That’s right kids. The empire strikes back. You didn’t think we were gonna let ‘007 go by without putting our stamp on it. Silly scenesters, tricks are for kids. This year we’ve even upped our numbers a bit and are thus doing things a bit different. Rather than bombard your senses into overload status with all the videos, we’re instead gonna give you some hearty portions throughout the week so as to give each video the proper respect and consideration they deserve.

So go on break or take your lunch, grab a coke and a smile, and watch as artists take you into the past and into the future. Over the high seas and through the rocky desert. From Europe to South America. A beehive to a bar. Our universe to distant universes. This officially puts an end to 2007 with the one and only list that matters. Any other list would be uncivilized.

The Top 79 Music Videos of 2007

[79-61] — [60-46] — [45-31] — [30-16] — [15-1]

79.) Arcade Fire – My Body Is A Cage (J. Tyler Helms)

It’s unofficial, but its damn good. If for nothing else than the superb editing and pacing. I guess the director is no slouch either.
**Beware of spoilers for those who’ve yet to see this film!**

78.) Modest Mouse – Invisible (Terry Timely)

If you’re only paying attention to the hacky sacking(?), you obviously don’t know Terry Timely.

77.) Kaiser Chiefs – Angry Mob (W.I.Z.)

We’re starting to wonder if the Kaiser Chiefs are becoming more known for their videos or their music.

76.) Coconut Records – West Coast (Cheryl Dunn)

Skateboarding and fucking with people. A winning combination, like Warner Bros. and Blu-ray.

75.) Radiohead – Jigsaw (Adam Buxton & Garth Jennings)

Any chance we can put Radiohead on our list, we’ll take. It’s all about the performance.

74.) Bees – Listening Man (Dominic Leung)

If only this were true…

73.) New Young Pony Club – Get Lucky (Paf! La Chien)

Its all fun and games til someone loses their head…then it’s entertainment!

72.) Sia – Buttons (Kris Moyes)

A simple, ugly idea. If only we could look away.

71.) Modest Mouse – People As Places As People (Andy Bruntel)

A relationship with a tree. We’ve seen stranger things…and we’ve seem them done a bit better.

70.) The Pipettes – Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me (Ollie Jacob)

A straight up performance shot of our favorite cuties from across the pond. What you see is what you get with these ladies.

69.) Rilo Kiley – Silver Lining (Autumn de Wilde)

A darling Jenny Lewis ditching Mr. Sennett and marriage. Our hopes for her are still alive!

68.) M.I.A. – Boyz (Jay Will & M.I.A.)

You can’t deny her videos are distinct. As long as you’re not epileptic.

67.) Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55 (Yvan Attal)

3 minutes of Charlotte Gainsbourg. Sometimes it’s just that easy.

66.) The Shins – Australia (Matt McCormick)

The only decent video to surface from their stellar album. Frankly, we’re a tad disappointed.

65.) LCD Soundsystem – North American Scum (Ben Dickinson)

A precursor to a fantastic album. Correctly represents the potential and eccentricity of Murphy and Co.

64.) a) Calvin Harris – Merrymaking At My Place (King Burza)

A house party for the ages. And look who’s our host.

b) Calvin Harris – The Girls (Kim Gehrig)

Its tough to compete with a catchy song such as this.

63.) Peter, Bjorn and John – Objects Of My Affection (B-Reel)

The trio from Sweden take on a popular flash game. Couldn’t they find a less painful one?

62.) Hot Chip – Ready For The Floor (Nima Nourizadeh)

An editing tour-de-force with…the joker? We liked it better when it was Prince.

61.) St. Vincent – Jesus Saves, I Spend (Andy Bruntel)

Merit Badges with a twist. Whatever Annie Clark says.

60.) Patrick Wolf – Magic Position (Jaron Albertin)

Wonderful song helps propel Patrick through a series of setups. Which gets him a magic position on our list. (Cue diabolical laugh)

59.) CSS – Off The Hook (Ana Rezende)

The best live show we saw in ‘007. We can’t resist Lovefoxxx, forwards or backwards.

