NEWS: Best Of The Queer (2025)
A tradition as old as time, or at least since the conception of midnight RAGE screenings, and more recently with the advent of streaming has been the gay music video watch party. Marvelling at queer bodies in all shapes and sizes and narratives taking up space is affirming and euphoric as it is just plain fun. The team here at CLIPPED.TV have brought you some staff picks for last year’s best* bold, risqué and often underrepresented visions of queer forays into the weird and wonderful.
Kee’Ahn – Heavy (Dir. Kee’ahn)
‘Heavy’ begins with a beckoning towards nature and a greater sense of responsibility, with trees branching between lineages and hands carrying the weight of connective tissue. Sapphic Flicks handled production on this and the music video is colour graded beautifully, with shots of greenery accentuating the figures nestled amongst the elements. Kee’Ahn was her own stylist and the natural look does wonders.
Ninajirachi – Fuck My Computer (Dir. Ball Bass John)
NSW-based DJ and producer Ninajirachi had a breakout year with her debut album I Love My Computer, which propelled the artist to new heights. The lead single ‘Fuck My Computer’ isn’t a horny song as the title may suggest, but a deeply personal and catchy ode to the relationship the artist has with her computer having grown up on the internet like most Gen-Z and millennials. The music video jam packs references to furries, anime memes and video-game communities into a brain-rotten core of electro hyperpop slop that you’d be so lucky to consume.
Teether + Kuya Neil – DIAL UP (Dir. Phillip Dixon VII)
The inimitable chameleonic force that is the now London-based, Naarm-raised rapper Teether with producer Kuya Neil has produced some of the rawest experimental hip-hop earworms of recent memory. The visuals for their most recent release and debut album YEARN IV were mostly handled by Phillip Dixon VII and excellently matched this energy with visuals that blur senses of locality, time, identity and belonging. ‘DIAL UP’ is the madcap brilliant crescendo of the work of artists ceaselessly redefining themselves, and it’s fascinating to witness even briefly.
Tanzer – Maximum Glamour (Dir. Tanzer and WILK)
What does it mean to truly serve? Tanzer strikes a pose and makes it count with an immediately iconoclastic and fun video recalling the work of Grace Jones and early RuPaul. The music video for ‘Maximum Glamour’ is filmed entirely in black and white, and the costuming handled by Frockhard, with jewellery from Metal Couture and shoes by Fluevog manages to shine even in muted tones. Absolutely divine work.
Dyan Tai – Broke Popstar (Dir. Audley Anderson)
GRWM in the most slay way imaginable. Dylan Tai joins forces with artist BVT and rapper Jamaica Moana on ‘Broke Popstar’ and the result is a head-spinning good time. Being broke with expensive taste yet making it work all the same, the looks served by all artists are impeccable with particular praise for the art direction by Dylan Tai who has the most wonderfully eclectic style.
June Jones – Bachelorette (Dir. June Jones)
June Jones subverts and subtly critiques the isolating experience of pop artists, as well as the expectations of trans women in the excellent video for ‘Bachelorette’. As Jones bemoans the arduous process of finding real connections, by serenading the web camera in a relatively simple set-up this acts to turn the gaze inwards towards the viewer as the artist becomes both a mirror and refraction of herself.
Robert Baxter – Camboy (Dir. Maxine Zanoni)
Queer pop star and icon Robert Baxter explores longing and desire through the lens of a camera, with lovers past and present accessible from the click of a button. Aesthetics and a satirical level of artifice come into play as we see Baxter engage with everything, and everyone all at once in a game of mass seduction. This video was impeccably shot, utilising primarily VHS and digital filming from DOP Ryan Bell. The use of colour is striking as well and adds an intentionally risqué undercurrent to the whole affair.
Thorne – Honey (Dir. Zoe Robinson)
A super sweet music video we covered earlier in the year, this visual from established artist Thorne is brimming with sensual queer joy and radiant optimism. The cinematography and use of lenses in ‘Honey’ is a particular highlight, with the camera work from cinematographer Tengis Dorj capturing the intimacy shared between lovers with a warm glow. Come for a catchy r’n’b bop and stay for a beautifully filmed and steamy summer romance.
Ruby Gill – Touch Me There (Dir. Bridgette Winten)
Community is a concept often bandied about facetiously or misused for commercial purposes, but in the tender video for ‘Touch Me There’ by Ruby Gill community shows up literally on screen and figuratively in the song’s lyrics. The music video, filmed at Pony Club Gym in Preston has bodies of all shapes, sizes and genders in play with each other. Filmed, directed and edited by Bridgette Winten, the visuals feature gorgeous light leaks which open up both Ruby and the viewer to a serene sense of self-acceptance.
effie isobel – Moon Made (Dir. Grace Stewart)
effie isobel, an upcoming Kaurna-based artist with a very promising career in the works, collaborated with director Grace Stewart to create this intricate gem of a music video. The staff at CLIPPED.TV raved about this video earlier in the year for its feminist eschewing of patriarchal gaze and narratives as well as the bold visual language present. ‘Moon Made’ finds a way to be both in reference to and reinvent visual tropes of the fantasy and horror genres.
effe – Final Girl (Dir. Joe Agius)
Last but certainly not least, effe is a Naarm-based artist who blends vintage trip-hop with modern electronic pop sounds. In ‘Final Girl’ we see the artist stuck in a liminal space, reflecting on the fleeting nature of a romantic relationship she was in before her lover found someone new. The artist and band woozily going back and forth as onlookers walk past recalls the grunge styles of the late nineties and early naughts but with a more subdued and eerily isolated energy.
If you think there’s any iconic music videos we missed or artists we should cover for next year, please let us know in the comments or via email us!
*This was meant to be a ‘Top 10’ but 11 is an angel number and I can’t kill my darlings when the darlings in question are incredibly talented local queer artists.
