Detailed analysis of music videos

Artist: Foster The People Song title: Houdini

Concept/narrative: The performers die but the businessmen puppet them to perform (corporate puppets, owned by media, etc.)

Features Observations Examples

Genre characteristics Indie Rock derives from independent labels which have a low budget - have a “do it yourself” feel using simplistic effects.

Also there are always shots of the band performing the song in rock videos, which this video adheres to.

There is a very small use of CGI in the video with it even being set in a small studio. The CGI isn’t to a fantastic standard either, there are also not a lot of after effect used, with it being mainly focused on acting. Throughout the song the band is also shown being ‘put back together’, and they are constantly performing the song whenever we see them.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals

The lyrics of this song focus on a theme of being controlled, talking about being shackled down and being made to compromise through fear. The whole narrative of the video contradicts the lyrics as we see the band members be literally physically controlled against their will by the company that runs their band while they sing about breaking free and not letting anyone control you.

During the chorus the lyrics read “Got shackles on, my words are tied, fear can make you compromise”, at the same time we can see the band members being puppeted around by people who work for the corporation, being made to dance around. This is an obvious juxtaposition between the visuals on screen and the lyrics - which can be interpreted as them saying to not end up like they

have.

Relationship between music and visuals

There are certain sections where the artists in the video lip sync in time with the music, and are also controlled to dance in tune with the music. In the video the thought beat is also stayed closely to, and in a lot of different places you see an action happen that is in beat with the song - one recurring visual cue is a man snapping his fingers in tune with the song.

During the chorus of the song you see the band members being made to dance in tune with the music - you also see a section of the video where one of the characters is forced to lip-sync with the lyrics.

Are there close ups of the artists and star image motifs?

Foster the People are a very unconventional indie rock band who try pretty hard to go against norms in a lot of their songs and music videos, their songs usually have deeper meaning than the surface. This could be viewed as their motif, trying to be different.

The video itself being about how the music industry tries to oppress them is different in itself - the topic is edgy and never really seen before as of course their corporation will need to accept the song for it to be published. This is an example of their motif being represented in this video.

Is there reference to the notion of looking?

No. This video is based around watching a filmed sort of story and because of this there are no artistic uses of the camera to make it look like we are ‘looking in’ on them; it could be argued that we are ‘looking’ behind the scenes of the music industry though, as the message of the video is that people are being controlled and we do not

The whole video is based off of the notion of looking ‘behind the curtain’ at what is going on that we do not know about.

know about it.

Are the examples of intertextual references?

The song is called ‘Houdini’, referencing the famous magician and illusionist. The song itself talks about being controlled, and saying to not be shackled down - this could be seen as a reference to the fact that Houdini used to escape shackles, and the fact that it was all actually just an illusion; as with the video, their performance is just an illusion, the same as Houdini’s tricks. This song also focuses on the metaphor that they are being puppeted, as if they are not in control and they are just manufactured to make their corporation money - this is a play on what a lot of pop bands are perceived to be like, controlled and mechanical.

In the music video it shows the band members being transformed into robots, made to sing and perform their concerts autonomously. This alludes to the title of the song ‘Houdini’, who was famously an illusionist/escape artists, this shows that this video is making reference to the fact that their performance isn’t real, it’s an illusion for what the company wants them to look like instead of what they want to be. The whole video is showing the band being turned literally into robots which can be controlled by the corporation that owns their name, Foster the People aren’t known to make poppy videos with themselves dancing around, and since their corporation makes them do these things in the video is is apparent that the video is referencing what they perceive to be going on in the industry.

Is the video category illustration, amplification or contradicting? How much of each?

At first look this video appears to be more in the contradictory category, the lyrics of the song greatly contradict the visuals of the video, with the band’s performances being almost completely opposite to what the lyrics are suggesting.

The video has very strong connotations to being controlled and being a sort of media ‘puppet’, doing exactly what is wanted from you and earning the company money. This shows that the video is trying to tell a story or get a point across, making it