This music video is one of my favourites and one of the most famous music videos. According to the book ‘ Music video and the politics and representation’ by Diane Railton and Paul Watson, the genre of this is a staged music video which means that is explicitly staged for the production of the video. It is set in a high school gym filled with students, maybe the age of people that nirvana target their music at. There is a small narrative which is the band are playing at a school assembly but all the students riot and take over while the band is playing. The fact that they are performing live is something that Andrew Goodwin says is the style of the rock genre in videos. Lead singer Kurt Cobain took influence by the film ‘Rock and roll high school’ by the Ramones which is an intertextual reference-something Goodwin states in his characteristics.

In Andrew Goodwin’s book, ‘Dancing in the distraction factory’, Goodwin states there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals but I believe there isn’t due to the random and unusual lyrics, but the line that I think links them is the line ‘I feel stud and contagious, here we are now, entertain us’. This could show that the kids feel forgotten about by their parents or by the government at that time so this is them rebelling and crying out for attention. There is however a relationship between the music and the visuals.

Nirvana-Smells Like Teen Spirit

Teenage audience. Main target audience of the music.

The establishing shot sets the scene of the music video. It instantly show the image of a converse trainer, usually represented with teenagers and punk rock. We immediately know the style of the band and the genre through this iconic shoe.

The hard pounding, rock music and punk actions links the two together and represents what one of the messages of rock is-rebellion. The editing of the video creates a relationship between the tempo of the track and the timing of the cuts, something one of Goodwin’s characteristics. The filming is done mainly with a tripod during the verses where the singing and music is soft and quiet, but is hand-held during the choruses and faster cuts to make it feel like there's more action when the loud guitar riff comes in so it is corresponding with the music.

The reel used to film this is low quality which makes it look dirty and grungy. The band chose this to give it a ‘non corporate’ feel because they where very left wing and had strong opinions against corporations and gluttony, even though they were signed to a major label. This video then reflects the bands beliefs and opinions.

There are lots of close ups of the frontman. This shows his expressions towards the lyrics and dark themes of the song. Goodwin believed that the band would want to represent themselves in music videos to become part of their star image. It also creates an intimacy between the singer and viewer.

The use of the long shots of he crowd show how the audience reacts to the song and how they express themselves toward this style of music. Also it makes the viewer feel like they are apart of the audience viewing the band. In some shots there is slow motion to give it a dramatic effect.

The lighting to the music video is very gloomy as there are a small amount of spotlights lighting the band as they perform. This makes the video more dark and gritty, creating a bond between the music with the visuals. The light also glows on the lead singers face when there is a close up. This is used to make him look more twisted and strange, something that he might feel some people see him as. There is fire towards the end to show the band and teens taking over, maybe a statement to rebellion.

Nirvana and their audience are wearing typical punk clothing showing that they are just like their listening audience. This shows people that this band is like them, and his is singing songs that relate to them so they feel a connection with the music. It is also set in a high school, which a large part of their audience are in at the time.

This video gives us an inside look into the lives of being in one of the biggest bands in the world and, at that time, probably the biggest. The music video genre for Paradise City is, according to Railton and Watson, a pseudo-documentary. This genre deploys the aesthetics of documentary realism to portray the ‘working life’ of the band.

We follow the band as they perform at different stadiums and their lives whilst on the road. We see them do many things such as signing autographs, sleeping in hotel rooms, jamming and, not to mention, performing in front of thousands of people. This representation is attractive to the target audience .

The audience is allowed an exclusive glimpse into the life of the band backstage into the life of the band. This shows how cool and interesting their lives are and to see inside an popular band gives us a glimpse of how great they live. The interacting with fans creates a bond between the fans and the band as we see them as very friendly and fun. It also promotes the rock n roll lifestyle they have, promoting their star persona.

Guns ‘n Roses-Paradise City

There isn't an obvious relation between the lyrics and the visuals. The idea for the video might have come from the title of the song as it shows the band in rock n roll ‘paradise’ as a lot of bands dream of performing in stadiums, signing autographs and touring the world so this would be a rock bands idea of paradise.

