!VAR HAGENDOORN

The Best Music Videos of 2009

My selection of the best music videos of 2009.

Oren Lavie: Her Morning Elegance. Directed by: Yuval & Merav Nathan and Oren Lavie. Quite simply a wonderful stop motion animated video.

Depeche Mode: Wrong. Directed by Patrick Daughters. Haunting and great cinematography.

N.A.S.A. (feat. RZA, Barbie Hatch & John Frusciante): Way Down. Directed by: Syd Garon and Sage Vaughn. A beautiful, but grim animated video featuring, yes, a love affair between a bluejay and a cardinal. Great song as well, by the way.

N.A.S.A. (feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip): Money. Directed by: Syd Garon and Sage Vaughn. Animated political propaganda poster style. I also liked the other installments in the series of animated videos accompanying N.A.S.A.'s latest album: Spacious Thoughts, A Volta, The People Tree, Whachadoin? and O Pato.

Fever Ray: When I Grow Up. Directed by Martin de Thurrah. I also liked the video for If I had a heart.

Charlotte Gainsbourg feat. Beck: Heaven can wait. Directed by Keith Schofield. One again proof that surrealism lives on in music videos.

Chairlift: Evident Utensil. Directed by Ray Tintori and Bob Weisz. This video had many people wondering: How did they do it? I want to do that as well. This is Kanye West getting the datamosh treatment. Here's a video explaining how to datamosh yourself.

Patrick Watson: The Great Escape. Directed by Alex Produkt and Kathleen Weldon. Beautiful, moody animated video that goes perfectly with the song. I love the moments when the figures disappear into the canvas. And the skyline. If you like the animation style, here's another great video by Alex Produkt and Kathleen Weldon.

Coldplay: Strawberry Swing. Directed by Shynola. The video is real nice. I like the animation technique. Shame about the band and the song...

Cinnamon Chasers: Luv Deluxe. Directed by Saman Keshavarz. The end is a bit cliché, but I enjoyed watching it nonetheless. Shot entirely with a Canon 5D mark II.

The Editors: Papillon. What are they running from or towards?