Music Video analysis

Eminem - Darkness

Eminem has released his new album called Music To Be Murdered By. Eminem has used Alfred Hitchcock album with the same name and imitated the original with the cover art. One of the songs on the record is called Darkness and the video gives it a new meaning and adds more context to the lyrics. The song is about the Las Vegas festival shooting and it creates a narrative that makes you believe that Eminem is the shooter and he is giving reasons as to why the shooter did what he did. Em uses his platform to express his opinions on the gun law in America, he gives a very valid and believable side to the argument and does it well.

In this music video, Eminem looks to be the person in the video as he is wearing the same hoodie as the figure in the video. Later on, in the video, we find out that is isn't him but he is talking about the Los Vagus festival shooting. The hook of the song is "I don't wanna be alone in the darkness" as Eminem is talking about what we think to be him he is sympathising almost with the shooter. The shooter had some mental health problems and Eminem exploits them as the shooter was allowed to hire weapons. The entire song is about exposing how broken America's gun laws are and how Eminem wants it to be fixed. 

"Fuck the colt 45 I'm a need somethin' stronger" This line along with another one, later on, is a double entendre and he uses this to portray a double meaning with the visuals. A colt 45 is both a pistol and a drink at around 5.6% in alcohol. Another line, later on, has a similar meaning.

"If I pop any caps it better be off of vodka" popping caps can be referred to ass taking a lid off of a drink. Vodka is also stronger between the two drinks. The other meaning is also to shoot a gun. As this line is said both a bottle of vodka and an empty bullet casing is shown. This reinforces the double meaning off of these lines. 



The majority of the song has lots of double entendre's that are used to create a double meaning. This is something that Eminem is notorious for, he uses this to create a very visceral image of the theme of the song. While using double entendre he uses it to lighten the mood with opposite meanings. 


People start to show up, time to start the show upIt's 10:05 PM and the curtain starts to go upAnd I'm already sweatin', but I'm locked and loadedFor rapid fire spittin' for all the concert-goersScopes for sniper vision, the surprise from out of nowhereAs I slide the clip in from inside the hotelLeanin' out the window, going Keyser SözeFinger on the trigger, but I'm a licensed ownerWith no prior convictions, so the law says the sky's the limitSo my supply's infinite, strapped like I'm a soldierGot 'em hopping over walls and climbing fencesSome of them John Travolta, staying alive by inches(Hello, darkness, my old friend)Cops are knockin', oh fuck, thought I blocked the entranceGuess show time is overNo suicide note, just a note for target distanceBut if you'd like to know the reason why I did thisYou'll never find a motive, truth is I have no ideaI am just as stumped, no signs of mental illnessJust tryin' to show ya the reason why we're so fucked'Cause by the time it's over, won't make the slightest difference

This entire verse towards the end of the song accompanied by the visuals from the music video has a massive impact. The beginning of the song may sound like any other Eminem song but towards the end, it all comes together and makes sense as he is rapping from the perspective of the gunman at the LasVegas shooting. The meaning of the song becomes more clear as the video shows a deeper side to the song relaying visuals for the viewer to read deeper into the lyrics.   

A review that I have watched really matched my opinions on the track itself. The song really matches the video perfectly and matched gun control. The reason why Eminem would use his platform to express his feelings about gun violence is that he wants a change. The video portrays that the gun law is deeper than just banning guns but banning them fro certain people. In the video, it is shown that the person doing the shooting has mental health issues and a drinking habit. These wouldn't have been accounted for when he was to get the guns. Eminem makes a big point of this and dedicates an entire verse to it along with footage in the music video to back his point. 

"Finger on the trigger, but I'm a licensed owner
With no prior convictions, so the law says the sky's the limit
So my supply's infinite, strapped like I'm a soldier
Got 'em hopping over walls and climbing fences
Some of them John Travolta, staying alive by inches"

Especially the first line of the bar he is directly addressing the issue at hand along with footage to back it up. 

Little Simz - 101 FM

     

101 FM is a song about Little Simz growing up and her story of making songs when she was younger. The video is shot mostly with a 4:3 aspect ratio with lots of grain and noise to make it seem like the footage is old and vintage. This style fits the themes of the song because Simz is reminiscing on her past and how she became who she is now. The video cuts between diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound. This makes the video more grounded in reality. Simz describes the upbringing of her life and how it has affected her music and the video helps portray this message. 

Little Simz's music video for 101 FM has a very distinct tone, very nostalgic and rustic. This tone fits very well with the song as its all about reminiscing and looking back at what made you. The opening shot is of a film reel of some of her past, the lyrics match this same tone as she repeats what happened in her early life.  

In the video, lots of non-diegetic sounds are used. In the video, cars will drive past the camera and they will be included in the video. Along with the onset sound that was caught of her rapping her lyrics. This makes the overall song feel more personal and low budget. If it had had a very big budget and a cinematic feel to it then it wouldn't of fit the tone, this links in well with the Andre Goodwin theory as the themes of the song fit very well with how the video was shot. 


 Along with having a very nostalgic and reminiscing feel to it, there are also some moments where SImz is directly telling us about her life and even her mum adding more to the context of the song.

(Spinning em, spinning em, ay)
Times I would get home late to my mumzie's crib
"Simbi, who are you with?
What have you done?

Where have you been?"

Shit (Damn)  

Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.

The first single to release off of their critically acclaimed Demon Days was Feel Good Inc. Gorillaz is the creation of Blur frontman Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. They both have created a combination of genres and themes to create the Gorillaz. For Demon Days the main theme was a post-apocalyptic setting with some political influence, mainly focusing on the politics of war as this is something that Damon and Jamie wanted to explore with this album. The entire album itself is very low and has a mature tone to compliment the themes that it talks about. Damon and Jaime have evolved what was seen as a side project to be its own thing that needed to be respected and it did. Feel Good Inc's video has a very dark and dreary tone and the song compliments it. Although the song can be seen from an outsider as a happy song with all of the laughs and sound of the song the video contradicts someones first listen.    

The opening shot is of a broken down and abandoned city, the location of the music video definitely fits the tone of both the song and the album. It's very gritty tone really makes the video stand out. The setting of the video is very important as the entire album is about war and the destruction of it upon society. This video is showing what it could be like without any clear motivation

.

As the video goes on it consistently keeps this very dark tone as we make our way into the feel-good inc tower. The video style being Gorillaz is very unique as the entire video is animated and the fictional band members are performing the song live. While it has elements of live performance it definitely has some narrative as there is an ongoing story throughout the Gorillaz universe that is told through the videos. This is for a more active viewer that will watch the videos in-depth and listen to the song lots. You will find a story underlying and get more out of the video than a passive watcher.

At the same time as the video is very dark and frightening, the song breaks down into a calmer guitar riff that is played. This shows the progression of the song as well as the video. The visual look has changed to match the sound of the song. The colour pallet changes with the song tone. This makes the viewer a lot more emersed into the video and makes the song make more sense contextually. While the entire song has lots of contrast the video definitely keeps up with this contrasting formula. With this screenshot, you can clearly see the two different sections of the song portrayed with the colour pallet. One is very bright, calm and relaxed and the other being very dark and foreboding. 

Towards the end of the track the