We see the band perform live which is the typical style for rock videos. The fact that they are performing live in front of thousands of people and not just a small audience is it shows how popular the band is, that their music must be really good to attract all those people and it makes them look like a massively successful band. This is how the band would want to be seen in their music videos to show their rock image.

The long shots of the crowd shows how vast the crowd is and how many people listen to guns n roses which shows their popularity. The documentary parts have closer shots, mainly medium to medium close ups to give a more intimate view of the band. There is however some close ups of the band performing on stage, mainly the singer as the record companies, Goodwin states, demand close ups. This lets people know who the band are.

Cinema verité techniques are used in this, usually used in pseudo documentary music videos. The documentary parts are shot in black and white and a hand held camera is used to make it look like a documentary and is not staged. It also shows that the band is always on the move and always has something to do, still showing how much they have to do. The music video switches between the grainy documentary style to a coloured live performance using more stable cameras.

There is a relationship between the music and the visuals because performing live is suitable for rock music and the shots of the band and the crowd dancing along to the music shows how fun it is for both f them to listen to rock music. The documentary parts are mainly shown during the verses at the beginning to introduce the band and their activities.

The lighting used is natural lighting, showing that this is not staged. The natural lighting also makes it look realistic and suits the documentary style, creating the sense of this is really the life of the band and their touring. The cuts between shots is done fast to suit the tempo of the music creating a relationship between the two, one of Goodwin’s characteristics.

The music video for Cigarettes and Alcohol was filmed at an actual gig. The footage switches from the live event to backstage at that event and the things that go on backstage at the gig. The live performance is common with the rock genre which is one of the characteristics Goodwin states in his book ‘Dancing in the distraction factory’. The image that the music video presents of the band creates a rock and roll, ‘bad boy’ persona. The band use the video to develop their star iconography, which, as stated by Goodwin, becomes part of their image. This shows that to be as cool as them which they are being portrayed as, you need to drink and smoke.

Another one of Goodwin’s characteristics of music videos is the relationship between the lyrics and visuals. In common with the title of the song is the regular use of smoking and drinking alcohol in the video. The use of young adults means that this type of music is specifically targeted at younger people. With the use of lyrics such as ‘is it worth the aggravation to find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth working for’, younger people will feel a connection with the lyric and feel the music is targeting them. It could also be a statement towards how Generation X felt towards things at the time.

Oasis-Cigarettes and Alcohol

The videos feature include footage of smoking, drinking, girls, people kissing, wearing sunglasses indoors –more common with the rock genre. The video promotes the band as having wild, rock n roll lifestyle. This image that the band want to put across is that they are a wild, hard partying rock band who want the basics-sex ,drugs and rock n roll. There is sex references-’I was looking for some action’, and drug references ‘you might as well do the white line’.

The shots of girls as well as boys at the gig shows that they are attracting people from across a wide range, popularizing their music amongst a bigger market as girls feel they can listen to that kind of music as they might feel it’s too masculine.

The song was written in the time of conservative government, where Noel Gallagher (songwriter/lead guitarist) was a working class person feeling oppressed towards his class. The song features lyrics that express his feeling towards his opinions that a lot of young people were feeling at the time. The line ‘is it worth the aggravation to find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth working for’. These lyrics spoke out to people who felt connected the meanings of the song.

The close up of the lead singer looking down the lens is something that the record labels, according to Goodwin, want to do because it familiarizes the audience with the band to make them recognisable and memorable.

Referencing Goodwin’s theory, the band promote their star iconography in this video that would stay as their image for the rest of their career. The pose, the sunglasses, the laid back look etc.

Point of view shots from the crowd show what the crowd is experiencing. There are shot of people wearing t shirts that show oasis’s logo on them. This lets people know who he band is and makes them memorable. The people in the video wearing the shirt are shown having fun, jumping along to the music which could be attractive to young people and show that an Oasis gig is a popular, lively place to go.

Low angle shot make the singer look big and powerful as if he is telling you what to do and think.

People wearing Oasis shirts.