Alex Walker

TASK 4A

The Streets are a British Hip hop/Garage band that formed in 1994. Hip hop music is tend to be written by solo artists or young men because that’s what kind of audience would listen to Hip Hop. Director – N/A

THE STREETS -

YOU’RE FIT BUT DON’T YOU KNOW IT

Genre Characteristics: Hip hop music tend to have attractive women, money in their video or something to suggest they do have a lot of money, sex and fighting.

Throughout the video there are scene implying sex which is emphasized by the lyrics also there is a scene where there is a fight between the singer and a group of men this is typical for a Hip hop video. Eg: 0.26, 1.33

Relationship between the lyrics and visuals:There is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals for example “You look like an eight or a nine maybe with four more beers you’ll be just fine” there’s visuals of the singer with four beers at a bar and a woman he is staring at whist singing. Next scene is when he goes “wandering to order

a burger or chips” he is looking at pictures of burgers and chips but also he mentions in the song about loosing his place in the line, which happens in the visuals. Next scene is when he goes and when the man in white behind us was clocking onto you” you see a man in white chatting

up a girl in the background. “Into the arms of some other man” we see her and the man in the pervious scene-leaving arm in arm. Relationship between music and visuals:

The visuals and the music flow but they don’t flow as well as they do with the chorus. This is because the beat/rhythm of the song in the verse varies so it’s hard for the changing of the photos to be in time with the music whereas the chorus the changing of the photos link with the music

because the music has a steady beat/rhythm. Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

There is a close up of the star when he is talking about the man in white with the woman he likes this could be to show his emotion about not getting the girl. This is the only close up shot in the whole video, which could be because this part of the video is significant.

Is there any reference to the notion of looking/voyeuristic qualities?Yes there are. The voyeurism is key in this video because it is about girls and looking/ trying to get with them. There are also parts where there is

nudity of the women suggesting the singer wants to get with the women in this video. The costume does play a part in us knowing that their intentions is to get with the girls because the women are wearing minimal clothing suggesting that they are easy and men can take advantage of

them. Is the video performance, narrative or concept based? How much of each?

The video as a whole I think is more narrative because it flows in a sequence as if it’s telling a story. The video helps us understand the story as he is showing us videos in a picture form. The narrative of the video is the singer has just come back from a holiday he had and he just picked up

his photos which he took. The photos are a set in a video and it links with the lyrics we so understand both the lyrics and the visuals

Green Day are an American Punk Rock band formed in 1987. Punk Rock began in 1974 and lyrically it had involved political and anti establishment themes. Mohawk hair, safety pinned clothes and make up worn on men was all part

of the era of Punk Rock. Punk Rock music tend to have an outcast, fighting and a performance involved in the music video. Jesus of Suburbia was directed by Samuel Bayer. There is two version of the music video, the 12

minute long video with the directors cut and the 9 minute long video.

GREEN DAY -

JESUS OF SUBURBIA (PUNK ROCK)

Genre characteristics: Punk Rock characteristics involves fighting, being an outcast and girls. Throughout the video for Jesus of Suburbia there are these themes throughout. For example the start of the

video you see the main guy (Jimmy) talking to a girl Jimmy is angry which is typical of punk rock music but it also involves a girl which again is typical for this music. Also Jimmy has the punk look with the black clothing, black hair and black eyeliner. Jimmy is an outcast with his family and has been rejected by a girl causing him to be angry and start fights to

release his anger. This is all what punk rock is about. Relationship between the lyrics and visuals:

Throughout the video there is strong inks between the video and the lyrics such as “get my television fixed” we see a image of a TV but also we see Green Day performing on the TV in black and white. “And Mary Jane to keep me insane doing someone else’s cocaine” We see Jimmy and Mary Jane (the girl from the start of the video) lying on the bed doing

cocaine. “At the centre of the earth in the parking lot” we see Jimmy sat in a parking lot kissing a new girl. “City of the dead” Jimmy writes on the wall ‘dead’ in time with the lyrics of the song this is the same with the part when the lyrics go “no one really seems to care”. All of this stands out because they are the only lyrics being written on the wall by Jimmy.

“Running away from pain when you’ve been victimised” shows Jimmy getting in a car and going and showing all the people throughout the video who he fought with which shows the victimised part of the song.

