Playlists are fun, but music videos are art. I don’t understand why there isn’t a loop playing on every corner. Thanks to Denton’s filmmaking and arts scene, local music video quality is better than ever. Check out this year’s nominees for Best Music Video. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll repeat to hear the songs again.

DOMA kid - Little Johnny (Let’s Start a Cult)

Some say Denton itself is a cult, DOMA kid’s music video features a character trying to start a cult in downtown with what appears to be improvised responses from passersby. Directed by Sunny Perera, (who also did the video for Nakamara’s “Dopamine”) this video is a high-quality production with UNT filmmakers forming the crew. And Little Johnny is a damn groovy funk song that was one of the best songs released in 2018.

BODY ENGLISH - Tea Leaf Dancers (Flying Lotus Cover)

I love a beautifully lit video, and I love a clash between blue and red. BODY ENGLISH’s music video is simple, but it’s a gorgeous video that’s effortlessly cool like the members themselves. Music videos are meant to express the artists’ vibe, and this one is perfectly representative.

Claire Morales - No Telling

Claire Morales is a fantastic visual artist in her own right. In “No Telling” Morales collaborates with Ellie Alonzo to produce a whimsical video that’s a peek into artsy playground within Morales’ head. The dream is to have Claire Morales and St. Vincent collaborate, and then we can call it a day for the human existence.

Hey Cowboy! - Cowgirl

Aysha Nadurath portrays a calm strength in this Hey Cowboy! video in which her character is haunted by two shadows and snapshot memories of her ex while at a house party. It delves into a montage of overlay images in an intense middle sequence that could have been from a David Lynch post-it note. Art directors Marcus Villela Coronado and Kevin Barahona made something great here in collaboration with cinematographers Jordan Jenkins and Bijan Zadeh.

Sad Cops - Honey

Sad Cops teamed up again with Austin Roa, who also directed videos for “Numb Hand” and “It’s Eating at Me.” We never see vocalist Grayson Harris without his head on keyboardist Colin Wheeler’s shoulder, and I’m not sure which one I want to hug more. Throughout the video we see a boy and girl enjoying the peaks of their relationship in places such as Recycled Books and the Chairy Orchard. This one’s sure to tug some heartstrings for those Dentonites who have cherished memories from relationships that have since had their last gasp.

Header image by Kylie Phillips