A Level Media Studies: RESEARCH: Performance, Narrative and Concept Music Videos

Performance

Arctic Monkeys' Teddy Picker is a purely performance based video. It focuses on the band during studio time, whilst recording the song. The idea of shooting in the studio is not new in any sense (Band Aid 1984), however what is inventive about Arctic Monkey's performance is the extended introduction where the listener is seemingly immersed in their rehearsal, with lines from the song being sung by front man Alex Turner and motifs from the song being rehearsed. There are definite positives in shooting a purely performance based video, for example, the sound quality and the professional environment they are recording in coupled with the amateur style they are shooting in, make the piece appear unpretentious and fits in seamlessly with the band's 'rough and ready' approach. As the market for recording music is declining, there has been a boom in live music popularity and the industry is valued at '£743m in the UK, up 8% on 2006'1 therefore a video like this is very clever as it gives a taster of the band's live music performance at the same time as promoting their tour. The video is also very personal, and allows a glimpse at the character of the group. It upholds the band's indie reputation, as despite being a well known and incredibly popular group, they remain signed to independent label - Domino Records.

Narrative

Guns N' Roses' November Rain has been described as 'the grandaddy of all narrative music videos'2 and follows the wedding Axl Rose and Stephanie Seymour. The reasons behind this video's fame results from the continuous story that is followable throughout the 9 minute piece, however to keep the crowd guessing, the video is left on a cliffhanger. How did Seymour die? Was she trampled by wedding guests? Did Axl kill her? Or was it suicide? Quintessentially, this held the same effects of a short film and the iconic faces of Guns N' Roses just furthered the videos cult appeal. The narrative stance is in effect an opportunity for storytelling without the burden of speech, thus allowing the audience to draw thier own conclusions from the images. The video had a huge budget of about $1.5 million, with the dress worn by Stephanie Seymour worth $8,000. It is one of the most expensive music videos ever made.3 This video has become an icon of 1990s music videos and is heralded as one of the best ever, ultimately the band produced a video that not only promoted thier music but provided a short film that further displayed the bands willingness to entertain via thier videos.

Concept

Genesis' Land of Confusion is an elaborate feat of puppetry, that characterises many famous and controversial faces from the 1980s. The video was widely played at the time of its release an parodies, much like Team America did in 2004, political figures, who at the time were unable to resolve the military tension resulting from the continuing Cold War. The video particularly centres on Ronald Reagon who has dozed off into a nightmare, where puppet heads of Cold War figures are seen being uprooted from a swamp. The video shows Mussolini, Khomeini, Gorbachev and his aides as Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack characters and Reagon donning a superman suit whilst ironically, the lyrics suggest him to be completely uncapable of saving the nation from the grips of Cold War. The video received critical acclaim and was immensly influential in exposing the politcal shortcomings of the time. Quintessentially, this video is a detailed commentry derived from the mass of political and military tension at the time and the music is used to further emphasise the issue. Concept videos when exercised correctly are incredibly good to watch, as so often they become a narrative of current affairs, which may be why Genesis' video even today is still heralded as one of the best concepts as it exposes the reaction to the events of the 1980s through the seemingly light hearted medium of music.