Analysis of Music Videos

Primary Research

Analyse a set of 4 music videos looking for genre conventions of the style of videos as well as the accompanying music.

For example the conventions of performance videos and the type of video used to promote hard rock.

Findings should be recorded as blog entries (for Units 2 and 36). Screenshots must be taken augment your argument.

1. The 1975 - Love It If We Made It

For my first music video I have decided to elaborate on The 1975's 'Love It If We Made It' music video, I have decided to explore this because it is one of the most powerful music video's I've ever saw, it regards the most political and social issues and injustices i've ever seen in a song and a music video. In fact the whole album is made to be dynamic, it's not meant to convey just one message but they regard social issues that are relevant today to everyone, love and relationships, politics, addiction and mental illness is very well regarded by them considering the journey Matty (Lead singer) has been on with addictions to heroin in the past. 

Regarded In my eyes it isn't a song that allows people to continue hatred for anyone but more opens our eyes and minds. These lyrics have many headlines and quotes from around the world which surface the inequality and the major problems we have in today's society. The song and the chorus being 'I love it if we made it' focusing on not the love for rebellion but the hope that things won't be so bad in the future and that's why I believe the song and the video to be not only inspirational but put in such hard terms that may give the whole world a wake up call. There style is normally narrative music videos, this pulls away from their normal music video as it's a mix with performance mixed with narrative, as now and again you see the band in neon colours

During the process of analysing the video one thing became very adamant that I had to search for Matty's true meaning behind the lyrics and why he wrote it which all seemed pretty obvious from the video however to check for any underlying messages he could've left un-obvious with me being oblivious to, and from searching for Matty's meaning I found a video where he explains his clear interpretation which I will be referencing a lot to. 

The video initially starts by a short video of a plastic bag drifting in the sea which already regards a serious environmental problem of today's society surrounding the use of plastic and that there are many ways in how we can all fix this, this also foreshadows what the rest of the video to come will be like in relation to society's issues and possibly environmental and political ones. The bag is also in a neon filter to distinguish it from the sea but zooms in to maybe enlarge this problem and shows it in relation to the sea of how big the issue is becoming.

 The video next incorporates the band in neon and becomes a recurring theme within the video, by constantly doing this it has a playful spin on the harsh words used and goes with the whole use of the flashing neon lyrics that appear constantly like headlines which encounters the whole point of the video being to do with major headlines that we have come across as citizens in the UK on the front of our newspapers or our televisions which gives a brainwash feeling to the whole view. The cuts also starts to go on time with the beat - blue pink yellow projector like filter, no real close ups of the band instead they use long shots which regards them as humble rather than using this as a star appeal way its more a MESSAGE to society.

The singing starts and continues to insert videos and pictures from Wars, broken homes and pictures from Afghanistan and Iraq where major wars the the world are aware of have broke out. The use of these is to make us the audience feel guilt but also to educate and inform us of these occurrences if we are not already fond of them.

What I really respect is how they've tried to make such a bold statement for everyone, the lyrics of the song are actually past and present world problems which makes the upmost sense to use them in a song, as songs are memorable and people tend to learn the lyrics to a song they enjoy to then enjoy it further. In this case learning the lyrics would be educating yourself with problems of the world and in turn have a slight case of guilt reflected on us. The music video constantly uses these banners and headline statements which are the lyrics of the song but then show pictures which reflect them as a narrative device to tell the audience about the social injustices we face and have faced. Juxtaposed by the neon flashing signs which are used to grab your attention with bold flashing colours, again making a big statement.

The line 'Suffocate the black men' and especially 'Start with misdemeanours and we'll make a business out of them line'. regarding the prison system in America that it preys on young black people in order to keep itself in business negotiating black rights and how they are STILL not accounted for in today's society as much as they should be, using terrifying images of black males pictured in orange jumpsuits with bags over their heads which is absolutely heartbreaking to see but is the truth of society and how it's ran. The pattern that follows throughout the music video is the flashing lyrics along with the Neon theme and the pictures relating to all the incidents he's mentioning.

The fact that we have the ability to connect and have all the information in the world at the click of our fingers has resulted in distrust, destruction and falsifying information outrage based society which gets out of control and thats where we are as a society- not in a good place.

The continuous use of not showing their faces but switching back to the band is a gentle reminder that this is only a music video and despite all they're saying to try and help everyone focus on the political issues in society that in fact they are singing a song very upbeat. By not showing their faces also regards them as being very humble and for once not making things about themselves but focusing on the public and how we've all had to face problematic issues in our lives and the problems everyone should be aware of. Pulls away from the norm of any other music video, its a statement and made to be out there as a piece of art to enjoy but to also posses the awful state in which the country is currently undergoing.

The chorus, i'd love it if we made it the main line and name of the song reinforcing the fact that in this world we really have to  love each other and try on a mechanical level, a gem of hope amongst all the rubble that  he'd love it if we made it in society meaning that we changed and became a world of peace.

