The document analyzes Avicii's music video for "The Days" using 6 criteria for analyzing music videos. It finds:
1) The video visually depicts the song's lyrics being spray painted on a surface to form Avicii's face, relating the lyrics and visuals unusually closely.
2) There are intertextual references between this and Avicii's video for "The Nights" which uses a similar lyrical spray painting concept.
3) While Avicii does not appear, the spray painted lyrics form his image, leaving viewers focusing on him. Spray paint is a recurring motif across Avicii's videos.
3. Lyrics
Under the tree where the grass don't grow
We made a promise to never get old
You had a chance and you took it on me
And I made a promise that I couldn't keep.
Heart ache, heart break
All over town
But something flipped like a switch when you came around
And I'm in pieces, pick me up and put me together
These are the days we've been waiting for
On days like these who could ask for more?
Leave them coming 'cause we're not done yet
These are the days we won't regret
These are the days we won't forget
These are the days we've been waiting for
Rattle the cage and slam that door
And the world is calling us but not just yet
These are the days we won't regret
These are the days we won't forget
Out on the midnight the wild ones howl
The last of the lost boys have thrown in the towel
We used to believe we were stars aligned
You made a wish and I fell out of
Time flew, cut through
All over town
You made me bleed when I look up and you're not around
But I'm in pieces, pick me up and put me together
These are the days we've been waiting for
On days like these who could ask for more?
Leave them coming 'cause we're not done yet
These are the days we won't regret
These are the days we won't forget
These are the days we've been waiting for
Neither of us knows what's in store,
You just roll your window down and place your bets
These are the days we won't regret
These are the days we will never forget!
And these are the days (and these are the days)
And these are the days (and these are the days)
5. Andrew Goodwin 6 Features of a Music
Video
1 - Genre Characteristics – Location, Costume, Tempo, Atmosphere
2 - Relationships between lyrics and visuals
2 - Relationships between Music and Visuals
3 – Often intertextual references to films, TV and other music videos.
4 - Demands of the record label. Lots of close ups of artist etc. May develop
reoccurring motifs in their videos
5 – Reference to looking. Idea of in video artist looking at themselves in the mirror and
singing or onstage and audience forced to look at them. E.g Starsky and Hutch and
Beastie Boys Sabotage.
6 – Intertextual References to other areas. E.g Katy Perry being Tarzan in Roar.
6. Analysis against the 6 Features
1 – All of Avicii’s songs have a similar tempo, as well as a reoccurring in the background. The similarities between ‘The Days’ and ‘The
Nights’ in their meaning is also very similar. The impression about living life to the fullest and making memories is definitely an aspect
that reappears throughout his songs.
2 – The relationship between Lyrics and Visuals in ‘The Days’ is an unusual one. This is due to the fact that is the video, the visuals we
are seeing are the lyrics. The footage the audience sees is the lyrics of the song being spray painted onto a wall - eventually creating
the shape of Avicii’s head.
3 – In terms of Intertextual references, the lyric video of my chosen song (Avicii – The Nights) is very similar, if not the same, to the
video for Avicii – The Days. Through the use of spray painting the lyrics on a surface as they are sung is clearly a link. Avicii is trying to
develop a characteristic for his videos of this specific way of creating music videos/.
4 – There do not to be any demands from the record label for artist placement in the video as Avicii does not only not appear in the
video for ‘The Days’, but he does not appear in any of his videos. However, the reoccurrence of lyrics ‘spray painting’ videos does seem
like something too specific to not be planned or demanded.
5 – Avicii does not physically appear in the video for ‘The Days’ so no ‘reference to looking’ can be made. However, the result of the
spray paint is an image of Avicii made up of the lyrics of the song. It is the closing shot so the audience are left with that image in their
heads.
6 – Intertextual references could be argued towards to link between the videos for ‘The Days’ and ‘The Nights’. Firstly because both
songs have lyric videos as explained and also because there is a clear link between day and night.
7. Additional Analysis – Spray Paint/Logo
There is a reoccurring theme of spray paint across Avicii’s videos. Even if the
contents of the video are completely different there appear to be the link of spray
painting at some point. In the music video for ‘The Nights’, it begins with the actor
spraying Avicii’s logo onto a plank of wood and the logo appear at multiple points
across the video.
