Let’s face it. Certain things aren’t terribly happy right now and many of us have had several parts of our life come screeching to a halt. While we could do some deep dive praxis analytical scope of the socio-economic effects of the shutdown, well, everything sucks and we want to have some fun for a little bit. To that end, we’re going to spend the next several days doing a top-five ranking of our favorite music artists’ music videos. But, there can be only five, which means we’re gonna have to kill some darlings. Today’s artist is Beyonce, so… ouch. Below are our top five music videos for Queen B. Let us know in the comments if you agree with us, or tell us what your own top five Beyonce list looks like!
Single Ladies
Iconic. Utterly iconic. And this is the hard part because we can’t just go through this list saying “Iconic!” even if all of her videos are. Such is her power. That said, back to this video. Beyonce is certainly a fan of incorporating the black and white film aesthetic (see “Sorry” later down in this list), and the simple set up of Beyonce and her two backup dancers allows the music and choreography to palpitate off our screens and into legend.
Crazy in Love
Can you really have a top-five Beyonce list and not include this song? In many respects this was Beyonce’s “hello world, kneel at my power” grand debut after she left Destiny’s Child to go solo. It certainly solidified her as a very viable solo act and announced to the rest of us that this lady was here to make some serious music and set some serious records.
Run the World (Girls)
Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland (with signs that indicate we’re in the country of Georgia), this is a bop to women being bosses. Also, Beyonce glammed up and holding two massive chains attached to VERY large hyenas at the other end is just iconic. Harley Quinn wishes she could.
Sorry
Well if this isn’t the grandmother of “fuck you, you fucking asshole” videos, I don’t know what is. Do we even need to say more than the opening eulogy hasn’t already said? Also, this song gives us the memefied to death lyric “Becky with the good hair”. Go live your best life, Beyonce. The rest of us will still debate who Becky is.
Formation
Ah, yes. One of the videos and songs that reminded non-Black people that Beyonce was most definitely Black and unapologetically so. The ensuing angst over “I got hot sauce in my bag, swag” was lampooned in a rather funny SNL skit that showed white people losing their damned minds over it. The video itself is an ode to Black culture and roots in the American South, with the opening particularly giving note to the federal government’s bungled response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster that left many Black residents to fend for themselves from the lack of aid.
Did your favorite not make the list? Tell us in the comments!
