As you can see, there are a large number of styles; some of which are niche and others which have international appeal. This means that the music industry caters for everyone, regardless of class, nationality or religion. There are some on this list that I haven't even heard of, like "Ska" but they all look interesting.
Some of these genres have stereotype listeners, for example "Emo" music. The stock character of an Emo listener is someone who is depressed, perhaps self-harms, wears black, has black hair (dyed) with a long side fringe, wears a lot of black eyeliner, paints their nails black, and is generally between 13 and 19 years of age. This is perhaps a tangent from Propp's theory of stock fairytale characters, except that an Emo is not a fairytale character as such.
I'm really excited as in a few days we will be making a class music video replica of the video to "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus. It should be really fun, and also helpful, giving us an introduction into making music videos.
Plus, I LOVE the song! Used to listen to it back in the early 2000s... good times...
Among the array of music video genres is the tongue-in-cheek ones. Often the genre of music is rap/pop/indie/rock. Sometimes the artists choose to do parodies, but other times they just have bizarre comical videos just for pure entertainment.
Music videos allow artists the chance to illustrate what their song is really about. This song uses lots of euphemisms which may be misinterpreted or overlooked, but here they show them in a comic and cheeky way.
This is "Jizz in my Pants" by The Lonely Island; another cheeky song that has attracted viewers worldwide, with a guest appearance from popstar Justin Timberlake. This video has achieved over 53 million views, which is phenomenal, especially for a new band.
Both of these videos use comedy - slapstick and otherwise, through props and costumes that illustrate the lyrics.
The artists who do these types of videos are predominantly male (they have no shame) and often revolve around themes of sex and failure (often linked).
I enjoy these videos as they are light comedy and the songs are good, however it can get a bit too much at times, and sometimes the visuals distract a little too much from the song, which is not the objective of a music video.
Since Michael Jackson, King of Pop, passed away last Thursday, I thought I'd do a tribute to him and look at his contribution to the music scene over the years.
This is the long version of "Thriller", and as you can see, it is mostly narrative, however there are dance routines (a common element in Michael Jackson's music videos), and he lipsyncs to the girl, not the camera (which is fairly unusual). This is probably his most famous music video, since it is very different to any other, and is such a great song. When I started typing "Michael Jackson" into YouTube, Thriller is the first suggestion that came up, and has been viewed almost 9 million times, however I don't think that is an accurate measure of it's popularity.
There is a clear "thriller" genre to the video, which is taken from the song title. The visuals add to the music, without taking away from it, making it an entertaining and successful music video. The video, with the signature dance moves, has been recreated by people worldwide. A few years ago, we did it in a PE dance lesson, and a prison in the Philippines recreated it with their prisoners (as shown below). Amazingly, it has received over 26 million views. This worldwide recognition shows that it is a truly successful music video.
This is "Smooth Criminal".
You'll notice that his music videos are longer than most, which usually are between 2 and 4 minutes, whereas his are between 8 and 10. Each one is like a mini film, and the shots are very cinematic. There is also an air of comedy, for example here when he throws a coin from a great distance, and it lands in the coin slot of the juke box, which causes the music to start. Again here it is predominantly narrative, however he performs (sings and dances) as he loved it and was very talented. This video (or perhaps another version of this video) has received almost almost 20 million views on YouTube on his official channel, showing that it too is very popular.
This is "Black Or White" however I couldn't embed it as the code had been disabled..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVoJ6OO6lR4
This video is 11 mins long, and involves interesting dance routines, a multitude of wacky locations and costumes (including the desert with tribal dancers) and has a TV Drama/film feel to the beginning, like his other videos. This makes it interesting to watch again and again, and since he was signed to Sony Records, he had big enough budgets to make these elaborate and unique videos.
In my opinion, he was a great musician, and I am sure his musical legacy will live on for many years to come.
Some videos cross-cut between performance and narrative, whereas others focus on just one of the two.
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
This video is purely narrative with the lead singer lip-syncing. The rest of the band isn't there and there is no audience therefore it is not really a performance. The video consists of the main guy walking through the streets of a city. This could get boring after a while, however there are comic elements that keep viewers interested, such as the repeating motif of him bumping into people and not caring since he is in his own world. I really like this video because it is simple and doesn't distract from the music, which is the most important thing in a music video.
Radiohead - Just
This video is very creative, and cross-cuts between the band performing in a hotel room, and a man on the street who lies down for no apparent reason. This video is unusual because it has subtitles to show the audience what the man and the people on the street are saying. It cleverly keeps the viewer watching until the end because, like the passers-by, they want to know why the man is lying in the street. Just as the song is climaxing, he tells them, but there are no subtitles so the viewer never finds out why the man is lying there. The next shot, after the man tells them, shows all the people doing the same thing on the pavement, which is funny to the audience because we still don't know what he said. I really like this weird, creative video, and I think it represents the band well.
The Killers - Mr Brightside
This video is mostly performance, which is rare. To make it interesting, different effects are used such as negative, grayscale, and yellow tints.
This is another video of the song, however it is mostly narrative. Perhaps the record company chose to do both to appeal to all audiences, but they could have just cross-cut...