Relationship between music and visuals: The relationship between the music and visuals of Jesus of Suburbia works effectively. I think that the relationship with the music and visuals is stronger than the characteristics of

the genre of music. The start of the song is really effective, when the drums hit the camera changes in a way that makes the movements of Jimmy look jumpy which is really effective. Again when the drum hits there’s a scene where Jimmy is in bed with Mary Jane, he is on top the first drum hit then second drum hit Mary Jane is on top and third drum hit he is on top again furthermore this is all fast pace which matches the activity Jimmy and Mary Jane is doing. When the drum hit multiple times the girl is punching the air but the editing has made it on repeat so it makes it look like she is doing the drum sounds. The drum hit and camera change throughout the music video for Jesus of Suburbia happens on a regular

basis. The camera is shot are very fast pace and tend to be cut aways. Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

There are a lot of close ups on Jimmy throughout the video this is done to establish that Jimmy is our main character and he is who we are supposed to associate with. The start of the video shows Jimmy in close up it shows that he is smoking, we can see his rough punk looking hairstyle and his black eyeliner which is all typical for the punk style. Throughout the video the main thing which happens a lot in the video is smoking and drugs it is seen in close ups which could suggest it is important. There is an extreme close up of Jimmy’s

eyes which shows his anger this is typical for punk rock music. Is there any reference to the notion of looking/voyeuristic qualities?

There are a lot of voyeuristic qualities. For example there is a part in the music video where Jimmy is sat on the bed watching Mary Jane in her underwear getting changed ready to leave. The use of this is getting to know the relationship between Mary Jane and Jimmy because it’s as if he has asked her to leave and he is just watching her go. Another example which is strong in this video is the TV and Green Day playing on it. Jimmy may not have his full attention on it but the TV is being watched partly by Jimmy but mostly by us. There is a part in the music video where Jimmy does sit down and watch the TV. He is looking up at the TV as he is sat on the floor as if he admires/idolises Green Day as if he wants to be

Green Day. Is the video performance, narrative or concept based? How much of each?

The video is partly both performance and narrative. There is a performance on behalf of Green Day as they are playing on the TV throughout the whole video. It isn’t a direct performance but it is there and we do see Green Day as a band performing. The narrative of the video does give the song background and feeling as it shows how we are supposed to feel about the song. Jimmy is designed to represent us so the way he acts is the way we feel. The narrative doesn’t flow at the beginning for instance the start goes “you meant

nothing to me you’re just a pair of tits” then in the video we see him and Mary Jane together kissing so it’s like it’s a flashback and it is also showing us their relationship. The rest of the video does flow though in a story like way, how there’s a beginning and middle and an end.

Gotye is a multi musician singer and songwriter. Somebody I Used To Know is directed by Natasha Pincus and shows Gotye and Kimbra naked and as they sing their skins gradually get painted into the

backdrop via stop motion.

GOTYE -

SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW (INDIE POP)

Genre Characteristics:

Indie pop music characteristics include keyboards, drums & guitars instruments and the singers to have long wavy hair and like pastel and bright colors. There aren’t any instruments in the video but the video is full of pastel and bright colors due to the painted backdrop with pale colors

such as the pinks and greys but there is also bright colors with the green. Relationship between the lyrics and visuals:

The music video for Goyte doesn’t really go with the lyrics. There’s one part in the whole video which does go with the video and it’s when Kimbra joins in the video and she is singing to Goyte as if what she is singing is directed to him personally “I don’t want to live that way

breathing into every word you say, you said that you could let it go and I wouldn’t catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know”. Relationship between music and visuals:

The relationship between music and visuals work together. The things which do work together in the video in time with the music is the drawing. Besides that there is very little with the music and visuals being in time with each other

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

At the beginning of the video there are close ups by using a tracking shot of Gotye’s body parts. The use of this is to understand that Goyte is naked which could mean something to the song and video. Throughout the video there is more medium close ups rather than close ups. I think that they have used more medium close ups because they happen more before the paint is on him and after the paint is on him there is more close ups which could want to show a before and after. They use mid shots when him and Kimbra are together because it shows both their

bodies with the paint but also the distance between them which is what the song is about how far apart the two have become when they used to be so close before.

Is there any reference to the notion of looking/voyeuristic qualities?

There are some notion of looking but only when Kimbra comes into the video. Her eyes low down a lot he is also naked which is why she is looking down at him where as he doesn’t look at her anywhere besides looking into the camera or having his eyes closed.

