I think it’s safe to say you all know how much I love movies. But, there’s another love of my life that I never really talk about and hope to change in 2013 and that’s music. 2012 was just as good of a year for music as it was for film, and I wanted to give you all a look at what kind of stuff I like in the music world. I feel that with the technology we have now and the almost complete lack of any worthwhile music television, music videos have gone to the wayside as of late. It’s unfortunate, because there are some incredible videos out there that tell just as good of a story as any movie would and you could easily classify them as a short film. Well, I’m wanting to give a little more love to these videos so check out these six awesome music videos from the past year. To save you from having a slow page load, simply click the image to watch the video.

 Mumford and Sons- “Lover of the Light”
Directed by: Idris Elba

That’s right. Not only is the video directed by the Chocolate God but he also stars in it. 2012 saw the release of Mumford and Son’s latest album, Babel, and while “Lover of the Light” is not my favorite song on the record (that title goes to ”Below My Feet”), it’s still an incredible song. Mixed with Elba’s direction, acting, and beautiful cinematography  the video is one of my favorites of not only the past year, but of recent memory. The video also features a “twist” you can see coming almost immediately, but adds another element to the video you wouldn’t expect.

 Benjamin Gibbard- “Teardrop Windows”
Directed by: Tom Scharpling

I’ve always been a fan of Death Cab for Cutie. “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” is one of my all time favorite songs and they’ve continued to impress as their career has skyrocketed into all sorts of fame. 2012 saw the lead singer, Benjamin Gibbard, come out with a solo albulm entitled Former Lives. While the albulm is impressive, I prefer Gibbard with his Cutie crew. Even then, the record gave us this quirky little video for “Teardrop Windows”. The story in the film follows Gibbard as he’s wanting to make a name for himself as a solo artist and doing all sorts of things to be “cool” and “hip”, including getting arrested and inking himself up. This is all from the same guy whose divorce from Zooey Deschanel finalized late last year. He’s definitely keeping himself happy. I wouldn’t know what I’d do if I was in his shoes. Hey, at least this leaves a window open for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

 Of Monsters and Men- “Little Talks”
Directed by: WeWereMonkeys

“Little Talks” may be my favorite song of 2012. I can’t remember how I came across Of Monsters and Men, but once I heard their most famous song, I was hooked. The song gets all sorts of creative juices flowing and I pictured all sorts of things for the video and scenes to set the music to. The video does those imaginative thoughts justice and delivers one of the weirdest, if not coolest, videos of the year. It’s different, like the music, and fits perfectly. Plus, I’m a sucker for oddly animated things, especially if they resemble some sort of Tim Burton/Monty Python love-child.

The Shins- “Simple Song”
Directed by: DANIELS

The Shins have been on my radar ever since Natalie Portman listened to them in a waiting room in Garden State. Yes, as much as I’d like to say I was a fan of them before that, the film was what really turned me on to them. 2012′s Port of Morrow is The Shins latest CD after five years, and it’s a wonderful return to form. There are a ton of great songs on the record, but “Simple Song” is the standout. So, The Shins do the most reasonable thing and come out with an incredibly clever, masterfully edited, and quite fun music video. The video shows a group of siblings watching the video from their recently departed father who tells them he hid the deed in the house, and the first to find it gets all of his possessions  What plays out is a trip through bad family memories, pitting sibling rivalries against one another all for the sake of greed.

Ben Folds- “Do it Anyway”
Directed by: Phil HodgesWhen I talk about “fun” music, Ben Folds is always thrown into the conversation. He’s full of energy, optimism, and all sorts of awesome you don’t see in a lot of musicians  Sure, some of his songs relate to sad things, people, or stories, but even then, it sounds happy. With “Do It Anyway” from his record The Sound of the Life of the Mind, an incredibly simple song, Ben Folds is joined by the Muppet cast of Fraggle Rock, Rob Corddry, Chris Hardwick, and the ever-so-hot Anna Kendrick. If the song didn’t get you up and dancing already, this video will. Plus, Ben can play one mean piano. If anything, the video will get you excited for the soon-to-be-made Fraggle Rock movie.

Explosions in the Sky- “Postcard from 1952″
Directed by: Peter Simonite and Annie GunnWhat happens when you take Explosions in the Sky, team them up with a second-unit cinematography from The Tree of Life and make a music video? You get the best music video of the year and one of the most beautiful seven minutes you’ll ever see. Postcard from 1952 is just that, it’s a series of images, slowly, if at all, moving, that take us back in time to that titular 1952. The video is haunting in it’s attention to detail, gorgeous in it’s nostalgia, and even more amazing when set to the instrumental wonder of the band. I could go on about the video but it’s something you need to see to truly appreciate. Make sure to turn up the HD to 1080p while you’re at it as well. You will not be disappointed.

Honorable Mentions:

Jack White- “Sixteen Saltines”
Rufus Wainwright- “Out of the Game”
And this violin cover of Ellie Goulding’s “Lights”

What were some of your favorite music videos of last year?