Album cover analysis

Album Covers are another important aspect of Music Video as a package. They are an extension of an artists creative and promotional package. Different Genres of Music have different Ideas and conventions regaring their album artwork. Although there are general conventions that all in the genre follow, some artists use it as a means of individualism and this can lead to interesting and artistic Covers. Album covers are however becoming more and more obselete because of the huge rise of Internet download and other means of playing music. Dispite this there is still a large market for a physical album. Here are three from the main three genres.

Radiohead- Kid A: This albumn cover from the Indie band Radiohead is a good example of what an album cover is. For the Indie genre there generally is an artistic and entropic view on what an album cover is and this is no exeption. It is at first glance just a mountain range, nothing partically interesting about that. But they arnt usually featured in any Album cover (especially not painted) which makes it very entropic and abstract. The reason for abstractnes as opposed to a more pop video is partially to give the impression that they are an Indie band and again because the individual dosnt matter in the Indie genre as a whole and they focus more on the talant, this relates to the album covers bieng extensions of there artistic talants.

This particular album cover has been constructed deliberatly too look almost unfinished and stuck together. Hence the cuts in the image which give it a more arty feel to it. A standalone picture of a mountain range wouldnt have the desired effect of art even though it is painted it still needed something else. and in the background there is suddenly a red and fiery feel to the image. This could be a representation of energy or power which could be relating to the music or the band. Interestingly the Name of the album has absolutely no relevence to the image. Usually there is some sort of reference no matter how insignificant. But in this there isnt.

Iron Maiden- The Final Frontier: This album cover for Rock band Iron Maiden is an interesting and iconic example of what a Rock album cover could be like. Rock album covers are a little trikier to define that Indie or pop because Rock is one of the Widest genres and covers so many different types of rock. Each different types of rock brings with it its own ideas about what there music is about. And they also have differing ideas about what an album cover should be like. Traditional rock bands like The Beatles or Pink floyd have very different  covers to Heavy metal bands like Metallica and Slipknot. However all rock tends to favour creativity as opposed to advertisement in the usage of album covers

Iron Maiden falls under the rock catagory of Metal and is a good example of Conventions and Beliefs in regards to there Albums. As we can see there is a strong theme of Death, almost unholyness in this artwork. Skulls, blood and cuts are all frequent in this album. This is common with many Metal album covers because they relate to the subculture of the people who generally listen to it. It could also be symbolism for the consequenses of living a Metal lifestyle. But probebly not. Colours in these albums are generally dark and include deep shades of colours. However in my mind this is a slightly more artistic and colourful approach to an album cover.

Tinie Tempah- Discovery: This album cover for pop Tinie Tempah is a typical and conventional take on a pop Album cover. Most Pop music in general focuses on the artist and uses it as a advertisment tool. Album covers are no different and will nearly always have mid shots or close ups of the artists and not much else. Art is not a major componant in this genre, but this specific album is using artwork as well as advertising the individual.

Todorov's narrative theory

Todorov was a Media Theorist who came up with a theory about Narrative structure. This theory can be applied to numerous forms of media like Film, Music Video and other literatures. He split the basic narrative into 4 Sections.

Equilibrium: everything is normal

Disruption of equilibrium: Something upsets the normal balance of life

Attempt to repair the disruption: The Hero goes on a quest

Equilibrium is restored (However not exactly back to the way it was): the hero defeats the Villain.

Toderov used fairy tails and other fantasy legends as a basis for his theory. However this is merely a basic narrative structure, and it can be applied to other scenarios and Genres. For example the Equilibrium could be a man is Alone. The disruption could be he falls in love with a Girl he meets. His attempt to repair would be He tries to start a relationship with this girl. And finally the new equilibrium would be he gets the girl.

In terms of Music Video this can be applied to songs. However in my opinion only certain genres fit this Narrative, for example Drum and bass doesn't generally have a Narrative structure so it dosnt fit the Theory.

In this video for Blur- Coffee and TV there is a Clearly defined narrative. Todarovs narrative theory can be applied to this video because it meets all the basic requirements of the Theroy.

Equilibrium- The equilibrium of this particular video is that there is a family and there son has gone missing. we see this on the image of the milk carten with a picture of a man on the side. We can deduct that this man is connected to the family because of the distressed look of the family in the video.

Disruption of equilibrium- The disruption to this rather dark equilibrium is the Milk Carton itself. The carton comes to life and is clearly concerned for the mans wellbieng. So this has already disrupted the equilibrium with his presence.

Repairing the equilibrium- In an attempt to repair the equilibrium our hero (The milk carton) undertakes a quest to find the missing man (or at least this is what we assume but it just so happens to be true). In any such quest he has to overcome many perilous obsticals that are inbetween him and the missing boy. Obsticals such as a Strimmer, Open road, City life, evil garbage and children. This video follows the narrative master plot of "The Quest" which to involves a hero/heroine undertaking a quest which will somehow make others lives more pleasant. Usually the hero manages to complete his quest but is not entirely the same afterwards. This is similar to this particular quest.

New Equilibrium- Eventually our hero finds the missing man and asks him to come home. So he does go home and the family are very happy to see him. So our heros quest is done and at the end the milk carton is drunk by the missing man and our hero dies. So a new equilibrium is established and as toderovs theory states it is not the same as it was before.

Sven E Carlsson- Media Theorist

Sven E Carsson is a Media theorist who became famous with his theory on Music Videos. He believed that all music Videos were split into two Catagories. Performance Clips and Conceptual clips. He also believed that there were three types of Performer in the clips aswell.

