Rock & Roll Globe’s 20 Great Music Videos of 2025
Some much-needed distractions and a little resilience to recap this trying year
We should be thankful for the end of a terrible political year and that we have over 20 music videos here to forget our troubles, except that they don’t exactly do that.
Don’t get me wrong as some of these are wonderful distractions — moving, hilarious, bizarre. But many of the videos also deal with our dire situation now and why shy away from that? Nowadays, we need to be vigilant AND find time for fun and distractions. Here we have jazz, rap, pop, reggae, electronica, alt-country, folk, noise and classical getting played out with history, a choir, a flash mob, therapy, a soundtrack, cartoons come to life, strange patriotism, phony patriotism, backflips, parody, two reunions, table percussion, a dying tradition, resilience and more.
It all totals almost 3 ½ hours of sights and sounds that you can dive into one-by-one below or go all-in with this YouTube playlist. Happy holidaze, y’all.
Marshall Allen/Neneh Cherry “New Dawn” Touching making-of-the-music session with the 100 year old jazz legend leaving home to go to the studio, meeting and hugging friends and getting down to business. Nothing elaborate and not needed. Honestly, how many of us are gonna live to be centenarians and still be active and vital?
Fiona Apple “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)” So, where has Fiona been for the last several years after her acclaimed Fetch the Bolt Cutters album? Not woodshedding. She’s actually been a court watcher for Free Black Mamas DMV, a group that raises funds for women who get locked up in pretrial detention for the ‘sin’ of not having bail money. As such, this poignant video shows us several such women and their stories. And if you wanna do your part and help out this worthy organization, you can go to their website and donate.
Atmosphere “Really” At the start, you might be impressed that 53-year-old rapper Slug is doing a fire-suit stunt and fight scene himself. We even see ‘em prep for it, but first, he has to get his back brace. Spoiler alert: stunt coordinator Gabe Nunez is actually the one who gets lit, and not Slug. Nice reggae-flavored tune though.
BBC“A reggae choir in London supports a man during his proposal” Maybe the most touching thing you’ll see this year. A bird’s eye view of the event that’s out of the way enough from the couple for us to see the beautiful moment uninterrupted. Thankfully, she said “yes.” FYI, the song there is “Love Me Forever” by Carlton & the Shoes. Also, why aren’t there more reggae choirs?
John Cale “Artifacts” Originally filmed in 2000 for a series that documents ‘queer, underground and avant garde culture,’ Cale gets filmed at home while an old school land line phone rings constantly in the background. We hear of JC coming to NYC in the early ‘60s, the different radical (and different) worlds of La Monte Young and Andy Warhol he was a part of, first being impressed by Lou Reed by how he made coffee and how they were showing disdain for early Velvets audiences. And yet, this wasn’t his most startling video of this year (see below).
Channel 4 News “Fatboy Slim teaching ‘therapy of music’ to support mental health” Ah, Norman Cook, the UK party animal who could bring 1000’s of people together to dance and who once told a judge that his fans would cut his honor’s balls off. Here in his mellower, later years, we hear the touching story of how music saved his own life and how he’s giving back by showing his DJ trade to people struggling with mental health problems. Maybe Deadmau5 could learn a thing or two from him.
Julien Cohen “The most INSANE Bohemian Rhapsody Flashmob you will ever see!!” You kind of wish that Cohen wasn’t so over-the-top with his title and the unnecessary video cues for the home audience but this really is something special. Seeding his performers around a Paris plaza and in open windows, he recreates the Queen classic and delights onlookers all around him, as he directs the proceedings on piano. The star of the show though is 12-year-old axe shredder Olly Pearson, who fills Brian May’s shows pretty damn well. Freddy would have loved it too.
Charli xcx “House featuring John Cale” As a Reddit commenter said for most of us, “a John Cale/Charli xcx collab was not on my bingo card.” Cale is featured much more in the song than CX but before you cry about reversing the billing, it IS her song and she was the Velvets fan who roped in the old Welshman, inspired by the upcoming Wuthering Heights movie. Pretty crafty of her to score a gothic romance with a classic proto-Goth dude too.
