Yesterday we shared our favorite Milwaukee music of 2024; today it’s our favorite Milwaukee music videos of 2024. Settle in and enjoy some creative, funny, weird, and impressive clips.

Allison Mahal – “18 Moving South”

During a snowy afternoon last winter, Milwaukee (by way of Nashville) folk-rock artist Allison Mahal delivered one doozy of a video submission for NPR’s popular Tiny Desk series. Instead of crowding into a cubicle, Mahal and her bandmates trudged down the steps and back in time by setting up between lanes at Riverwest’s beloved Falcon Bowl. As if gorgeous footage of a classic Milwaukee bowling haunt isn’t already great enough, Mahal’s previously unreleased “18 Moving South” is a stunning single in its own right. And the fact her backing band is wearing bowling shoes is just the cherry on top. [Tyler Maas]

Bunk Bed – “Crowd And Judgement”

What makes a modern-day music video inspired by low-rent horror movies from the past a good modern-day music video inspired by low-rent horror movies from the past? A dedication to shooting the thing on old MiniDV and VHS camcorders! That’s just what the gents in Milwaukee indie/art-rock band Bunk Bed did for the video for “Crowd And Judgement,” a song from from their 2022 Top Bunk, Bottom Bunk EP. Shot and directed by Michael Frank and Bunk Bed keyboardist Chris Ouchie, the grainy clip shows the band “enjoying doing the things they love on a beautiful Milwaukee day, while their murderous doppelgängers stalk them down and kill them in cold blood.” Fun! [Matt Wild]

Caley Conway – “Heart Of Liquid”

Caley Conway’s excellent 2024 album Partner is full of dreams. So, too, is the ambitious and high-end video for leadoff track “Heart Of Liquid.” The gorgeous sci-fi-inspired clip—created by Ehson Rad of Sahn Productions—features Conway nodding off and encountering a mysterious robot with a power ring for a face and what looks like an old Lazer Tag vest strapped to its chest. From there, Conway is off on a time-hopping head trip that may or may not be a dream, but is definitely worth dropping in on. [MW]

Fight Dice – “Attack The Drider”

Did you know Milwaukee has its very own Dungeons & Dragons-inspired music collective featuring past and current members The Promise Ring, Braid, Hey Mercedes, Maritime, and Tigernite? It’s true! In September, Fight Dice released its debut album full of decidedly heavy RPG-themed songs. Their single, “Attack The Drider,” leans hard into the D&D concept with lyrical references to a dungeon master and the man/spider hybrid for which the song is named. The accompanying video hammers that home. Directed by Kyle Arpke of Silver City Video (and Milwaukee Record birding article fame!), Fight Dice literally puts the “roll” into rock and roll, as a group of kids gathers in a suburban basement for a spirited game of D&D. Magic and mayhem ensue. [TM]

Fuzzysurf – “Sucky”

On Friday, September 13, Fuzzysurf—with the help of familiar creative cohorts Tommy Simms and Joe Ludwig of Simwig Studios—released a video with a concept that directly confronts the topic of bad luck. The visual pairing for the band’s standalone single “Sucky” finds each of the group’s members experiencing a series of misfortunes as they go about their day. As the string of terrible events grows ever longer, viewers get to see a bunch of Milwaukee landmarks and local references in a variety of neighborhoods before a bad day eventually turns into downright catastrophe. [TM]

Garden Home – “The Worst Of It”

One of the highlights of Garden Home’s excellent 2024 self-titled debut is “The Worst Of It,” a track we praised for its “pummeling goodness” and “career-best riffage.” The video for the song is similarly loaded with all things pummeling and riff-happy—and it does it all in one shot! Directed and edited by Samer Ghani, the full-band performance video plays out in a single uninterrupted take. Upping the ante are oodles of hanging picture frames—visual shout-outs to Garden Home‘s cover art and the band’s recent publicity shots. [MW]

Gold Steps – “Narcissist”

Despite its undeniable hooks, powerful lyrics, and oodles of upbeat energy (it is a Gold Steps track, after all!), “Narcissist” manages to emphatically address the unfair treatment women routinely face on behalf of narrow-minded men. The video, which was shot by Milwaukee videographer Samer Ghani at FD Studios in Chicago, builds on that theme with vocalist Betty Mauritz squaring off with a narcissistic adversary who threatens to take her down. With wardrobe and set design the band describes as “The Matrix meets the mob,” the feud intensifies before Mauritz puts a sudden end to things by calling in reinforcements. [TM]

Immortal Girlfriend – “Calling”

