Dancing in music videos: Highlights of the 2000's!
Ah music! Music and dance... dance and music... the two go together like Fred and Ginger. Yet despite this (and to our enduring dismay), most music videos these days feature surprisingly scarce amounts of choreographed dancing... The days of Thiller-esque, Michael Jackson-style dance spectaculars are unfortunately somewhat of a rarity amongst the newest generation of performers.
Luckily, there are those still willing to put down the microphone and shake their tail feathers every now and then (or at least feature the professionals who can)! So today we're honouring our favourite music videos (in no particular order) of the 2000's that bust a move, enjoy!
1. Chandelier - Sia
Whilst Sia herself doesn't do any swinging from Chandeliers, like the lyrics might suggest, Dance Mom's young star Maddie Ziegler swings, skips, jumps and slides pretty much everywhere else! An impressive amount of skill is demonstrated by the 11 year old who Sia allowed to take centre stage in the video (which holds some similarity to the Call Your Girlfriend music video by artist Robyn), Sia herself isn't even in the clip! Ryan Heffington also did a fantastically original, slightly eerie job with the choreography. Applause all round!
2. Runaway - Kanye West
'Ambitious' is the first word that comes to mind when we think of Kanye West's Runaway video. Closely followed by 'Cooooool!' or some other unsophisticated expression of appreciation. Because, Kanye surprised us all with this elaborately choreographed (Yemi Akinyemi, we're looking at you.) and shot video, which is only the smallest of excerpts from the actual Runaway, a 35-minute film (yes, you read that right!) written and directed by Kanye, set not just to one song from his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy but to (almost) the entire thing. So what's the plot? Kanye falls in love with a supermodel phoenix and tries to assimilate her into the human world, only to learn that she can’t stay with him because, well, she’s a phoenix. For the full 35 minute video spectacular click here. We like thinking outside the box at Energetiks, and we're pretty sure Kanye doesn't even know boxes exist for this album, or at least if he does, he's let them 'Runaway'... ;)
*Warning: Mild language used.
3. Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim
And the weapon is Walkin' (hee hee, Walkin'/Walken.. get it?) and dancing!
Actor Christopher Walken stole the spotlight in Spike Jonze's video (which Won 6 awards we might add, rightly so!) for the 2001 Fatboy Slim single Weapon of Choice. Walken delightfully charmed his way into everyone's hearts with his hands-in-pockets, hip-shaking boogie-ing, all filmed in the lobby of the Marriot Hotel. Genius!
4. How Do I Know - Here We Go
In Here We Go Magic’s “How Do I Know,” a man has trouble getting rid of his robot... And who could blame him? One of the cutest robots we’ve ever beheld, she kicks up a dance-fueled storm in the desert.
5. Islands - The xx
The xx’s “Islands” has people dancing in a coordinated mirror effect that’s both artful and mesmerizing.
6. Tightrope - Janelle Monae
If Janelle Monae's groovy moves don't put a smile on your face then it's definitely time to cheer up. This quirky and talented musician keeps things original in her music videos, throwing in some apparently effortless dance moves that echo the likes of The King of Pop himself as well as sister Janet Jackson.
7. Shake it Off - Taylor Swift
The newest addition on our list, Swift's Shake it Off music video which is hot off the production line this week could more aptly be called 'shake it out!' - because Swift, and her cohort of skilled dancers (across the whole spectrum of styles from classical to b-boy, and even finger tutting) certainly do that! Whilst Swift herself takes a slightly less-than-serious approach to the whole thing, she lets the talent of her back-up dancers dazzle in between the twerking in a tutu, and other light-hearted and intentionally bizarre moments. Voila...
...Last but not least, we could not end this post without throwing in this bonus, the incredibly infectious, smile-inducing clip for Lonely Boy by The Black Keys. Not only is it probably one of the simplest (and cheapest!) music videos ever made, it also happens to be one of the gosh-darn-cutest! Made even more special by the fact that it was never supposed to happen, the Black Keys had a whole other 'fancy' idea worked out for this music video, but when they didn't like the final result they decided to use this spontaneously captured footage of their security guard (and part-time actor) Derrick T. Tuggle whipping out his own unique choreography and enthusiastically singing along to the music. No surprise, the video went viral.
Best. Decision. Everrrr!
Well, there you have it! Which was your favourite? :)
X Energetiks