When artists reach the top of their game, often they collaborate with other successful artists, not only for something new and interesting, but the publicity from two stars together is a sure fire way to kick start a lagging career.
Famous examples of this are;
Shakira & Beyonce - Beautiful Liar (2007)
This video highlights the visual similarities between the two artists by quickly cross-cutting between the two artists. They are both wearing similar black outfits, have the same hair style, and are both known for their dancing skills. The song combines their styles of music - r&b and hispanic, creating an interesting and multi-layered song that attracts fans of both genres and both artists.
Britney feat. Madonna - Me Against The Music (2006)
This video highlights the sexual appeal of both women, to audiences and to each other, when in the last 10 seconds of the video Britney tries to kiss Madonna (which in the live show they actually did). The video also features complicated dance routines, something which Britney is well-known for. This video is different to the Shakira and Beyonce one because that was more of a joint effort, whereas this song is Britney featuring Madonna. It also cross-cuts between performance, Britney, and Madonna, and is quite interesting to watch since the two women are music giants.
James Morrison feat. Nelly Furtado - Broken Strings (2009)
This video portrays Nelly and James as lovers, which in the context of a music video doesn't spark rumours about the artists, but merely illustrates the lyrics and themes of the song. Similarly with the Britney and Madonna video, James Morrison is the primary artist, and therefore he sings more than Nelly and is featured more in the video.
I think collaborations are a great way for artists to explore other genres and themes that they otherwise wouldn't touch.
I'm back in Liverpool, And everything seems the same, But I worked something out last night, That changed this little boys brain, A small piece of advice, That took twenty-two years in the make, And I will break it for you now, Please learn from my mistakes, Please learn from my mistakes.
Let's dance to joy division, And celebrate the irony, Everything is going wrong, But we're so happy, Let's dance to joy division, And raise our glass to the ceiling, 'Cos this could all go so wrong, But we're so happy, Yeah we're so happy.
So if you're ever feeling down, Grab your purse and take a taxi, To the darker side of town, That's where we'll be, And we will wait for you and lead you through the dancefloor, Up to the DJ booth, You know what to ask for, You know what to ask for.
Go ask for Joy Division, And celebrate the irony, Everything is going wrong, But we're so happy, Go ask for Joy Division, And raise your glass to the ceiling, 'Cos this could all go so wrong, But we're so happy, So happy.
So let the love tear us apart, I've found the cure for a broken heart,
Let it tear us apart, let the love tear us apart, I've found the cure for a broken heart, Let it tear us apart, (Let it tear us apart) So let the love tear us apart, I've found the cure for a broken heart, Let it tear us apart, (Let it tear us apart) So let the love tear us apart, I've found the cure for a broken heart, Let it tear us apart, Let it tear us apart, Let it tear us apart.
Let's dance to joy division, And celebrate the irony, Everything is going wrong, But were so happy, Let's dance to joy division, And raise our glass to the ceiling, 'Cos this could all go so wrong, But we're so happy, Yeah we're so happy, So happy, Yeah we're so happy, So happy, Yeah we're so happy. These lyrics can be interpreted in different ways; some may take them at face value, for example reading the phrase "grab your purse and take a taxi, to the darker side of town" literally, thus creating visuals that represent it, however others may read it as metaphorical, and could show visuals that represent someone delving into the darker realms of their minds or something along those lines.
To me, depending on the tune of the song, it could be quite sad since the lyrics mention things going "wrong" and "broken hearts" however due to the upbeat tune and young band members, the words "so happy" and "cure" stand out more. In my opinion, the song is a celebration of a realisation, "and raise our glass to the ceiling", "a small piece of advice", "cure", however I am not sure what the realisation is. Perhaps it could be to not sweat the small stuff, or that music is a cure, or maybe it is that friends are the cure, since it says "so if you're ever feeling down... that's where we'll be... lead you through the dance floor" which makes the band sound friendly and supportive.
The lyrics mention celebrating the "irony", but it is unclear as to what the irony is. Maybe something to do with the fact that despite things going wrong, they're "so happy", but I don't think this really makes sense..
If I were making a pitch for this track, it would involve cross-cutting between performance and the band going around town. The performance would be the band walking towards the camera down the streets of Liverpool, lip syncing. The singer and bassist would be walking, and the drummer would be on a motorised wheelchair type of thing with a platform for the drums. This would be edited by cutting between them walking with and without instruments, which would be a quirk in this video. The parts in town would be them acting out the lyrics, and they would have big cartoon broken hearts, which in the chorus would be taped together by a tape with music notes on it (showing music is the cure) and at the end they would wear smiley face masks that are yellow (standard ones) illustrating that they are "so happy". This is a rough outline of what my pitch would be like.
My name is Laura Allen and I'm doing A2 Media Studies (as well as Drama and French) at The Latymer School. Here is my individual blog on the Music Industry... Enjoy! xx
Some of these genres have stereotype listeners, for example "Emo" music. The stock character of an Emo listener is someone who is depressed, perhaps self-harms, wears black, has black hair (dyed) with a long side fringe, wears a lot of black eyeliner, paints their nails black, and is generally between 13 and 19 years of age. This is perhaps a tangent from Propp's theory of stock fairytale characters, except that an Emo is not a fairytale character as such.
