The 25 Best Music Videos of 2010

Published at 7:00 AM on December 2, 2010

By Josh Jackson

Page 5 of 5

5. Josh Ritter – “The Curse”
Album: So Runs the World Away
Label: Pytheas
Director: Liam Hurley
Josh Ritter’s tale of an Egyptian mummy comes to life through artful puppetry.

4. Janelle Monae – “Tightrope” (feat. Big Boi)
Album: The ArchAndroid
Label: Wonderland / Big Boi
Director: Wendy Morgan
Janelle Monáe can dance a little, and that’s never been more evident than this wonderfully choreographed video.

3. Cee Lo Green – “Fuck You”
Album: The Lady Killer
Label: Elektra/Roadrunner
The kiss-off song of the year was already great with nothing but kinetic typography, but it got better with the introduction of Little Cee Lo and High-School Cee Lo, who grow up to turn things around on The Heartbreaker:

And the original typographic version:

2. Arcade Fire – “The Wilderness Downtown”
Album: The Suburbs
Label: Merge
Director: Chris Milk
This interactive short film lets you put your childhood home into the video. Visit WildnerssDowntown.com to customize it for yourself.

1. OK Go – “This Too Shall Pass”
Album: Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
Label: Paracadute/Capitol
Directors: James Frost
Nobody puts as much care into music videos as OK Go, and they’ve outdone themselves with the Rube Goldberg version of “This Too Shall Pass.”