single “Impulse“, an intriguing examination of reality and community in the modern age, taken from the new album Node
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – Trouble // Directed by Niall Coffey
“Trouble” is the second single to be taken from Frank Carter’s debut album Blossom. The video sees Frank hunted down, captured and tortured by a mystery three, and was directed by Niall Coffey.
Slayer – Repentless // Directed by BJ McDonnell
The video was shot at the Sybil Brand Institute in East Los Angeles and is a grizzly depiction of what the Kerry King-created word means: “to feel no regret or remorse.” Slayer performed the song in the prison yard while a riot broke out, blood flowed in abundance, and inmates and prison guards were slaughtered. So freaking awesome…
M.I.A. – Borders // Directed by M.I.A.
One of the most politically charged video of the year, a true statement of what world is going to… The self-directed clip sees M.I.A. join a group of refugees as they climb wire fences, crowd on to tiny boats, and wade into the sea. This is actually happening, there is no such thing as fiction here, reality bites…
Deap Vally – Royal Jelly // Directed by Jess Holzworth
Deap Vally video features designer/model/fashion icon Georgia May Jagger and was directed by visual artist Jess Holzworth. The “Royal Jelly” video features far-out face and body paint by make-up visionary Isamaya Ffrench and is a celebration of strong, creative women.
Weezer – Thank God For Girls // Directed by SCANTRON
This is not an average lyric video! Weezer grabbed actor and Galen Howard and went directly into a huge pile of cannolis, it’s dirty and the claims for insanity…
PVRIS – White Noise // Directed by Raul Gonzo
The concept behind this video was inspired by Steven Spielberg’s horror flick Poltergeist. Enough said!
Kendrick Lamar – Alright // Directed by Colin Tilley & The Little Homies
Definitely one of the most beloved videos of the entire year. Geraldo Rivera, from FOX News, tried to attack the video and its message by saying that Kendrick “has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism” but in the end Lamar made it pretty simple and clear, “How can you take a song that’s about hope and turn it into hatred. The overall message is we’re gonna be alright. It’s not the message of I want to kill people.”
John Grant – Disappointing feat. Tracey Thorn // Directed by David Wilson
Director David Wilson said: “I pitched the idea of John being surrounded by men and objects that would be temptations or distractions from a monogamous relationship. This concept then developed into the camera becoming distracted by these temptations, and for John to be stead-fast: addressing the viewer, often appearing, as if by magic at the beginning and end of long, flowing camera moves. It’s been fun to treat the camera as an entity in itself: not quite a person, more a point-of-view that continually veers away from John and go down a rabbit hole of a gay sauna.”
Will Butler – Anna // Directed by Brantley Gutierrez
This epic video features Emma Stone dancing through the iconic Queen Mary in Long Beach California. And yes Emma is the real light and charm in this video…
Parkway Drive – Vice Grip // Directed by Frankie Nasso
Australian metalcore five piece Parkway Drive are always taking risks, for this video the band had to take weeks of skydiving lessons in order to get certified to jump solo. Then, they did 5 jumps for this video. The song is crushing awesome and the video is a relentless effort and a power statement of one of the most politically charged bands around.
Faith No More – Sunny Side Up // Directed by Joe Lynch
Director Joe Lynch imagines Faith No More members as senior citizens perform a show in their retirement home, it has nurses, meds and everyone goes crazy and trippy, well it’s another Faith No More video…
The Wonder Years – Cardinals // Directed by Kevin Slack
Heartbreaking, moving and emotional… Have you met The Wonder Years?
Saul Williams – Burundi feat. Emily Kokal (Warpaint) // Directed by Kivu Ruhorahoza
Saul Williams went for it. Enough is enough. The images in the video are as violent as Williams’ own words, “Question your authority, genocide and poverty / Treaties don’t negate the fact you’re dealing stolen property“.
Low – Lies // Directed by Manuel Aragon
A mixed-race couple deals with the complications that arise in relationships, with the added struggle of bridging two distinct worlds.
Aragon had this to say of the video, “Diego is a jornalero – a day laborer, struggling to maintain his livelihood. Daily, he navigates between two very different realities: one, the worker, very much on the outskirts of society, unseen, unnoticed; the other, a Mexican-American 20-something, one half of a mixed-race couple trying to sustain their relationship and manage their cultural differences.”
Chairlift – Ch-Ching // Directed by that-Go (Noel Paul & Stefan Moore)
Directed and filmed by duo that-go (Noel Paul & Stefan Moore) with creative direction by Chairlift, in this video we manage to see Caroline Polachek and Patrick Wimberly dance around industrial parts of New York City in a bunch of colored outfits.
mewithoutYou – Red Cow & Dorothy // Directed by Daniel Devison
mewithoutYou have shared a combined video for the tracks “Red Cow” and “Dorothy“, off their latest album Pale Horses. Directed by Daniel Davison, the new video sees the band playing travelers, adventuring their way through life.
Courtney Barnett – Pedestrian at Best // Directed by Charlie Ford
Courtney Barnett is a sad clown having an existential crisis as an amusement park in the video, with tons of fun and some awkward yet hilarious moments. Priceless!
Sleater-Kinney – A New Wave
Sleater-Kinney co-star alongside the cast of Bob’s Burgers for the music video/single “A New Wave”.
Lila Rose – This Could Be Ha // Directed by Daniel Garcia
From a concept album “about the interconnectedness of all life, including our Earth” arrives the video for the song “This Could Be Ha” where we see Lila Rose wandering through the desert, in the blazing hot sun, interacting with the environment and searching for something (as we do constantly).
Lo! – Orca // Directed by Matt Devine
Taken from Australian band Lo!‘s latest EP, The The Tongueless, “Orca” comes with one the most visually striking videos of this year. Not be amazed by it is a nearly impossible challenge to surpass.