Top 10 Videos Of All Time By Foster The People

Australia congratulations. You are the first country to wholly appreciate Foster The People, Los Angeleno wranglers of feelgood pop vibes. You voted them in at number 32 on Triple J’s Hottest 100 for their infectious rebel jam “Pumped Up Kicks” and you’ve almost bought all the tickets to their forthcoming debut tour of your country. We recently spoke to the band’s Mark Foster who shared his Top 10 music videos of all time. There’s a few interesting choices in the mix, as well as a stack of stone cold classics. Mark articulates his love and appreciation for each video so well that you’ll remember why they’re your favourites too.

1. Daft Punk “Around The World”
“How Michel Gondry hasn’t won a music video award yet is beyond me. He has been pushing the limits of the art form since day one. The man is a true artist. Now I could literally write a book on why I think this video is amazing, but I’ll stick to the basics. The best part to me is that the video matches Daft Punk’s musical style of repetitive layering so well. Each group of dancers seems to represent a different sound or instrument in the song that repeats over and over again. If you watch carefully you’ll see what I’m talking about. It becomes so hypnotic, exactly like the song. That’s something that daft punk is so great at doing, hypnotizing its listeners. I think Michel Gondry has done just that to his viewers with this video.”

2. Fat Boy Slim “Weapon Of Choice”
“I enjoy it so much when a music video really brings a song to life. For me this video does just that. The song wouldn’t have been nearly as influential to me without the video. And THAT is what music videos are supposed to do. Having a celebrity in your video is always fun as well. In fact Christopher Walken has become a hero of mine just simply from the way he dances in this video. I’ve stolen a couple of his moves myself while out dancing before and they are always winners.”

4. Michael Jackson “Thriller”
“Well, it’s the first video to fully merge filmmaking and music, I think it needs to be on everyone’s top music video picks. Just the choreography alone has had a profound effect on our culture. There really isn’t anything not amazing about this music video. Could be the most influential pop music video of all time.”

5. Lykke Li “Little Bit”
“This video is one of the most seductive videos I’ve ever seen. I cant help but to fall in love with her every time I watch it. I’m such a sucker for simplistic concepts in music videos and this one is executed in such an elegant way. It keeps me so drawn in the entire time, especially not ever being able to ever get a clear view of her face. And when is slow motion dancing not amazing to watch?”

6. Aphex Twin “Windowlicker”
“I love how this video is a twisted take on a musical in a way. It combines something super modern and dark with a ghetto subculture, and then flips it on the head with “singing in the rain” type dance routines. And then you’ve got Richard James and his superimposed face, doing an interpretive ballet. It’s genius.”

7. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion”
“This video is just beautiful. It’s shot wonderfully. It creates the same emotion as the song. There’s mystery. There’s something supernatural. My favorite shot though is when Michael Stipe is dancing across the floor. There’s something so vulnerable in the way that he moves. It really captures his spirit.”

9. Kenna “Hellbent”
“I heard that the video for this song was actually already an award-winning animation before Kenna asked if he could use it for his music video. That completely blows me away because it lines up perfectly with what he is saying in the song. This music video is about the modern age of where culture is headed. People are constantly trying to escape themselves, or their feelings, or their jobs. I think it kind of nails Western culture on the head.”