Another bit which caught my attention the most was the mention of 'A beach of drowning three year olds' with a very quick glimpse but heart wrenching to show one of the main headlines that we're massive in the UK and caused lots of controversy within society. Pictures a young Syrian refugee called Alan Kurdi who died on the beach, only 3 years old, The photo's shown made headlines of all newspapers, there were many photo's of it that caused mass outcry of compassion in the UK, which is sad as it's a shame it took that picture and the cause of that happening to do so. Matty also talks about how there were awful things written about it right wing on newspapers.

The last line I will elaborate on is by using 'I moved on her like a bitch' which is a genuine quote from Donald Trump however Matty talks about it getting censored in the press due to Donald being the President of the USA however that is just one of the many disgusting quotes he has used yet he is in charge of the country.


The direct quote from the sitting president of the USA, which is a weird reality how someone who uses such vulgar and disgusting language could even be in such a high power of position which he uses in mockery of him, also shows his political views and how he is indeed not in favour of Trump. Excited to be indicted shows how his thoughts personally on Donald Trump that he wouldn't care if he was thrown out because he would still be rich and nothing really will affect him in the future.

Glitch-ing at the end to make it feel as if it's all fake and at the end of the day if we wanted to change things as people we could do them emphasised by the line tell me something I didn't know as we all know that these occurrences are happening which acts as a target of guilt towards us but also himself as we could all do more to help.

Changes beat slightly at the end but still incorporates the values with dancing at the end to justify that this is only a song and that it can only raise awareness despite being very catchy and will stick in your head and make you think twice about your actions and how they could possibly affect others. 

You only see a close up of Matty main singer and star appeal of the band right at the end for 3 seconds out of the whole 4 minutes 16 which shows how little he cares about having this big star appeal because it isn't about him but it's about society all of us as a whole and he uses many random people's faces to approve this meaning.

2. Tyler, The Creator - EARFQUAKE

The second video in which I have decided to analyse is Tyler, the creator's 'EARFQUAKE', Tyler, the creator's style is known to be outrageously brilliant with comical and contains a lot of random elements that make up the the crazy ideology associated to him. He made the whole music video on his own accord, directed and starred in the absurd way in which grabs attention as it's out of the box thinking. 

The video opens with a cameo from Tracee Ellis Ross as a talk show host. Tyler then takes the stage, wearing a blue suit with a Warholian wig, dancing, singing, and playing the piano until his cigarette catches everything on fire, where he suffers various burns and then passes out. Tyler then returns as a firefighter to put out the fire. Throughout the song "Earfquake", Tyler, The Creator blames himself for the unstable state of his relationship with his lover. Acknowledges the fact that he may not have treated his woman the best way and is causing her to lose interest; In an effort to patch things up, he tells her not to leave because it's his fault.


He likens the love he has for her to an earthquake which causes his world to shake, as the title "earfquake" denotes. It appears he may have taken her for granted in the initial stages of their bond, but later realises that he really needs her, both psychically and emotionally. 

In the second verse, Tyler admits to his lover that he really does not intend to complicate the relationship, but to know how she really feels. In the end, he pleads with her not to give up on them because he has admitted his faults and is willing to make things right.

The opening of the video starts with a mid shot of a woman in black with bob type hair, the table next to her has ceramic cups and bowels with fruit and flowers. The whole film overall pictures very low production values fit in which makes it look very vintage and has a very old school feel to it. The basic neutral tones are throughout the set with very basic set design picturing basic silver set. 


The woman also has a pop of blue on her eyelids which also relates to Tyler's blue suit. She introduces Tyler by saying she has a special guest and asking him to introduce herself, everything looks extremely staged however very awkward and the awkwardness contains the comical element which Tyler possesses which creates his funny aura.

Performs for one minute with no cuts, which adds a surrealism to it. Fade in of his face on the left, also adding old vintage camera into the shot which acts as if getting close ups of Tyler performing as if it was really a real reality talk tv shows, creates a lot of imagery surrounding realism. The whole music video is shot  Using this fade transition but not actually transitioning creates a very old feel as it was one of the first types of transitions used in editing. 


After Tyler starts to play the piano and throws the cigarette it mimics what the talk show host has said to him and makes a mockery of it, the cuts now become more apparent as they cut to Tyler playing the piano with a faded version of himself again added, the whole studio is starting to smoke and burn and adds to the comical element that he once said at the start he would vow to not do. 

After multiple cuts the video stage is now all starting to go up in smoke, everything is starting to burn and you can see Tyler's face is depicted with some heavy degree burns to his face but still singing but still managing to carry on despite this, it also creates a link to Lacan's theory of want as he wont stop until the song is finished. Showing a strong desire and linking to his music career as he always delivers.

Also when researching this i found out there is also an underlying earthquake pun, the main chorus line being "It's my fault" because earthquakes typically happen on fault lines.