58.) Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good (Blair Young)

A relaxing shot that may have been higher on the list had the year not been full of videos using old footage.

57.) The White Stripes – Icky Thump (The Malloys)

Jack and Meg go down to Mexico and bring along The Malloys for the “trip.”

56.) Aesop Rock – Coffee (Ace Norton)

Ace Norton takes his down and dirty skills and meshes them with his zombie/horror fetish. Oh and John Darnielle raps!

55.) Lady Sovereign – Those Were The Days (Family)

A slick idea, if only we could have seen more done with it.

54.) Snoop Dogg – Sensual Seduction (Melina)

The D-O-double G takes it back to a time before gangsta rap. Who knew Ace Norton was his set designer?

53.) Bonde Do Role – Solta O Frango (Barney Clay)

A foreign video that may have only been more fun, if we were there filming it. We still can’t wrap our heads around those awesome overall shorts, nor the fact that singer Marina left the band.

52.) Band Of Horses – There Is A Ghost (Brian Savelson)

A simple concept of a pillow thief that wanders the night. Practically textbook.

51.) B.R.M.C. – Weapon Of Choice (Paul Gore)

If all you did was point the camera at the boys in black, you’re already guaranteed to make this list. Throwing in some light tricks and crazy camera moves at the very least pushes you past the filler. Keep ‘em coming fellas.

50.) Chromeo – Bonafide Lovin’ (Nima Nourizadeh)

It begins as an homage to Dire Strait’s “Money For Nothing”, then runs with it, showing how far we’ve come with effects since then. Of course all with Chromeo’s sense of humor and style. Love those sneakers!

49.) The Go! Team – Doing It Right (Good Times)

Pretty much the closest to a visual representation of a band. Style for style. Too bad this isn’t the first time they’ve done this.

Bonus) The Go! Team – Junior Kickstart (Theater 5)

Although unofficial, this is a playful take on the band’s song. Makes us wonder why we haven’t seen this before and why we never thought of that.

48.) Bat For Lashes What’s A Girl To Do? (Dougal Wilson)

Riding a bike in the dark with characters randomly doing tricks in tandom. We don’t understand the hype, so we’ll just leave this one be.

47.) Simian Mobile Disco – Hustler (Ace Norton)

A tough task to make a second version of a video. Let alone one originally made by Saam. Let alone one with girls making out. And yet we’ll never forget this one.

46.) Cat Power – Where Is My Love? (Josh & Xander)

A slow motion, black and white look at a moment in a bar. We’re not ones to give credit to old tricks, but the creepily laughing, falling blonde haunts us too much to let this one go by.

45.) Beirut – Postcards From Italy (Alma Har’el)

The most blatant use of the popular Nostalgic-scope this year. What sets it apart from all the others is the use in conjunction with the music of Beirut. And the filled in portions with Mr. Condon himself, including his own skateboarding stunts!

44.) DJ Mehdi – Signatune (Romain Gavras)

A heartfelt story of a young man and his car stereo. It almost plays like Rocky training for a fight, running through his hometown with everyone behind him. It’s gritty yet earnest. We support it like the fella’s parents support him.

43.) Metric – Empty (Jaron Albertin)

Albertin wasn’t just satisfied shooting in reverse. He had to go upwards, downwards and all around-wards. Shooting a video for an album long past its shelf life could have been pointless. But like a great director, Albertin turned the cards in his favor.

42.) Tokyo Police Club – Citizens Of Tomorrow (Kyle Davison)

Part of the reason we’re still waiting for the band’s official full length release. Part of the reason we’re still listening to that first e.p.

41.) LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends (Tom Kuntz)

The video to Pitchfork’s choice single of the year steadies itself on the slow build. Any other song and the video would have been lost on us. Kuntz forces us to hear the song face to face with Murphy, and thus both reward us for our patience.

40.) Seventeen Evergreen – Haven’t Been Yourself (Encyclopedia Pictura)

A precursor to their more popular “Knife” shot, this one got looked over by many, and where it should not have. It’s just as strange and interesting as any of E.P.’s other work, with the coolest of the cool being that Ferro fluid. Or maybe it was that digital matte painting of the forest?

