But here's the thing about 2010: There's no way "Alejandro" will be the most bizarre/horrifying/ridiculous video of the year. It's been a banner year so far for WTF music videos, and even Gaga's "Telephone," though a serious contender, isn't the most absurd entry in this particular sweepstakes. What is? Read on. Again, this is approximately 50 percent NSFW and at least 30 percent not safe for watching while eating (NSFWWE).
10. Erykah Badu: "Window Seat" The public nudity in Dallas, the thinly veiled shooting on the grassy knoll -- there are plenty of things about this video that make it controversial. It earned Badu a citation that is best described as a tap on the wrist and also vastly more publicity than her new album would have had otherwise. But as far as WTF goes, this probably isn't even the most ridiculous thing Ms. Badu did that day. She marches to the beat of... an alien drummer or something.
09. Justin Bieber: "Baby" The WTF here comes more from the existence of Bieber's career in the first place than anything that actually happens here. If we had told you a year ago that the breakout pop star and possible album sales winner of 2010 would be a white preteen from Canada converting a YouTube career into superstardom, what would you have said? And then there's the inevitable offshoots of having a pop star this young: Are any of the girls he hits on shorter than him? Why is Drake hanging out in a bowling alley on high school night? Does Ludacris's verse sort of count as pedophilia?
08. Drake: "Find Your Love" The song sounds like a pretty standard contemporary R&B lover-man jam. The video has a very different message: Don't fuck with Jamaicans. Seriously. Just don't.
07. Vampire Weekend: "Giving Up The Gun" Let's list the cameos in order of appearance: RZA, Joe Jonas, Daft Punk look-a-likes, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lil Jon. Yep. Now let's go through their roles, again in order: Line judge, tennis player, tennis player, tennis player and coach. We always did think Lil Jon was very inspirational.
06. Insane Clown Posse: "Miracles" There's so little to be said at this point. There's the already iconic "Fuckin' magnets, how do they work?," but we'd like to take this opportunity to champion the line "Fucking rainbows, after it rains/There's enough miracles here to blow your brains." Beautiful. Fuckin' beautiful.
05. How To Destroy Angels: "The Space In Between" Trent Reznor has been making fucked up music videos for a very long time, and you'll be glad to know that his latest project, with his wife, is just as creepy and weird as ever. Behold "The Space In Between," which starts in a horror-movie hotel hallway. From there, we are introduced to a lucky couple bleeding profusely, presumably murdered, recently. Except then the woman starts singing all still and sunken like some kind of zombie, and there's another couple just sitting in the room with them like nothing is happening. And we haven't even ruined all the surprises in store.
04. MGMT: "Flash Delirium" "Yeah, my coming home party was kind of boring until my great uncle yanked a giant tube worm of some sort out of my neck-hole." Been there, my man. Been there.
03. Lady Gaga: "Telephone" This is another one where there's not much left to say. The prison dance sequence, the phone-hair, the worst cooking show ever, the offing of Tyrese (et. al.)... seriously, it's worth watching again. Every scene's a gem.
02. HEALTH: "We Are Water" Ah, cross-dressing and testicle-stabbing with a machete. Just another day at the office for HEALTH and director Tim Wareheim. This is probably the most effective music video on this list in that the song is the perfect soundtrack to this scene, weird and horrifying and tense. HEALTH, by the way, is incredible live.
01. M.I.A.: "Born Free" Now, we live in a desensitized age where one can find bestiality at the click of a button and special effects have allowed for the sort of graphic violence that would make our grandparents turn several shades of Christmas colors. But the video for M.I.A.'s "Born Free," off her upcoming full-length / \ / \ / \ Y / \ (it's her name, Maya, sort of), is truly sickening. We strongly suggest you not watch this, and just take our word for it.
