Radiohead’s ‘Daydreaming’ and six other music videos by fabulous filmmakers

Music videos by movie directors are often musical teasers to their style of filmmaking. With Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia,There Will Be Blood) helming the much-talked about video for the Radiohead song “Daydreaming”, we line up the exceptional music that has been visually elevated by some of cinema’s unique filmmaking voices.

Radiohead’s ‘Daydreaming’ by Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson lends his auteur touch to “Daydreaming”, the single from Radiohead’s new album “A Moon Shaped Pool”. Long, sweeping shots that are typical of Anderson’s style accompany frontman Thom Yorke as he walks through what appears to be a dreamscape. The lucid cinematography keeps step with the ballad.

Moby’s ‘Shot in the Back of the Head’ by David Lynch

The animated video for Moby’s “Shot In The Back of The Head” is set to a heavy synth arrangement and is characteristically Lynchian from the first shot to the last. It is set in a chaotic black-and-white cityscape in which a man pursues a woman who has no body. Its lurid finality is a testament to David Lynch’s style and Moby’s haunting melody.

Sigur Rós’s ‘Fjögur Píanó’ by Alma Har’el

Sigur Rós’s seventh album, “Valtari”, is an audio-visual production in which each song is accompanied by short films. But it’s the provocative video of “Fjögur Piano”, directed by award-winning Israeli filmmaker Alma Har’el, which stands out. With a lucid instrumental arrangement in the background, Har’el shoots Shia LaBeouf and Denna Thomsen in a hypnotic narrative about love, intimacy and heartbreak. In one weird stroke, Har’el takes one of the most recognisable faces of popular American cinema and places him at the epicentre of a visual experiment, resulting in a video that stays with you long after.

The Last Shadow Puppets’ ‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’ by Richard Ayoade

Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner and British humorist and filmmaker Richard Ayoade have had a long creative association. The video of “My Mistakes Were Made For You” by The Last Shadow Puppets, a musical project by Turner with Miles Kane of The Rascals, is the gem that emerged out of that partnership. Inspired by Federico Fellini’s horror-noir Toby Dammit, the video follows a young Turner through the lo-fi adventures of the night.

The 1990s were full of rock bands singing to the camera’s seductiveness while backdrops changed behind them with alarming regularity. Few videos capture this style better than Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under The Bridge”, directed by Gus Van Sant. The legendary American indie filmmaker has the RHCP group members walk through the streets of Los Angeles singing to the camera. While the song catapulted the band to commercial success, the video became a cult sensation overnight.

Björk’s ‘Army of Me’ by Michel Gondry

Before Michel Gondry became an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, he was making provocative short films in French and collaborating with Björk, Iceland’s resident queen of eccentricity. Björk’s music has always been strongly metaphorical and Gondry captures that sentiment in “Army of Me”. The filmmaker achieves surrealism and hidden messages in a video that’s equal parts weird and equal parts fascinating.

Unkle’s ‘Rabbit in your Headlight’ by Jonathan Glazer

British filmmaker Jonathan Glazer has always had a knack for capturing otherworldly encounters in his cinema – a facet that is present in his video for Unkle’s “Rabbit in your Headlight”, which features haunting vocals by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. The surrealist video follows a man walking unperturbed despite being repeatedly hit by cars. The last shot is an enduring visual of strength and brilliance.