39.) Feist – My Moon, My Man (Patrick Daughters)

No, not THAT Feist video, the one all of the people who are too cool like. The one where Feist dances in an airport. The one directed by Patrick Daughters. The one whose song was used in a commercial to sell “Chocolate” phones.

38.) Coparck – Good Year For The Robots (Wouter Stoter & Daniel Bruce)

A video with heart, conveniently in search of heart. Yeah it feels like a knockoff of The Office, but the video/mocumentary is so much more. It’s over-acting at it’s best, because it does what so many videos try so hard to do, yet fail at. Make us smile.

37.) Bumblebeez – Dr. Love (Tom Kuntz)

A gimmick video that looks like it was a pain in the ass to make. However, that doesn’t mean that we weren’t glued to the screen to see what would pop up next. A group of gnarly guys, synchronize dancing on the rooftops of a city without their shirts on? Who knew we’d see shit like that? We wonder if those guys are still cleaning all that ink off to this day?

36.) The Hives – Tick Tick Boom (Kalle Haglund)

As quirky as they are, The Hives have yet to give us a video that wasn’t at the very least interesting or entertaining. Haglund riffs off of Mueck to give us a look at what the Hives would look like if they were as big as their egos. In our opinion, they’re still not large enough, but we’ll take this video and the single anyways.

35.) Ok Go – Do What You Want (Damian Kulash & James Frost)

Another video that rode the second version wave of ‘007. This time done with one less Gondry and probably a little more cash that stuck with the band after last year’s treadmill sensation. We’d worry that the band is becoming known more for their videos than their music, but then, we’d actually be down for that.

34.) Spoon – The Underdog (Keven McAlester)

We’ve read that long, one-take tracking shots are two steps from cliche, we guess Spoon didn’t get the memo, to which we’re thankful. In their own idiosyncratic way, they and McAlester furnished us with a look into their recording space, a place where we’d all like to visit one day. We stopped smiling halfway through however, because it struck us then that when it comes to Spoon, this could very well be what goes on when they lay down those catchy tracks to tape.

33.) Willowz – Jubilee (Toben Seymour)

If you’re thinking that this is a misstep because of all the light-effect heavy videos/commercials that came out this year, you’re sorely mistaken. Seymour worked this shit early in the year, but got lost in the crowd without getting his proper respect. The Willowz may do things a bit off-center and on the cheap, but they’ve also been associated with Gondry, Norton, and now Seymour. Think of this everytime you see that certain Sprint commercial and all of the others that have since followed, and you’ll see the impact.

32.) Fionn Regan – Be Good Or Be Gone

Under normal circumstances, this video would have been off this list. But since when are circumstances normal, especially on our tops of the year list. All this video needed to do was get rid of the original track and go for broke within their settings. It paid off and reminded those of us watching, that even sound can be important in a music video.

31.) Bright Eyes – Four Winds (Patrick Daughters)

It was only a matter of time before Connor Oberst’s dark songs caught up to him in video form. Although in his last video before this, he was in a plane that was crashing into the ocean, this one seems to cut deeper. With a black and white look, we get a more real approach to his standout single off of Cassadaga. It’s no mistake that Daughters gives us the feeling that we’re all there watching this happen and in fact participating in the misconduct. It’s also no mistake that Connor chose Daughters as the man to make this shot.

30.) Kasabian – Me Plus One (Scott Lyon)

If you’ve been following Kasabian’s music video trajectory, you’d no longer be surprised at the quality they uphold. You wouldn’t be surprised at the quality their music upholds either. This, by all means is no surprise.

29.) The Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby (Stylewar)

The L.A. Film Festival saw fit to show this during their music video highlight portion. And if you read their treatment, it says it all.
“It sounds hard to imagine? That’s because nothing similar has been done ever.”

28.) TV On The Radio – Province (Jeff Scheven)

Just like the song and just like the band, this shot is a slow burner. In contrast to “Wolf Like Me” the boys shifted gears and went with no colors and a clean frame. We guess you really can’t go wrong with putting a great looking female at the center of your shot either.