Is the video performance, narrative or concept based? How much of each?

The video is definitely concept based rather than performance and narrative based. I think this because there is no strong narrative within the music video and there is no sign of performance because there are no instruments being played and no audience. I think the video is more

concept based because I think that the paint lines and how their bodies fit together with the background is a symbol of how Goyte and Kimbra fit together like a jigsaw.

The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group who formed in 1990. The Prodigy are said to make different genres of music such as rave, hardcore techno

and industrial with elements of electro rock and punk vocals. Electronic Dance music tends to be heard in nightclubs or dance based entertainment. The director

for Smack My Bitch Up was by director Jonas Akerlund.

THE PRODIGY -

SMACK MY BITCH UP (ELECTRONIC DANCE)

Genre Characteristics:

The characteristics of dance music is nightclubs, women and dancing. This music video does fit in with the dance characteristics because in the music video there are scenes of a lot of women. The women are seen a lot more than men in this video and they are seen to be less dominant than the person we are seeing things through.

There is night club scenes throughout for example when the person we are seeing things though is dancing we see others around them but also there is a bar and drinks around also the costume others are wearing suggests that they are in a club. Fight scenes are also typical of dance music videos. Throughout the video the fight scenes play a big role in the video because it’s how the person gets from one place to another but it also tells us about what the person we are seeing things through is

like. Relationship between the lyrics and visuals:

The relationship between the visuals and lyrics are a bit uncertain. There is only two lines throughout the whole music video which are “change my pitch up, smack my bitch up” the lyrics are hard to work out what they mean so the music video needs to lets us understand what the song means. I had to google what the lyrics meant and people think Smack my bitch means to do something intensely, like being on stage for the music video the intense feeling is the drugs and fighting in the video which in

some ways gives shock value to the audience as we watch the person do drugs and fight a lot which is what The Prodigy want from this video to shock us. Relationship between music and visuals:

The relationship between the music and visuals is much more stronger than the lyrics and the visuals because the genre of music is dance there would bound to be more music than lyrics. The music and visuals do work effectively together. When the music does a sound which sounds like ‘pow’ that’s when the scenes and

movements of the person we are seeing things through link together. Also sometimes when that pow sound happens there is like a second black screen as if the person is blinking because when this does happen the scene does change. Before the pow sounding noise there’s a sort of waga waga in the sound of the music those scenes

are a bit longer than the pow sounding scene because they only last seconds where as the waga waga sounds lasts for 4 seconds or a bit more. Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

There aren’t any close ups of the artist because we are seeing everything in first person and there are no members of the band in the video. Is there any reference to the notion of looking/voyeuristic qualities?

The video for Smack my bitch up is full of voyeuristic references. Through out the video we are seeing things in first person and by the way the person we are seeing things through is acting we assume that the person is a he because he is going to strip clubs, drinking and drinking to get with girls. The ways he is trying to get with girls is by touching the girls in inappropriate areas such as their boobs and we see that he is looking at inappropriate areas due to the p.o.v camera style. Also strip

clubs are designed to have the notion of looking and voyeuristic qualities because en go there to watch women prance around in little clothing so again there is strong reference to looking but also male dominance.

Is the video performance, narrative or concept based? How much of each?

I think the video is partly concept based but also performance based. I think this because there is no performance from the band The Prodigy themselves but I think it is concept based with the we come up to conclusions who we are seeing things through due to the activities the person is taking part in which could be the concept of

don’t judge someone by their actions perhaps because at the very end of the video the actions which do take place are all done by a girl. There is a element of narrative too with the process of leaving home and ending back at home. It’s like the video is trying to capture the events of a night out, like the getting changed and ready, the

eating, the drinking and ending back at home with someone you don’t know.

Coldplay are a British Alternative Rock band that formed in 1996. Jamie Traves directed the music video for Coldplay. Because the video was set in reverse

narrative the lead singer of Coldplay had to learn the song backwards so when he was miming it would look right.

