The Golden Path : Chemical Brothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJCcVyDCiFc
The Song ‘Golden Path’ by Chemical Brothers is very much about someone trying to get out of their current dark life, and step into a new life of happiness. There is a contrast of these two lifes, and with the colour difference from grey and dull, the person is thinking about stepping into a life of colour. The picture isn’t entirely clear when he is in the life he wants to be connoting that it is his dream.
Mono : Courtney Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2SmHALECBw
The Song ‘Mono’ by Courtney Love is about the female admitting to her mistakes in following a man and wanting forgiveness. We learn this through the lyric of ‘I can prove to you, that I’m better than him’. There is a strong relationship between lyrics and visuals as when she says ‘with gonna smash it up’ she walks into the shop knocking the products off the shelves.
Jesus Walks : Kanye West
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYF7H_fpc-gIn the video of ‘Jesus Walks’ Kanye West is asking for advice from God, to take him away from his bad ways. He says ‘Please God, Show Me The Way’ which is a very religious quote, as it is the evolution from a sinner to a saint. The first verse is from a drug dealers point of view, who is contemplating his relationship with God. Once again there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals as when he is talking about the devil there is fire approaching Kanye West.
All Falls Down : Kanye West
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kyWDhBQeI
In ‘All Falls Down’ by Kanye West the song conforms to Goodwin’s model as you get the notion of looking, when the artist is singing into the mirror, and when the woman approaches the camera. The audience is positioned very much in the eyes of the artist and that what the artist is seeing is what the audience is seeing.
Doesn’t Remind Me : Autoslave
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBFdX37Qpnk
‘Doesn’t Remind Me’ by Autoslave, is the artist looking back on his childhood, reminiscing the times, and wishing life could be that way now. With the camera shot of the boy looking at the picture of his dad, we interpret that his dad has died in the army. Then with flashback shot between each punch thrown in the fight of his dad, connotes to the audience that this is how he is trying to find a way to forget about a bad thing and move on. With a lot of reference to planes, especially with him playing with planes a lot the audience can get the knowledge that his dad may have died from the royal air force.
Gone Daddy Gone : Gnarls Barkley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZbeiXZVWbM
The video in the song ‘ Gone Daddy Gone’ by Gnarls Barkley is very disjunctive as the action has essentially a small relationship to the lyrics, however the artists are performed from cartoon fleas.
These Words : Natasha Bedingfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5RuGj0g1tk
Natasha Bedingfield’s song ‘These Words’ are her declaring her love for a man but being unable to communicate it properly. She is so overwhelmed, that all she can say, says that it comes from the heart, and says she doesn’t want to use all the flowery words she has picked up. There are numerous close-up shots thereby advertising the artist.
Music Video in Detail:
Saints are Coming : U2 & Green Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD_0fqvT32g
The music video for the song ‘The Saints are Coming’ was originally performed for the American Football Match between the New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons. However, Chris Milk then decided to create a music video for it. Through the video there is footage intermixed with news footage of the displacement of residents after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The second half of the video shows an alternate history in which George W. Bush redeployed troops and vehicles from Iraq to New Orleans to help victims of the hurricane, with the military personnel fulfilling the titular role of the "saints." According to Chris Milk, this was done to make a commentary on the Katrina disaster .from the standpoint of how things can and should be done in the future. The video ends with military support vehicles fading out as the camera pans to a sign that reads 'Not as seen on TV', alluding to the criticized response to Katrina while also parodying media deception on rescue coverage.
Can Music Videos Been Seen As More Than Just a Commercial For The Artist?
I can see the way in which music videos are more than just a commercial. Auteurs including Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry have produced videos in which are more of an art then anything else. Take for example Daft Punk’s Video – Around the World. When watching and analysing that video, I don’t see it as a commercial. I see it as an artistic performance. This video was directed by Michel Gondry .
Spike Jonze also said that music videos are ‘playfulness of permanent adolescent’. In this he’s not saying that music videos are commercials for the artist, he’s saying that videos are about the experiences the artists have had. However, on the contrary, that could be seen as a commercial because if artists are then re-telling parts of their life story, it engages the audience to feel a part of the artists’ life which to me makes a video turn to the commercial side.
On the whole, I would say that Music Videos are just commercials for the Artists. The amount of close-ups in a high proportion of videos is unbelievable. To me, back in the day, I would say that artists cared more about their singing than they do now. The music came from the heart. However, these days, I see many artists performing songs because they know their good, and that all they are doing it for is the money, the publicity and the lifestyle.
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