27.) RJD2 – Work It Out (Joey Garfield)

It’s not just a shot about a guy doing a crazy dance on crutches. It’s a long continuous shot of a guy in New York who walks, dances, and skates with and without crutches. The money is when the skating portion begins, turns into a beautiful shot in the sun, and ends with a frozen crash pose. Wonderous.

26.) The Liars – Plaster Casts Of Everything (Patrick Daughters)

A normal projection shot is just that. Normal. See Bright Eyes “Hot Knives“.
Released one month after, Daughter’s second tussle with projection pays off in dividends. So what did P.D. teach us? Whereas nice things are all and well, it’s the visually striking that’s gonna turn peoples’ heads.

25.) Klaxons – It’s Not Over (Saam)

The final video in director Saam’s trilogy (so far) keeps the Klaxons high atop our list once again. Yes, it’s another strange trip that has the boys breaking things in super slow motion. But it’s also something we have yet to see before. Where are the Klaxons? Who are they supposed to be? What are they defending? Who is the enemy? When it comes to art direction, sometimes you just can’t beat Saam.

24.) Interpol – The Heinrich Maneuver (Elias Merhige)

Wrap your head around this piece. A backwards shot (yes, again) but it’s also an extremely slow revealing one that centers around beauty and it’s obsession with itself. The song, the sounds, and the reveal move forward. The players continue backward. The back and forth dynamic and its commentary makes this an important piece. Especially with so little given. Less is more?

23.) Architecture In Helsinki – Heart It Races (Kris Moyes)

The twee gang is obviously unsatisfied with the ordinary. Each song is crafted with as many details and nuances as can fit. Why would their visuals be any different? The first part could be silly as with many of their songs. But as it kicks in, the group switches it up, giving us a colorful educational experience south of the border.

22.) M.I.A. – Jimmy (Nez)

Largely agreed upon as one of the top albums of the year. What’s impressive about this, is that M.I.A. brings herself out of her senses overload videos (slightly) and gives us something beautiful to go along with this cover. She still finds time to throw in her own style and bring to light others we don’t see everyday. It’s tough to find females at the tops of these lists, M.I.A. does it with ease.

21.) The National – Apartment Story (Banner Gwin)

Sometimes all you need is a solid song and a solid idea to make something special. A nostalgic memory, like a dance from long ago. Or a song about life and standing up to it. There are times when all you have to do, is stay on course and not fuck up and your video will do all the work for you.

So worry not
All things are well
We’ll be alright

20.) !!! – Must Be The Moon (Ben Dickinson)

We’ve yet to see !!! in concert or meet them in person, and because of this video, we don’t want to. We want to believe that there are some crazy ass hardcore party people out in the world who go all-out, bat-shit crazy. Dickinson knows how to handle this as the tone and look of the shot never wavers. From the party goers, to the band, to the set decoration and props. We’re waiting for our invite to the next fiesta.

19.) a) Jose Gonzalez – Down The Line (Andreas Nilsson)

b) Jose Gonzalez – Killing For Love (Andreas Nilsson)

Ahh, Jose Gonzalez and Andreas Nilsson. You don’t see this kind of shot coming out of America. Things like these videos only birth out of the minds from foreign lands. Nilsson’s eye for the ugly and eccentric, satisfy our cravings for the different. Meanwhile, J.G.’s voice and guitar cradle us in warmth and life. A double team double shot.

18.) The Rapture – Pieces Of The People We Love (Ben Dickinson & Jon Watts)

After what we saw of the Rapture in “Get Myself Into It” and “Whoo, Alright…” it was a breath of fresh air to see the gentleman take it slow and classy. A rather chic video that kept its cred by avoiding a complete black and white color wheel. It fiddles with lights, dabbles in effects, and keeps the ladies dancing so we don’t forget to tap our feet to the beat. It’s because of this we keep a girl dancing beside us at all times. Like the iPhone, how did we ever live without it?

17.) The Horrors – She Is The New Thing (Corin Hardy)

We hate The Horrors. Nothing against them. They’re just not our cup of tea. Knowing that and seeing where they fall on our list must say something about this animated shot. A gruesome blend of drawings and live action shots, “She Is The New Thing” supplements the heavily used organs to a ‘T’. In fact we’d probably buy a few prints had we the access.