COLDPLAY –

THE SCIENTIST (ALTERNATIVE ROCK)

Genre Characteristics: The genre of alternative rock music is that it’s very similar to indie music. In the 21 st century alternative rock has become

popular because it’s similarity to Brit pop. Coldplay are also said to be Brit pop as well as alternative rock which I agree with but I think that they are more soft alternative rock because they aren’t heavy in comparison to most bands in the alternative rock genre. To me I think Britpop are being commercially sellable because it’s a popular genre here in Britian and Coldplay are a British band so they are more than likely going to have more British fans this is why their music video needs to suit a British audience. The music video is soft and mellow just like the genre of the music and the song. The video isn’t heavy and it is

suitable for all ages to watch because it doesn’t have any themes in the video that are inappropriate. Relationship between music and visuals:

In the last minute of the video there is some relationship and the visuals. There isn’t a strong relationship with the lyrics and visuals but there is some, which is when he goes “I’m going back to the start”. That bit is a connection between the whole video

and that lyric because the whole of the video has been done in reverse narrative so I’m going back to the start relates to the lead singer walking backwards to the start whereas when the video started we saw it from the end.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs? Throughout the video there isn’t any close ups of the lead singer of Coldplay because most of the shots are mid close ups. In the video he isn’t playing himself so he is acting. The mid close ups in the video are designed to show his miming backwards but also show his facial expression which look like he is worrying about something but also there is mid close ups at the end

when he is in the car because he is happy again so it’s showing how he was sad at the beginning but happy again at the end. Is there any reference to the notion of looking/voyeuristic qualities?

In this video there is no reference of looking or voyeuristic qualities at all. I think this because it fits into the genre of music because it’s Coldplay are a mainstream band they need to be able to appeal to most people of all ages they don’t want it to be

inappropriate for younger audiences. The genre really does effect what the video can show but the simple ness of the video does let the audience focus more on the song which is probably what Coldplay want to achieve with their song and music

video.

Slipknot are an American nu metal band who formed in 1995. Slipknot have worldwide success and have released 4 albums and have won grammys. Nu metal music tends to be listened to by everyone from teenagers to young adults and even

to middle aged adults. The director for Duality is Tony Pertossian.

SLIPKNOT –

DUALITY (NU METAL)

Genre Characteristics

Slipknot fit into the Nu Metal genre. The characteristics of Nu Metal is that the shows they put on get a crowd going and that there is a lot of anger in their songs. In this music video there is scenes where you see clips from live shows they have done but the anger is apparent throughout the video as the

video is based around a lot of anger teenagers and a live performance by the band. Relationship between the lyrics and visuals

There isn’t much relationship between the visuals and the lyrics. There is one lyric though the whole video which the visual scenes follow through which could suggest that the lyric is the main lyric in the video and that is what inspired the video. The lyric which I think inspired this video is “It works it’s way

inside” in the video is features Slipknot in a house and there are A LOT of people teenagers and adults trying to get inside the house which could be it works its way inside means because even when the house is full in the video there are still loads more people trying to get into the house.

Relationship between music and visuals

The relationship between the music and the visuals is a lot more apparent that the lyrics and the visuals. Because the music is fast tempo the music video has to be fast tempo too so the editing is quite fast. The editing the that has been used so that it matches the temp of the song is slow motion editing is a popular edit in this music video to match the slower parts of the song. A point in the video where this edit is effective is during the scene where the large

mob of teenagers are running towards the house because it shows us the amount of people running to the house. Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

There are a lot of close ups of the band but because the editing is quite fast you don’t see the shot for very long but you do notice that the lead singer Corey Taylor has a lot more shots of him compared to the band to show his significance in the band. The close ups in this video show the band interacting

with the crowd and it also shows the detail in the masks worn by Slipknot. Is there any reference to the notion of looking/voyeuristic qualities?

In this video there are not many references of looking or voyeuristic qualities in this video. I believe it’s because the lyrics of this song doesn’t have anything to do with women it’s more of a personal song so there is no male gaze in this music video. The music video hasn’t got many women in it also

which could suggest the audience who listen to Slipknot are. There is looking qualities in this video for example the house scene because the angry mob style people are all looking at Slipknot as if they are looking up to them/wanting to be Slipknot.

Is the video performance, narrative or concept based? How much of each?

I think that this music video is definitely more of a performance video than a narrative because the lyrics don’t match the visuals loads and the point of a music video is to help the audience understand the song in greater detail which I don’t think the music video does but it does show anger which from the

song there is a lot of anger within it. I think it’s more of a performance based video because the band are playing their instruments and it’s like we are watching a private show of Slipknot.