Comercial Exhibishionist- This is where the performer is portrayed themselves as a Selling Point. This is more common with Pop videos than other genres because they tend to focus on the Artist involved in there videos, rather than the music. A prime example of a Comercial Exhibitionist would be...

Televised Bard- This is where the Performer also takes on the role of Storyteller through the use of song. In a Video we usually see the "Bard" only a few times in the video because the video will be focusing on the story as opposed to the Music. This is fairly common with Indie Genre who have a good emphsis on narrative. Bands like Radiohead are a good example because in several of there videos they take the form of storyteller.

Electronic Shaman- This is where the performer is a Voice and usually nothing more. In Videos we dont see the "Shaman" for the most part (if not at all) and he/she only appears as an illusive voice. This is less common with Indie, Rock and Pop because they need to be advertised. The main uses of this character is in more specialized forms of pop like Drum and Bass or Hip hop. A good example of an Electronic Shaman is Fat boy Slim. In Most of his music Videos he isnt in his videos and he is only a voice.

Firth- Media Theorist

In 1998 a Media theorist called Firth came up with a way of Analysing Music Videos. He Split Them into 3 Categories.

Performance: To Convey a sense of in-concert experience.
'Performance oriented visuals cue viewers that the recording of the music is the recording of the music is the most significant element.'

Narrative: Linear stories- love stories are the Most popular
'Action in the story is dominated by males who do things and females who passively react or wait  for something to happen' (Schwichtenberg 1992)

Conceptual: Metaphors to create a mood, offer multiple meanings

This Video of Guns N Roses-Paradise City is a good example of a Performance aspect of Firth. Throughout the whole video there are basically all shots of the band performing as opposed to a popular video. This is showing the audience that the Performance to them is more important than the Music promotional tool that alot of music videos are made for.

 

 This Video for Blur- Coffee and TV is a good example of a Narrative Video. If you were to ignore the song and focus only on the Video you would see a clear Narrative structure. This is a common convention of alot of indie rock videos because they tend to focus more on there creative nature and use music videos as a tool to do that.

Conventions of Indie

CONVENTIONS OF INDIE


1. Less Emphasis on the artists themselves because they themselves are not being advertised, their musical talent is being showcased in the music videos

2. There is a generally creative aspect to Indie with the video. It shows off there ability to be different and it shows what they can do with a budget.

Arctic Monkeys - Florescent Adolescent

Ok Go- Here It Goes Again











3. Indie labels are generally less well off than the mainstream Labels and because there music is less sought after. This shows in the Use of Mise-en-scene, costume is generally more Casual wear like Plain Shirts, Jeans and Trainers as apposed to the more elaborate costume of the Pop and Rock Genre.

The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony










4. Indie Videos tend to have a strong emphasis on narrative. This shows with many indie bands including Blur, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead and several others. This is because they use Music Videos as a means of advertising there ability to create music as something new and different in comparrison to Pop and Rock. This helps them to stand out in the Media.

Blur - Coffee and TV

The Beastie Boys - Sabotage

Radiohead - Just












5 .Use of camera is less important in indie Music. It tends to be slower paced, like the music and therefore dosnt need to have fast moving cuts. And there are less Close up, and Mid shots in the Videos. This is because they feel they dont need to advertise the individuals in Indie videos.

Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby

Conventions of Rock

CONVENTIONS OF ROCK


1.The main feature of Rock is that Music Videos tend to focus on them as a band, as opposed to an Individual. This is because they arn't packaged in the same way as a Pop artist where it is usually just a single person, it Gives importance to all members of the Band.

Nickelback- How You Remind Me












2. There are many shots throughout videos of The band showing of There musical Capabilities. e.g. The band Playing their instruments. Rock is not aimed at the mass market so they are almost trying to advertise themselves because they may not be recognisable.

Guns 'N' Roses- Paradise City












3. The majority of rock videos use dim lighting and dull colours. Some dont have any colour at all. This I think is reflecting on the music itself because it isnt as upbeat or as energetic as a Pop music video.

Metallica- One













4.There is in alot of rock videos a Narrative structure of some degree. For example there is usually a Romance narrative between the Lead singer and a Woman (or a man if the Singer is a woman).

Nickelback-How you Remind Me












5. Use of Mise-en-scene is taken seriously in Rock videos. Use of props, location in the Narrative side of the Video. The performance is usually less but not entirely gone. For example a Live performance video the Mise-en-scene would be the Stage, because it reminds us of

Conventions of Pop

CONVENTIONS OF POP

1. Use of colours and Bright lights is common among most Pop videos. This creates a sense of energy and emotion that the producers like the artists to be put across as colourful and energetic.

2.Close up shots designed to focus our attention on the Artist and not much else. This means that they are packaged as individuals and as artists, as apposed to somebody with musical talent.

3.Use of Vourism is common, mainly in the use of female artists. I think that this is primarily to appeal to the teenage audience and also to make the artists appear how the producers want them to. This will create more appeal and fanbase for the artists and in turn will make more money.

4. Because of its mass appeal, most pop videos are aimed at a teenage and younger audience. Large brands of Music like EMA and Virgin will constantly use Pop videos and aim it at the younger audiences through use of marketing, Music Videos Bieng one of the more dominant forms of Advertising.

5. Different types of pop are aimed at Both Genders. For Females the use of Bright girly colours is common, like the use of Pink and Other Bright Colours. For Males it is use of colourful bu darker colours Like Shades of Blue.