2. 1. SLAYER – DITTOHEAD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qd12Hgx43g
Slayer is a thrash metal band started in the 1980’s –
This music video was produced in the 1990’s.
The video depicts rioting youth permeated with
performance shots of the band in a small concert
venue, perhaps in a squat
3. Timecode: 0:48
This is one of many close-up shots within the video, as the music is fast paced,
the shots follow that as they rapidly change throughout. Close up shots such as
this are effective in creating a sense of emergency and a flurry of imagery to fit
with the abrasive sound of the band.
The vocalist and bassist Tom Araya is screaming along with the audio track to
create the illusion that the band is actually playing the recorded track, whereas
he is in fact lip syncing, or at least not performing the track exactly as it sounds
on record.
4. Timecode: 0:35
This shot depicts a man smashing a brick wall with a sledgehammer, in order to
illustrate the concept of rebellion and rioting that is present throughout the video. It
also emphasizes the brutality of the band’s sound which is typically associated with
violence and/or destruction, as it merges punk/hardcore music with heavy metal.
The figure is silhouetted which I believe was done to stray from personality in the
destructive acts but rather a collective identity, as angry youth rather than singular
people with individuality.
5. The music video features
surrealist imagery such as an old
man on a crucifix with a santa
claus hat on, being pecked at by
crows, an obese women with her
intestines painted on her stomach
with angel wings, and a little girl in
a Ku-Klux-Klan costume, all in a
field of poppies, which I believe is
a symbol of heroin or other opiate
use. There are also performance
shots of the band that perform in
the surreal background, and a lot
in the video has relation to birth,
which ties in with the album the
track is from 'In Utero' which could
be seen as a concept album
based on conception.
6. DEATH GRIPS – COME UP AND GET ME
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOs51Lvhn64
Death Grips is an Experimental Hip-Hop group from
Sacramento, California. After releasing their mixtape
'Exmilitary' in 2011, they were signed by Epic Records
and released the album 'The Money Store' which
received critical acclaim on music reviewing websites
such as Pitchfork and other in the indie blogosphere.
Then, when Epic Records wanted to push back the
release of their next album 'No Love Deep Web', the
band reacted by leaking the album in full on the
internet, posting nagging messages from the label on
their facebook and twitter pages, and then put a picture
of the drummer's erect penis as the album cover with
the words 'NO LOVE DEEP WEB' on it. Needless to
say they were subsequently dropped from Epic
Records, but continue to tour to this day.
7. The video opens very unconventionally as
the first 8 and a half minutes are completely
silent and feature black and white footage of
the band's vocalist MC Ride in some
strange situations, such as struggling
underwater with handcuffs on, savagely
eating a bunch of white flowers, hanging
from ceilings, standing on ledges, and an
odd shot of what appears to be a booted
foot that is dripping whilst staying
completely still. I believe the video has
something to do with the lyrics of the song,
In which he is describing locked in an eight-
storey building, and describes screaming
down at people below 'Come Up and Get
Me!' and accepting death, which I interpret
as a metaphor for how he feels in his own
mind, as on the last verse he begins
describing his 'fragmented mind' and
experiencing paranoia and other mental
disorder.
8. 4. DAVID BOWIE – LIFE ON MARS?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--
IqqusnNQ
David Bowie is a highly influential rock musician
who has been making music since the mid-60s,
and has just recently put out his new album in
2013, 'The Next Day'. He was revered for his
unique vocal style, musical choices and also his
very outlandish and at times controversial
physical appearance. This video is no exception.
9. The music video is rather simplistic,
it features a few varying shots of
David Bowie singing along to the
track, in a completely white
background. The music video
emphasizes his rather peculiar
physical appearance, he is very pale
skinned, ginger hair with an odd hair
cut, and done up in women's make-
up, which was something David
Bowie constantly experimented with
throughout his career, he took on the
androgynous form of a character
named 'Ziggy Stardust'. I think the
music video slightly detracts from the
lyrics of the song as there are no
clear references to them.
10. 5. SYSTEM OF A DOWN – WAR?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F46r-_jPPHY
System of a Down is an all-Armenian group
hailing from Los Angeles, sometimes very
politically and socially outspoken, all the time
very energetic and experimental with their sound
and lyrical ideas. They went on a break in 2006
and returned in 2011 and are currently touring
with words of a new album releasing soon.
11. This video is also rather
unconventional as instead of the
album version of the song, they have
used a demo tape version from 1997.
The beginning of the video starts off
with footage of war, like cannons
firing and napalm being spread, with
a voice clip of the lead singer
shouting “Freedom will only be
available through Death” before
shouting “Praise The Lord, Pass the
Ammunition, God wants you to go to
war!” and then the rest of the video is
compiled footage of one of the band's
live shows in a sepia tone, synced
with the demo track. Very clearly
politically charged song and an
energetic live performance from the
band which can draw in fans.