16.) Gotye – Hearts A Mess (Brendan Cook)

Brendan Cook returned this year to breathe visual life into another somber ballad. Creating quite the companion piece to Gotye’s high vocals, Cook took the idea of “Preparing the Earth for burial,” and made a visually rich shot that left us impressed. Like true art, we continue to watch and re-watch discovering new qualities that amazes us and keeps animation fresh on our taste buds.

15.) Emily Haines – Our Hell (Jaron Albertin)

With someone as exceptional as Haines it takes someone special to take her music and put it to a visual. Albertin knows just what he’s dealing with and its not easy. No matter what it looks like. If shooting with this newer thermal technology was so simple, why didn’t someone else do it? Could you really see this shot matched so well with anyone else? Every choice to make this video was correct, which if you know anything is sometimes the hardest thing to do.

14.) Of Montreal – Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse (Mike & Matt Chapman w/Kevin Barnes)

This video is far fucking out. It takes place on a normal stage, but o, does it have some of the most imagination we’ve seen in a long while. Running through a city. Developing a lobster arm? A ghost in the crowd?! Stopping to catch an arrow!?! We wish most plays had this kind of fun and imagination. Of course when it comes to Of Montreal, how foolish was it to expect anything less?

13.) UnkleJam – What Am I Fighting For? (Saam)

Yes kids, it’s Saam again. Although surprise surprise, no Klaxons in sight. In fact, who is Unklejam? When it comes to this video, it doesn’t really matter. The darkness and multi-colored look is exceptional and even though he uses his liquid staples, it still looks different than anything he’s done prior to. The outfits are out of this world and so are those liquid dancers. We applaud for creating things out of nowhere and taking us places we’ve never been before.

12.) Animal Collective – Peacebone (Timothy Saccenti)

When we think of Animal Collective and their work, we no longer expect the usual. In fact we prepare for the worst, in the best way possible. “Peacebone” is no exception. A love story between a freak and an alien sounds wrong already, but with Saccenti at the helm, it becomes a visual masterpiece. Gruesome close-ups and disgusting details make us marvel and sick at the same time. Nice.

11.) Fergie – Clumsy (Marc Webb & Rich Lee)

There should be no reason for Fergie nor anyone from the mainstream pop world to be on this list. Except that this video is crazy awesome. Crazy because of the pop-up book idea. Awesome because of how well it was pulled off. Its fun, yet intricate, and even though the acting leaves a little something to be desired, it’s no fooling when we say if we’re to be subjected to this kind of music, then it better be accompanied with this caliber of shot.

10.) Battles – Atlas (Timothy Saccenti)

Saccenti killed it this year with this video. Everyone was talking about this shot, and for good reason. With a crystal clear view, we saw a group of four young men spinning in a cube with all of their equipment, playing a song that was not of this world. An intellectual conversation between vision and sound in the infinite. No video made such an impact with so little.

9.) Justice – D.A.N.C.E. (Jonas & François)

And now one of the largest singles this year. All we could have asked for was for Jonas & François not to fuck up this video. Instead, the boys became ballers, and stepped up big. So big they even found themselves almost snagging an award from Mtv! Even the Kanye follow-up couldn’t compare, nor detract from this shot. Which managed to make us forget to find out what Justice looked like the entire shot.

8.) Grizzly Bear – Knife (Encyclopedia Pictura)

Another hugely hyped shot from a huge band. This was in the works for a long ass time, and it shows. How something like this was conceived let alone accomplished is beyond us. Rock formations and odd beings make for dense subject matter, but just because it’s tough, doesn’t meant it isn’t exceptional.

7.) Feist – 1,2,3,4 (Patrick Daughters)

Wow. We half jokingly mentioned this as being great for an ad. Lo and behold Apple took it and ran with it all the way to the bank. Not that Feist didn’t either. And who, of course, orchestrated the whole thing? Why Mr. Patrick Daughters of course. The go-to guy for Feist, Daughters’ whimsy side fits her music so well that we couldn’t imagine anything better. One question P.D., how’d you make all those dancers appear and disappear so slyly?

