Andrew Goodwin Theory

You must analyse a music video using this easy to follow six point guide. I would use a music video in a similar genre to the one you intend to produce. Also it can be the same video that you use for other types of analysis... What I mean is, there's no requirement to analyse more than two or three music videos across all of your planning a research. In fact, I would stick to just two or three in the same genre you intend to produce.

How to analyse a music video...
Andrew Goodwin writing in ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ (Routledge 1992)

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).

Example Analysis

1.       Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics…

Muse are well-known for their musicianship and powerful stage performances. Indie or ‘progrssive’ rock bands would seldom be seen in a video without performing with their instruments. This is because the target audience for this genre are attracted to a sense of authenticity in the music which is not found in genres such as boy-band pop. In this video, while true ‘realism’ can’t be expected as they have obviously been superimposed into a miniature model-world, the band do perform the song in synch.  

(CLICK IMAGE TO WATCH VIDEO)

2.       There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

Uprising Lyrics:

The paranoia is in bloom, the PR
Transmissions will resume, they'll try to
Push drugs, keep us all dumb down and hope that
We will never see the truth around, so come on

Another promise, another scene, another
Package not to keep us trapped in greed with all the
Green belts wrapped around our minds and endless
Red tape to keep the truth confined, so come on

They will not force us
And they will stop degrading us
And they will not control us
We will be victorious, so come on

Interchanging mind control, come let the
Revolution take its toll, if you could
Flick a switch and open your third eye, you'd see that
We should never be afraid to die, so come on

Rise up and take the power back, it's time that
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that
Their time is coming to an end, we have to
Unify and watch our flag ascend, so come on

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious, so come on

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious, so come on

Hey, hey, hey, hey

The lyrics are reported to have been inspired by the G20 protests in London 2009. The G20 are a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 of the world’s strongest economies (USA, Japan, Europe etc). The protests were about the way the world’s banking systems are run only for the benefit of the rich, but was also about the ‘War on Terror’ – which is actually just a war for oil, and about climate change issues.

So in the lyrics words such as paranoia, revolution, mind control and fat cats all refer to the issues of those protests. In the video the narrative of the song, which is a positive and optimistic message about people ‘rising up’ and being ‘victorious’, is represented as a model town with a fuse burning through it... the fuse represents the tension and anticipation of explosive events.

Lyrics such as ‘rise up and take the power back’ are reflected by images such as teddy bears rising out of the ground and destroying the infrastructure of the city. At one stage the guitarist smashes a window with his guitar reflecting the typical activities of a riot.

These lyrics, according to Goodwin’s approach are largely ‘illustrative’, but because the song does not specifically relate to smashing windows or burning dolls, much of the imagery can be said to be symbolic, and as such tends to ‘amplify’ the lyrics.

3.       There is a relationship between music and visuals

This relationship can be a trickier to analyse than lyrics and visuals… but what it’s getting at is the quality or mood of the music and how it illustrates, amplifies or contradicts the narrative or performative elements of the video.

For example, the moment the guitarist strikes the window is also the moment of a big guitar and drum hit in the song.  In addition to this the mood of the music is dark and foreboding, and this is generally illustrated by the low key lighting of the video and theme of a burning fuse which has connotations of an impending explosion.

4.      The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work

The video features a significant number of close-ups of the band. Close-ups of the lead singer are restricted mainly to his face, close-ups of the bassist and drummer are restricted to their instruments. In this way the skill and musicianship of the band are emphasized and the ‘face’ of the band is limited to the lead singer.

If there is a recurring motif of the band it is that they always appear in their videos are musicians rather than actors. As mentioned before, this is what appeals to the target audience.

5.      There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

While it is true that music videos often feature voyeuristic treatment of the female body, it is not evident in this video. Sex and eroticism are much more prevalent in other genres such as R&B and pop where dance routines are performed by attractive men and women (but mostly women) in revealing costumes. The visual themes of Indie and alternative rock tend to be much more varied.

The inspiration behind and the themes of this music video have nothing to do with sexuality and it has not been included in the imagery. There is, however, some reference to the media with the lyric ‘interchanging mind control’ which is illustrated by the depiction of multiple screens:

6.     There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).

There are a number of references, or at least heavy influences from other media in this video.

To begin with the band is depicted playing from the back of a moving truck. Perhaps one of the earliest known rock music promos is AC/DC It’s a Long Way to the Top which features the band playing the song from the back of a truck.

The moment of smashing the window is a clearly iconic image of our age and can be seen in almost all news media coverage of political demonstrations. Sometimes these images seem almost staged.

Lastly, and to me the most obvious, is as the giant teddy bears rise up and begin to destroy the city. This seems to be a direct reference to the ‘Stay Puft marshmallow man’ in Ghostbusters.