Analysing (Mostly) Gotye's Music Videos
Gotye is one of my favourite underrated musicians. His one hit wonder, Somebody That I Used to Know, was the post-breakup song a few years ago. Sadly, he has faded into obscurity and are no longer making music, judging from the dire lack of videos on their YouTube channel (although he did post a cover a few days ago). However, Gotye deserves a mention here because of his brilliant music videos.
Gotye's music is upbeat and catchy without being a sell-out, and his music videos express this well. Strange, psychedelic, even straight up bizzare---they probe your mind whilst simultaneously making itself home there.
I also think they'd make a great case study for my current Visual Communications in Art & Design project, which is going to be an animation. Music videos are supposed to be visual embodiments of its songs. Some brilliant contemporary examples are Arctic Monkeys, whose music videos almost always involves vibrating sound lines. There are some examples of their work at the end of the video as well.
Enough talking, let's get on with it.
Giving Me A Chance
Giving Me A Chance, I think, is about growing up. It shows a creature chasing something, his helmet, through different worlds. I think this symbolises childhood and teenage life and adulthood, where you're kinda trying new things and trying to figure out who you are. You're experimenting to create your own identity. He finally manages to catch this helmet, or his "head" (does the term "get your head together" ring a bell?) and ties it to a swing, along with things he found in other worlds. This is when we start to settle down, build a family or a community we can surround ourselves with, or an identity we're comfortable with. The objects from other worlds represent the experiences, memories, and lessons he's learned from his exploration. In the end, the objects spring up into something new---the fruits of our labour, be it in the form of children or a career or simply contentment. The creature fades away into a network of tangled arms, which I think is so fucking beautiful because it shows that there are other creatures just like him who are exploring these worlds and building structures at the same time. We're not alone in the world because there are so many people like us. This video is happy and content. It's not trying to make a statement or rile people into a protest. It's a celebration of life and happiness, and one of my favourite music videos of all time. Although, let's get real here, I love everything Gotye puts on the table.
Easy Way Out
A short and hilarious music video about the hum-drums of life. It shows him getting up, in the kitchen, working at a job, on the subway, etc. The motions begin all happy and energetic, and fade into an I-don't-give-a-fuck-anymore crawl. In the end, he burns his newspaper, his home, his life, and still he doesn't seem to give a fuck. He's sick of this monotonous life, portrayed brilliantly with the bluish hue of the entire video. Another thing that I love about Gotye's music videos is the way it reflects the nature of the music so well. The jerkiness of his movements matches and amplifies the beat. It's one thing to express a song well, it's another thing to add to it, making people notice things that weren't there before.
Hearts A Mess
Although not grammatically correct (shouldn't it be "Heart's A Mess"?), this melancholic video truly captures the essence of being down in the dumps. It depicts Gotye's face on a long-legged creature, leading other long-legged creatures through a desolate landscape. They drag a blanket of darkness behind them, covering the whole planet with it. This one is brutally emotional, and evokes an overwhelming sense of loss. The graphics in combination with the song feels very heavy, as if you're trapped in a dense cloud that's about to rain in any second. Also, notice the weird beat to which the creatures walk, almost shuffling. Another dark and brilliant offering from Gotye.
State Of The Art
Another very dark video, this one warns us of the dangers of letting technology run our lives. The over-bright graphics and looming shadows add to the overall "threatening" feel. It starts with an American dream family---a father with a well-paying job (who could afford to buy all these gadgets and please his family), a socialite wife, a bouncing baby, a brother and sister. One day, the father comes home with the newest gadget---a piano that could write its own music. Only, holy plot twist, the piano grows a mind of its own and attacks the family. It ends with the father, mother, baby, brother and sister turning into machines themselves, and they, along with the house that has acquired a life of its own, go on a rampage across the galaxy to conquer other planets. The song incorporates a lot of synth and electro, and I love the title "State of the Art". It means something new and groundbreaking and very, very high quality. Machines are able to replace human labour (and now, human interaction) and so, in a way, they are a "state of the art"---also a lot of people think of organic and physical paintings when they hear the word "art", and this sort of fights that in a sense that the "art", or product here, is non-organic.
Those are a few Gotye music videos that I really love and I think establishes a great connection between audio and visuals.
A few other non-Gotye music videos that deserve a mention:
Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?
The vibration lines at the beginning of the video serves to amplify your audio experience. I also love how the speed and tempo of the animation matches the tempo of the music, ex: at 1:37.
2Cellos - Mombasa
2Cellos are one of those duos that you have to watch in order to truly understand its impact. This is a shortened cover of Hans Zimmer's "Mombasa" (which is also known as Inception's chase scene song). I love the tiny movements they make, like that thing he does at 3:17, or the little sleights of hand, or even just their expression---turning their head, looking at the cello intensely, tapping their foot. One of my favourite music videos of all time because of its simplicity and depth.
That is all for today, see you in the next update!