Cypress Hill, London Symphony Orchestra “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That (Live)” Thirty years ago, guesting on an episode of the Simpsons, the show had joked about Hill working with the fabled orchestra. After a 2017 tweet from the band calling back to that, the Brits actually replied to them and then this unlikely concert finally happened this year. And you know what? As insane (in the membrane) as it sounds, you watch the video and it actually works. In fact, it’s a damn triumph, not just for Hill but also the orchestra.
Dan Deacon “The Star Spangled Banner” For a summer game, the Baltimore Orioles were hip enough to book this inventive electronic/dance artist who happens to be a hometown boy. DD does electronic voice manipulation that sounds as much like T-Pain as early Laurie Anderson, making a chorus out of his voice at times. The crowd is as reverent as always with the National Anthem but some of ‘em do get a little confused when he ramps it up towards the end. Not as great as Jimi or Marvin’s renditions but a hell of a lot better than Carl Lewis or Rosanne Barr.
Deltron 3030 “Making Delton 3030” Lots of praise for Del (and why not?) but lots of arguing about who came up with the idea (him or Dan the Automator, you decide). Also, we see all the cool sci-fi literary and film sources for the project. And maybe wonder why we don’t have more sci-fi rap concepts (anyone remember Rammellzee?).
Doja Cat “My Jeans Are Blee” After the tone deaf American Eagle jean ad with Sydney Sweeney that dog-whistled white culture (which she pathetically denied), DC makes her own homemade ad — it’s stupid and silly, as it should be, and makes its point quickly and cleanly.
Drive-By Truckers with Jason Isbell “Hell No, I Ain’t Happy” (LIVE on The Late Show) At one time, DBT sported three righteous songwriters/guitarists. Hard to believe that it’s been almost 20 years since Isbell went on his own and made a (bigger) name for himself. This isn’t just a nice reunion but also features a fierce guitar battle between Isbell and Mike Cooley. Now if only they could get Shonna Tucker back into the fold, even temporarily.
Emil Friis “Five Corners of Blue” This Danish composer had the ambitious idea to have his latest album visualized song-by-song by different directors, providing would-be soundtracks before the fact (much like Eno). For this forlorn tune, Shaun Hart creates a snapshot of a story with a fun-loving white trash couple frolicking around the desert and flashbacks to an angry friend who they’ve turned sour on and now comes back to confront them as they try to escape. Makes you want to see the rest of the would-be film.
“Industry Standard performs on ARC Rochester ahead of Avant Garde a Clue 2” The experimental singer only performs for 10 seconds for a bemused local TV show but it’s pretty exhilarating— in a wash of echo, he yells and does multiple back flips. If you just wanna see the performance, you can skip ahead to it here. Still, you kind of wish the pond scum monster seen earlier there would have participated though.
Last Week Tonight “Lee Greenwood” The ‘patriotic’ one-hit wonder is appropriately roasted by John Oliver, as LG tries to compare himself favorably to Jimmy Buffet (who made a lot more hay out of his hit) and Prince (who shouldn’t be mentioned in the same sentence as a prick like Greenwood). Also, the show thoughtfully provides a more appropriate patriotic song starring Will Ferrell, complete with circus animals, cheerleaders and a Mountain Dew diss.
Laura Lootens “Capriccio diabolico, Op. 85a by Mario Castelnuovo—Tedesco” Punching a hole in two long-time myths here. One, that classical music is crusty, old, boring— this amazing German musician (now on her second album) is more active sitting down and playing than most hipster indie rock acts, cradling her instrument, leaning into it and caressing it at times like a lover. Also, great guitarists aren’t always about volume— she’s unplugged and dexterous and could give many rock heroes a run for their money. She’s soothing and exhilarating at the same time— something that rockers can rarely pull off too. And being a beautiful woman doesn’t hurt her either. Also, filming this in a gorgeous old venue and swirling the camera around her makes it even more breathtaking to watch. Next time she’s in town, I wanna see her live.