3.  Hybrid Minds - Kismet ft. Riya

One of my favourite genres of music is liquid drum and bass, I feel like a lot of drum and bass music video's are very contradicting as they don't necessarily represent the beat of the music, they pull away from that convention. This song is really nice because the meaning behind kismet is fate/destiny. Which also means that it's generally about the people you meet, in particular someone you really love who changes your life forever and it feels like it was always meant to be, they're your kismet. I particularly really like this meaning because the lyrics are so nice to listen to and the music is really chilled.

The music video represents possible found footage or just overlays and special camera lenses to depict this type of vintage feel to it. I think it works unbelievably well as a narrative especially for this video, as the music for me brings me into a fantasy world. The whole video looks very experimental, theres not much meaning to it but lots of meaning at the same time.

The start of the video depicts an overlay of footage with the song title with a grainy distorted overlay we relate to an old camera running out of film, the video then starts zoomed into a woman's face close up, which then goes on to a few cuts of the same location but constantly changing 

 The camera is shown as if you're looking through the eyes of somebody else's life. The whole thing is handheld which adds this very classic feel to it, very sort of shaky like home movies. I've also noticed that there are obvious zoom in's and out's which creates this again natural feel to it. Having no sort of narrative - just filming whatever and sticking it all together by adding the vintage camera affect makes it look very personal to someone's life which is captivating as an audience watching as you never know what the next cut will lead to. I really like this experimental style music video and it works well for these sorts of genres as you can't really put a narrative to this sort of music as they aren't lyrics that depict any sort of reality, they're just as random as the video.






5. Tame Impala - Lost in yesterday 

Tame impala is an Australian psychedelic rock project led by multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker, who writes, records, performs and produces the music. His normal approach to music videos is in somewhat conceptual which heightens the psychedelic approach which he has in his music. In other music videos for example, 'The less I know the better' the lyrics are for me a  whole underlying message I took from the song itself was that nostalgia is a dirty liar and insists things were better than they seemed at the time when in fact our memories are 'Lost in Yesterday' as it seems.




Kevin (Tame Impala lead singer) is known for his psychedelic approach in his music, his calming and therapeutic tones. In other music videos for example, 'The less I know the better' the lyrics are shown in an illustrative way where the narrative reflects the lyrics exactly. The lyrics are symbolic of what the video is still narrative 

Tame Impala has recently released the new music video for their latest single 'Lost in Yesterday' in which Kevin Parker and co. are suited up for 70's wedding celebrations. Directed by the duo Terri Timely (Ian Kibbey and Corey Creasey), the "single shot" style clip shows the Aussie rockers presiding over several structural repetitions of wedding receptions held at the same venue.

 Looking closely and you can notice that many guests change from wedding to wedding (although some actors remain) while the costumes, newlyweds and other details shift between cycles. Each repeated event grows more dramatic, like a nightmare Groundhog Day as Parker illustrates the lyrics ("And you're gonna have to let it go someday / You've been digging it up like Groundhog Day").

The whole music video is about improving if not everything becoming a lot more higher class all based around the 70's decade which we can see through the use of mis-en-scene and costume and set designs. 

The use of one particular shot for the whole of the song is extremely impressive as it's so hard to tell where the exact cuts are showing how brilliant it was filmed. using the exact same shot types every time round as well. The whole underlying message of 'Lost in yesterday' creates a very similar interpretation of how 'lost in yesterday' could mean.

In the video there is lots going on, each time around, or it could possibly be interpreted as a recollection of the same wedding. However you interpret it, things seem to improve; people's dress sense seems to become more and more formal, or of higher class. The bride isn't pregnant from one of the first shots, the cake gets bigger and bigger until it's a stupid size. The guy stops mouthing "I love you" to the bride and is with someone else, the drunk at the bar tidy's up and stops watching horse races on the TV, the bartender stops drinking, the lady/man engagement at the bar goes from a slap to a proposal, the dance floor becomes more and more packed with more interest shown to Tame Impala, his band grows in size and presentation, the lady on the phone goes from crying to reuniting with her significant other, the man in the wheelchair stands up eventually next to his partner. Until the very end when the "terrible memory" rears it's ugly head. The original lady who puts her cigarette out in the very first beer comes back and steals the wine from the more elegant lady while the original bride (pregnant) returns wielding a knife. It brings the "great memory" back into it's proper context - the wedding sucked. 









REFERENCES

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wl1B7DPegc (The 1975, 2018)

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzWt3EUsqiw (Matty Healy interview 2018)

- https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/earfquake-by-tyler-the-creator/  ( Song Meanings and facts, 2019)
- https://youtu.be/HmAsUQEFYGI (Tyler, The Creator, 2019)

- https://www.nme.com/news/music/tame-impala-pose-as-70s-wedding-band-in-dizzying-lost-in-yesterday-video-2603371 (Charlotte Krol, Januray 2020)

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