Directed by James Tindell, the “Calling” video features Immortal Girlfriend (brothers Kevin and William Bush) acting as ringside commentators during a Turner Hall Ballroom wrestling match. That is, until an act of violence against a treasured keepsake belonging to Kevin sends the siblings over the top rope and into the middle of the action. Tindell shot the footage on 16mm film to help “create a cohesive blend of nostalgia,” because “pro wrestling and synthwave music both straddle a line between the past and present.” Come for the outstanding Immortal Girlfriend song and stick around for the high-flying wrestling footage. [TM]

J.P. + 414BigFrank – “Locked In”

Twenty-twenty-four was a big year for J.P. The young Milwaukee rapper racked up millions upon millions of streams with his single “Bad Bitty,” was profiled in Billboard, and released the full-length record Coming Out Party. Fellow Milwaukee lowend rapper 414BigFrank had a big year, too, releasing a slew of videos and the full-length record Can Never Make Me Hate You. Put the two together, however, and you get a special kind of magic. Enter the video for J.P. and 414BigFrank’s “Locked In.” “Within 20 seconds,” said Evan Rytlewski in a profile on the dynamic duo, “their comedic personas are so defined you can almost imagine them in a buddy comedy where they inherit a cattle ranch or accidentally start a cult or something.” MAKE THAT MOVIE. [MW]

Ladybird – “Short King Shuffle”

Shot and edited by Samer Ghani, the “Short King Shuffle” music video finds titular “short king” Pete Freeman, his bandmates, and a “tall queen” busting out of the slammer. After easily evading a police officer (played by Mike Holloway of Garden Home and Okay Omen) and picking up a few more ladies, the outlaws wind up drinking and playing poker with some questionable characters at Club Garibaldi. Things get out of hand, people are double-crossed, and the short king ultimately loses his queen…but not before viewers get to see a fun video that pairs perfectly with an even funnier song. [TM]

RayShotItProductions

If you’ve enjoyed a local hip-hop video or two, you’ve likely heard the words “RayShotIt in the building!” before those videos. That’s because a metric ton of local hip-hop videos are the work of RayShotItProductions—a.k.a. Milwaukee cinematographer Ray Moore. A quick scan of RayShotIt’s YouTube channel reveals nearly 300 videos shot in 2024 alone. That’s, um, a lot of videos! So consider this entry a salute to the entire RayShotIt oeuvre—which will likely grow by a dozen before week’s end. [MW]

Something To Do – “Sweet Caffeination”

True to the uptempo and brass-laden ska song’s hyperactive sound, the Cole McCormack-directed video concept for “Sweet Caffeination” centers on a mobile-working protagonist—expertly played by Something To Do member Jessi Dills—powering through Zoom meetings with the help of coffee. Perhaps influenced by the caffeine (or something far more sinister?), the video conference gradually takes a dark turn that eventually transforms “work from home” into “run for life.” The exceptional makeup skills of Layla Nowak also deserve some attention in this one. [TM]

SteveDaStoner – “RWS” (Walmart performance)

Okay, this isn’t exactly a proper music video, but hear us out. Milwaukee rapper SteveDaStoner found plenty of viral fame this year by dropping in on random places—Walmart, Culver’s, Chuck E. Cheese—and performing his song “RWS” (a.k.a. “Really Wack Shit”) to the delight and sometimes confusion of the general public. Hell, the idea got so big that none other than Ludacris reached out to SteveDaStoner and brought him along for his own surprise show at 3rd Street Market Hall during Summerfest. Heads up if you hear the words “Free concert!” while you’re grocery shopping or something. [MW]

Valerie Lighthart – Small Town Starlet

Why simply release an album and a couple of three-minute music videos when you can release an album that’s the soundtrack to a 70-minute narrative film/musical? That was the challenge tireless Milwaukee singer-songwriter Valerie Lighthart gave herself in 2023 and 2024, and a challenge she handily conquered. The semi-autobiographical and self-described “silly, campy, and sweet” Small Town Starlet deals with “performance, growing up without a father, fear of men, complicated family dynamics, codependency, and the bindings of poverty through a lens of technicolor hope and delusional daydreaming.” Lighthart has always gone above and beyond with her music and videos, but she topped herself with Small Town Starlet. [MW]

Vanity Plates – “Posthumous Fame”

According to vocalist/guitarist Alex Shah, Vanity Plates’ “Posthumous Fame” was inspired by musicians who didn’t garner mass appeal until after their death. As deep and dark as the (great) song’s concept is, its Omar Lozano-shot and -directed video is significantly less serious. While Shah says a connection between the single and its visual pairing could be made, he mostly just wanted to hang out at the Mitchell Park Domes—one of his favorite spots in the city—with his bandmates. Additional performance footage was shot at The Factory, which is also in the Clark Square neighborhood. [TM]