Dave Mullins “War Is Over!” Originally from 2023, now making its YouTube debut, this bagged the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film the following year, via the director whose animations brought us Up and Incredibles 2 among others. As part of the Pixar stable, Mullins’ work here bears their soft gauzy style. Done in conjunction with co-writer Sean Ono Lennon (and co-produced by Yoko) to showcase his parents’ ‘70s anti-war anthem and holiday fave, the short film now benefits the War Child charity (for kids affected by war), The action of the dialog-free video is the end of WWI, featuring the trench warfare, a pair of chess players from opposing sides and a determined carrier pigeon. Kind of corny, but also very moving.
Kate Nash “Germ” Flashing red-colored naked female body parts with large type messaging, Nash makes a strong political statement here. Trans people are not a threat to her and shouldn’t be to anyone. There is a more real threat out there though, especially in terms of rapes in England. “The biggest threat from CIS women sadly comes from CIS men.”
Of Mexican Descent “The Gulf of Mexico Ft. Limari” As ICE creates government-sanctioned mayhem across US cities now, this LA rap duo reunites and reminds us of the contributions of the Hispanic population now being terrorized, using vintage clips of laborers toiling away and fretting. To drive home the point, the first half of the song doesn’t even feature beats, but just dramatic piano trills. As the beats come in later in the song, we also see images of Hispanic art and heritage, showing the indomitable spirit of the culture and reminding us what an important part of American culture it is.
Patti Smith ““Peaceable Kingdom” (LIVE on The Late Show)” Perfectly timed right after the Democratic election victories in November, Smith performs alongside pianist and longtime band member Tony Shanahan. The part to watch, and the part that’ll move you, is near the end when she pulls in a few lines from “People Have the Power,” with an unmistakable political message, which the studio audience picks up on right away.
Snow Tha Product “SABADO” This San Jose rapper is all in on her crazy family and their wild, hilarious antics. As much as they fight, argue and brawl, one thing brings them all together— ICE sucks.
“Sō Percussion performs Olivier Tarpaga’s “Fēfē”” Now a quarter-century old, this Grammy-winning modern classical quartet got all out on a 18-minute composition from a Burkina Faso composer/choreographer/lecturer now at Princeton. Anyone with a short attention span can focus on the first part (‘Bush Tax’) which has the group rhythmically tapping and pounding on a table for the first three minutes before moving on to their proper instruments to jam. Later, they get more meditative before diving into some wild polyrhythms and sharing a giant marimba.
SWNS “One of Britain’s last ‘pub pianists’ with 4,300 songs fears the tradition dying out” Trev the Piano Man, as he’s known, has spent about 45 years traveling around England, banging out more songs than the average radio station will play in a few years. Once ubiquitous in the UK, his colleagues are now down to a handful. Trev works on spontaneity and never does the same set of songs twice and can usually respond to audience requests with the right tune. In a digital age, most Gen Alpha music fans have no idea about his craft and their kids may never see or hear the likes of him, sad to say.
Jesse Welles/Joan Baez “No Kings” The great debate about this young folkie is whether he’s the real deal or a fame-seeking faker. I’m in the first group myself though I admit that Dylan comparisons only get him howls of derision (much as it did back in the ‘70s with the likes of Wainwright, Prine, etc.). Even with the folkie goddess joining him here live for this wonderful anti-fascist anthem, the haters will still hate but to hell with ‘em. Even if Ol’ Bob was up there giving him daps, the doubters would still crap their pants.
Neil Young “as time explodes – 2.0” Other than Springsteen and Jack White, maybe no other major rocker in ‘25 has stood up to Trump in song as strongly, with Neil even musing that he might get sent back to Canada, though that doesn’t stop him from speaking out. “Big Crime” addresses the Orange Menace more directly but here in less than two minutes, Young lays bare the plight of the immigrants that help keep American farms going. And no bailout that this administration does for the agriculture sector will counter the wave of deportations that saps the labor force there.
VIDEO: Best Videos of 2025 playlist
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- Rock & Roll Globe’s 20 Great Music Videos of 2025 - December 21, 2025
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