6.) Menomena – Evil Bee (Stefan Nadelman)

We’re not sure if this is more compelling because of the song (Off one of SRO’s top albums of the year) or the video itself. Bees being used as slaves to the evil tank birds and their dreams of rising up. It sounds crazy, but it’s quite the dark and somber tale. Elements of 3-D animation and real life items catapult this shot into a higher level. Making us feel for the bees. Making us stare at the pieces of the fallen bees. Who knows what this is all for, but when it’s through, we’re left wondering how we relate to those tiny insects.

5.) The Strokes – You Only Live Once (Warren Fu)

There was already a video for this song. The album was long since fresh. Still, that didn’t stop Warren Fu from taking an idea and turning it into something intricate and delightful. Sending the Strokes out into another universe to communicate with other life is a hard sell. However, this Class-A piece of art almost shows us how far we’ve come from our own beginnings. Before it ends, we’ll all be treated to an elaborate landscape, a cool as fuck performance piece and the return of the mighty Strokes.

4.) Arcade Fire – Neon Bible (Vincent Morisset)

With so much out there in the wild wild web, its tough to stay on top of your game. Stepping it up this year on all fronts was The Arcade Fire. Building up their highly anticipated follow up to Funeral, the Fire led many on wild goose chases with phone numbers, cryptic websites, and informercials. After the release, the band continued their assault with one hell of an inventive idea. an interactive video. Got a problem with the video, there’s only one person to blame. You. Click above to become a hot shot director of Arcade Fire’s “Neon Bible”. What other band can say they did that for you?

3.) Beirut – Elephant Gun (Alma Har’el)

It’s one thing to be a female recording artist and be respected in the video world. It’s another to be a female director and respected in the same circles. We don’t know where Alma Har’el came from, but her collaboration with Zach Condon, aka Beirut, was serendipitous. She was able to take a song, Brilliant and Vast on its own and make it Worldly and Epic. And Elegant. And Exquisite. And Timeless. Through no one else’s eyes could this have been accomplished and we can’t wait to see what else this darling has in store for us.

2.) Dizzee Rascal – Sirens (W.I.Z.)

Hip-Hop isn’t seen much around these parts. We won’t say it’s because all the videos are the same, that would be lazy and too easy. Whatever the reason, when we come across them in our endless searches, we normally look upon them with our noses slightly upturned. Until this video came and punched us in the gut. We were fixed on not only Dizzee’s track, but on what this video was showing us. The gritty streets. The horse in the house. The bloodthirsty hunters. The brave hunted. This video represents a side of hip hop that needs to be seen way more often than not. W.I.Z. is a trailblazer, someone that comes around once in a while, who shows us how it’s all done.

1.) Modest Mouse – Dashboard (Matthew Cullen & Grady Hall of Motion Theory)

Well, here it is. The best video of 2007. After all of those before it, the video that could hold itself against all others. And look at that, it was released as early as could be in January, how convenient.

A video that takes place in myth and story, for a band that too rises above most. As we all anticipated the newest album from Modest Mouse, what we should’ve been preparing for was a video that reminded us the capabilities of our imagination.

An old sailor’s tale of his time at sea and the adventure that would forever change him. Who could’ve come up with the idea of a strange land based on music and its technologies. How it and its inhabitants consume that which it comes across in order to worship that which it loves. And just as Isaac Brock explains his tale to the naive in his company, he could just as well be making a case for the video to us, the viewer.

It’s a shame that in many, if not all of the video lists out there, this video was not even mentioned nor put in a deserving spot. To leave such a masterpiece lying to waste in oblivion is almost a slap in the face to Modest Mouse and more importantly, Motion Theory’s. If you check out Motion Theory’s past work, you will see that this is par for their course. You’ll realize that this was no fluke. That just as much effort went into this video as was anything your beloved Encyclopedia Pictura put out this year. Let it be known that any year Motion Theory puts out a piece, is a year that they are a contender. Do not fuck with them.

To you gentlemen and your staff at Motion Theory. We raise our glasses high.