Music video theories

1. Music Video Theories

2. New Politics – ‘Tonight You’re Perfect’
Should I believe in the world, momma?
Should I give up and hide or should I stay and fight?
Should I believe in the rules, momma?
Tell me if I should run or learn to shoot a gun
I don't know what to believe, momma
Yeah, I'm down on my knees,
I'm begging please
Help me back on my feet, momma
'Cause I need someone to believe, believe, believe in
Tonight you're perfect
I wanna fall in love with the stars in your eyes
Tonight you're perfect
I wanna fall in love but only for the night
(Tonight you're perfect)
(Tonight you're perfect)
Only for the night
(Tonight you're perfect)
(Tonight you're perfect)
I feel perfect too!
You won't believe what I've seen, momma
There's a fire inside, there's a storm on the rise
It's in the air that we breathe, momma
Can I speak out my mind in these changing times?
Give me a reason to be, momma
'Cause I'm down on my knees,
I'm begging please
Help me back on my feet, momma
'Cause I need someone to believe, believe, believe in
Tonight you're perfect
I wanna fall in love with the stars in your eyes
Tonight you're perfect
I wanna fall in love but only for the night
(Tonight you're perfect)
(Tonight you're perfect)
Only for the night
(Tonight you're perfect)
(Tonight you're perfect)
I feel perfect too!
Only for the night
Only for the night
Only for the night
Tonight you're perfect,
I wanna fall in love with the stars in your eyes
Tonight you're perfect
I wanna fall in love but only for the night

3. Ben Howard – ‘Only Love’
Darling you're with me, always around me.
Only love, only love.
Darling I feel you, under my body.
Only love, only love.
Give me shelter, or show me heart
Come on love, come on love.
Watch me fall apart, watch me fall apart.
And I'll be yours to keep.
A wind in the shadow, a whale song in the deep.
A wind in the shadow, a whale song in the deep.
Darling you're with me, always around me.
Only love, only love.
Darling I feel you, under my body.
Only love, only love.
Give me shelter, or show me heart
Come on love, come on love.
Watch me fall apart, watch me fall apart.
And I'll be yours to keep.
A wind in the shadow, a whale song in the deep.
A wind in the shadow, a whale song...
Darling you're with me, always around me.
Only love, only love.
Darling I feel you, under my body.
Only love, only love.
Give me shelter, or show me heart
Come on love, come on love.
Watch me fall apart, watch me fall apart.
Watch me fall apart, watch me fall apart,
Watch me fall apart, watch me fall apart,
Watch me fall apart, watch me fall apart,
Only love love love,
Only love love love,
Only love love love,
Girl show me heart.
Come on love love love,
Come on love love love,
Come on love love love.
Watch me fall apart.
Come on love love love,
Come on love love love,
Come on love love love.
Girl show me heart.
Show me love love love,
Show me love love love,
Show me love love love.
Watch me fall apart.
Darling I feel you, under my body
Darling you're with me, forever and always.
Give me shelter or show me heart.
And watch me fall apart, watch me fall apart.

4. Joe Salzman (2000)
• “They now provide pictures for the songs in our heads. Goodbye,
imagination… No need to think, to embellish, to create, to imagine”
New politics – ‘Tonight They’re Perfect’
• The video provides images that do not link to the lyrics in the song as it is
about them travelling around Iceland due to their plane being delayed.
Ben Howard – ‘Only Love’
• The video also has no link to the lyrics of the song as he is travelling
through the city on his bike.

5. Steve Archer
• “Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the
song by the band… Sometimes, the artist… will be a part of the story,
acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch
close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart
of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it.” - 2004
New Politics – “Tonight You’re Perfect”
• Only at the end of the music video, the band are seen going on stage but
there is no lip syncing or performing throughout the video.
Ben Howard – ‘Only Love’
• This is a typical feature throughout this music video as he is presented
travelling around the city on his bike whilst cuts of a gig he is performing
at is inserted into different sections.

6. Laura Mulvey
• The presence of women is often solely for the purposes of display and the
purpose of this display is to facilitate a voyeuristic response in the
spectators, which presumes a male gaze, regardless of the actual gender
of the spectator i.e. a powerful and controlling gaze at the female, who is
on display and is, therefore, objectified and passive – 1975
New Politics – “Tonight You’re Perfect”
• There are females used throughout the music video and may been used
for the male gaze but could be associated with the idea of passion
between each of the band members.
Ben Howard – ‘Only Love’
• There are no females used throughout the music video.

7. Pete Fraser
• “Is the female flesh on display simply a cynical; exploitation of the female
body to increase (predominantly) male profit margins, or a life-enhancing
assertion of female self-confidence and sexual independence?” – 2005
New Politics – “Tonight You’re Perfect”
• There is scenes in which the group of boys and girls are seen in their
swimming costume which could be for either sexual reasons or female self-
confidence due to the majority of people who listen to the bands music to
be females rather than males.

8. Andrew Goodwin
• There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (with visuals
either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics).
• There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (again with
visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music).
• Particular music genres may have their own music style and iconography
(such as live stage performance in heavy rock).
• There is a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close-ups
of the main artist/vocalist.
• The artist may develop their own star iconography, in and out of their
videos, which, over time, becomes part of their star image.
• There is likely to be reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment
of women, but also in terms of looking (screens within screens, binoculars,
cameras etc).
• There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos
or to films and TV texts.

9. Andrew Goodwin
New Politics – “Tonight You’re Perfect”
• There is no link between the lyrics to the video
• There is no relationship between the music and the visuals
• Due to the genre of the music video, there was a large amount of
adventurous shots that made the characters look happy and as though
they were enjoying their selves.
• Close ups on the faces of the main characters which happen to be the
band throughout the music video.
Ben Howard – ‘Only Love’
• There is no link between the lyrics in the music video and the video
• There is no relationship between the music and the visuals
• The genre of the music video also shows the artist as being someone who
enjoys his own company as he travels around the city on his own
• There are many close ups on the artist throughout the music video