Clapton washes some JJ Cale blacktop under his wheels, Nicki Minaj blasts some sap rap over pill porn, Riff Raff finds himself deep sea trophy muff diving and more in another week of the best, yet most times the worst, lyric vids of the week. Just be tasteful, people – why is this so hard to do?

Eric Clapton & Friends – ‘Call Me the Breeze

In homage to “Cocaine” and “After Midnight” lyric author, Clapton’s put together a star-studded tribute to the late JJ Cale, kicked off here with a nothing-that-the-road-can’t-heal pick-up-truck animation one part little Beetlejuice village, one part Gumby rendition of Cale’s ’72 gem “Call Me the Breeze” rolls out in verse on the cartoon concrete:

"Call Me the Breeze"

Rise Against – ‘I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore

Chicago steel-cut punk vets tease July 15’s The Black Market with the frustrated, “I don’t Want to Be Here Anymore,” that an animator did a stellar job of whipping across your eyeballs the way of curious lyric tricks – marker slashes verses, spiraling choruses – but what’s with the narcissistic photo shoot backdrop? Boring, dudes:

"I Don't Want to be Here Anymore"

Nicki Minaj – ‘Pills N Potions

The sad junkie sentiment’s there, and the smokey red-hued stills of the concrete jungle’s finest seductive side – the inky glow of subway stalls, cocktails frozen mid-pour – pull their weight, but it’s all ruined with a mish-mosh font palate and cartoonish shots of pill porn:

"Pills N Potions"

Riff Raff – ‘Aquaberry Dolphin

Poaching the same animator as the Saturday Morning Cartoon-unsettling “Kokayne” dreams of last week, Xavier Ruffin casts the mood deep sea black, letting Riff Raff and Mac Miller’s gutter rap about Charlie Sheen attitudes and “bitches by the catalogue” float up nice and ominous like Steve Zissou shining a piss-yellow spotlight on the jaguar shark. So aesthetically, Ruffin, clap, clap. Otherwise, the lame writing’s on the wall. Er, water:

"Aquaberry Dolphin"

Jack Johnson – ‘Washing Dishes

Sleeper single from Johnson’s LP6, From Here to Now to You, maybe not as charming as his handwritten efforts in the clouds on “I Got You,” replaced by a cinematic, wide-angle montage of beach city scenes and a clean tall font. But for a blue-collar song with easy-street hopes, the eye-candy never goes over-the-top, letting the King of Surfer Folk preach just right:

"Washing Dishes"