So awesome that this year, there were 11.

Each video had a production house behind it and with their budget, they were asked to make a music video to compete with international standards.

Man, did they deliver. There were a few duds, I must admit. But the gems were truly diamonds in the rough.

Here’s my take, in countdown order of preference.

Moses Metro Man’s Samoerai is so average; I’d change the channel if I see it on TV. With its lame ‘damsel in distress’ storyline, it fails to impress and takes away from a generally okay song. Though the cymbals on fire is super awesomely cool.

Gebed van n’ Reeksmoordenaar by Krimineel is also quite boring. The acting and the entire setup is not convincing enough to draw in a viewer or listener. When a band is involved in the storyline of the video, there needs to be a certain amount of acting involved, and the willingness to relinquish the ‘pop star’ image. This video has neither. Also, there should be a strobe warning at the beginning of the video.

I would expect more from this band, but Dance You’re on Fire’s Oh Love is highly disappointing. The slowed-down effects don’t work – the speed is entirely wrong and the video is totally incongruent with the song; the styles just don’t match up. The theme of curious kids in the forest is also quite old unless done in a totally new way. A video that does this amazingly is CrashCarBurn’s Under a Falling Sky. This doesn’t come close to that quality.

iScreamStix is a funny little group. The only totally non-rock entry, I liked the difference in style and feel. The video for Skitzo starts off almost like the beginning of The Dark Knight when the team of clowns gather to rob a bank. But then it turns into The Beastie Boy’s Sabotage. It’s ridiculous, comedic and really cool, with hints of Osama-in-the-mountains footage. The band and actors take the mickey out of the genre by playing it so well and seriously.

Duimpie Se Maat’s Moonshine is pretty cool, but little else. It has a trailer park meets ginger bread house feel to it. The video is a lesson in Hipster for Afrikaans music listeners. If anyone has watched the recent quite demented take on Little Red Riding Hood, you’d appreciate this. It’s like The Brothers Grimm with garden toolshed weapons.

Harlem by Goodluck is a rad song and the video is equally cool. Coming in at number six, this video takes the African-American ghetto theme and plonks it in South Africa. It works. It’s hopeful, semi socio-political and representative of a culture we all know, mixed with positive party vibe. It reminds me of Basement Jaxx and what the ‘90s tried to do with mixing a good song with a non-nightclub video.

Now, I love zombies. And I love slasher films. Double Adapter’s Eat You Alive combines the two. It’s gore heaven. Surrounded by zombies, a Mila Jovovich wannabe feeds a hoard of partying zombies and they eat the band members. Simple, fun, gory.  What makes this video even better is that it is beautifully made. No extreme special effects. Just plain good filmmaking.

The Frown is a group that annoys me. They’re good, but bloody pretentious, which detracts from the music. The video for The National; one of my favourite tracks of theirs, is Pans Labyrinth with less awesome. The concept is great, but it would be more praiseworthy if it wasn’t trying to be like every other Sigur Ros video. The song is arbitrary as the video, and the style of the music lends itself to this, but I find The Frown trying too hard to be different. However, why I rate it as number four, is that it’s perfectly finished. Beauty abounds and it’s well-made splendor of hipster.

The Frown - The National

At number three is Destiny by Isochronous. These guys’ videos are always inspiring and captivating. Like they are amazing showmen on stage, they are excellent in front of the camera. The concept is simple, well-executed and not try-hard like most videos which use slo-mo. It’s a video which doesn’t try to do too much. It sends across the message of the music. I like the fact that it’s not just the front man, but every band member has a role to play in the video. Aside from being technically masterful, it’s enjoyable. The song comes into its own when the band leaves the storyline and plays together. Though I feel recording Isochronous does not do the music justice. It’s just too epic to be on a muted, mastered album.

Ashtray Electric have always interested me. Their music isn’t life-changing, but enjoyable nonetheless. The Bittersweet Manipulation video is gorgeous. It’s nothing epic, no expensive effects or big-budget action, but its beauty lies in its simplicity. The band members control this woman’s little world by playing around with a little paper model of her world, giving her many obstacles to overcome. A bittersweet manipulation. It’s Smashing Pumpkins’ Tonight Tonight meets Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Otherside. I love it.

Finally, my pick of this year’s MVPs is Mr Cat & The Jackal’s Fly. The concept is excellent, with a puppeteer drawing a girl into his world. It’s creepy. The intro is long, but the video’s intro is gripping and fascinating enough to keep the viewer hooked to when the song kicks in. The crux of the video is like finding Neverland and Narnia all at once; with a sense of impending doom. The creepiness makes me think ‘Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’. The shock at the end is not entirely unexpected but not entirely predictable either. It’s just one magnificent piece of artistry, which brings together good music and great filmmaking.

Find all the videos here.