Lyrics
I've watched you from a distance but never spoken a word
I have seen every flaw you try to hide from the world
I sit silent in shadows watching the paths you have made
If only you knew my intentions
I've watched you make the same mistakes over and over
This is not healthy
I need to some how stop this but your beauty intrigues me
It seems to be pulling me in
All I want is a moment or something I can hold close for eternity I've watched you make the same mistakes over and over If only you knew my name and all of my motives
Yet I sit in the same place every night and wait for you to come back home
A few moments would help me find myself
But this problem has taken its tragic grip
Just a few moments will help me find myself again
If only you knew my name and all of my motives
I need to somehow stop this.
All i need is a moment or something I can hold close for eternity
Something I can hold close to me
Analysis - According to the vocalist of the band, this song is about A stalker/lover talking about his victim/lover.
A lot of the lyrics in this song are quite explicit in talking about the content.
"I've watched you from a distance but never spoken a word" Quite obviously just talking about the man watching his victim
"I sit silent in shadows watching the paths you have made" Pretty much the same meaning, just repeating that the man is stalking his victim
"I need to some how stop this. But your beauty intrigues me" Sounds like the stalker knows he has a problem, but is to involved to simply stop doing it
"I've watched you make the same mistakes over and over " Makes out that the stalker cares about his victim and actually cares about her
"If only you knew my name and all of my motives" Sounds like the stalker has feelings for the woman and is not just stalking her, he actually has feelings for her
"All I need is a moment or something i can hold close for eternity" And the last line, I see this as the stalker saying he just needs her to acknowledge him once and he can finally be at rest
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Early grave analysis
Video
And finally, the video to "Early grave" The video starts with a man wearing a suit with bandages on his face on sitting on a bench that looks like it is on the side of a marina. The man is shown walking around outside some sort of urban structure. He is then seen inside of a bathroom looking in a mirror putting a "persons face" mask on. We see the man asleep on a set of metal stairs beside the building he was just inside. He is then sat in an armchair watching some sort of film, we see the flashing light from the TV set shining on him and see him tapping his fingers. The man appears in a bathroom and quickly appears and disappears several times. He then appears in the bathroom and stays there, looking in the mirror, putting on what appears to be a wolf mask. He walks out of the bathroom and into a bar as he takes a seat. The man is seen running through a forest without the wolf mask on. We see the man stood on his own in the forest, falling to his knees pulling off the bandages on his face. He takes them off and we see that the man has no eyes. In the final shot of the video, the man is stood above his bandages as they lay on the forest floor. This video is in black and white.
Lyrics
I've been out for so long, days slipped by again. And I can't sleep since I stopped caring. I'll stay out until my lungs bleed. And I can't tell daylight from streetlights anymore. As he cast his shadow. I've seen this road a thousand times and I can't look back. I've seen this road a thousand times and I can't, I'm not looking back. This is so unfamiliar; death is no man's friend. Yet I'll stay here until I hear him roar. Death is screaming my name but I refuse to listen to him. I can't sit here forever. Watch me rise again. Watch me rise back up. Forever would be just be so easy to fall into. But still I'll stay out until my lungs bleed. Forever is the easy option but I won't take it. The choices I've made will lead me to an early fucking grave
Anaylsis - As stated in an interview with the vocalist Sam Carter, this song is about how he used to rely on alchohol and drugs to enjoyhimself and the bad state it got himself into.
"I've been out for so long, days slipped by again" Referring to passing out and losing track of his days because of drug abuse
"Death is screaming my name but I refuse to listen to him" I see this line as the point were Sam decided he needs to change his way of life and get back on track
"Watch me rise again" Letting people know that he will change his ways and overcome his problem
"The choices I've made will lead me to an early fucking grave " Even if Sam has kicked his habbits, he has probably realised that what he has done will have an overall impact on his life
This song re enforces the "Live fast, die fun" outlook some people have on life. This song, like the others, apparently has no reflection on the story in the video.
And finally, the video to "Early grave" The video starts with a man wearing a suit with bandages on his face on sitting on a bench that looks like it is on the side of a marina. The man is shown walking around outside some sort of urban structure. He is then seen inside of a bathroom looking in a mirror putting a "persons face" mask on. We see the man asleep on a set of metal stairs beside the building he was just inside. He is then sat in an armchair watching some sort of film, we see the flashing light from the TV set shining on him and see him tapping his fingers. The man appears in a bathroom and quickly appears and disappears several times. He then appears in the bathroom and stays there, looking in the mirror, putting on what appears to be a wolf mask. He walks out of the bathroom and into a bar as he takes a seat. The man is seen running through a forest without the wolf mask on. We see the man stood on his own in the forest, falling to his knees pulling off the bandages on his face. He takes them off and we see that the man has no eyes. In the final shot of the video, the man is stood above his bandages as they lay on the forest floor. This video is in black and white.
Lyrics
I've been out for so long, days slipped by again. And I can't sleep since I stopped caring. I'll stay out until my lungs bleed. And I can't tell daylight from streetlights anymore. As he cast his shadow. I've seen this road a thousand times and I can't look back. I've seen this road a thousand times and I can't, I'm not looking back. This is so unfamiliar; death is no man's friend. Yet I'll stay here until I hear him roar. Death is screaming my name but I refuse to listen to him. I can't sit here forever. Watch me rise again. Watch me rise back up. Forever would be just be so easy to fall into. But still I'll stay out until my lungs bleed. Forever is the easy option but I won't take it. The choices I've made will lead me to an early fucking grave
Anaylsis - As stated in an interview with the vocalist Sam Carter, this song is about how he used to rely on alchohol and drugs to enjoyhimself and the bad state it got himself into.
"I've been out for so long, days slipped by again" Referring to passing out and losing track of his days because of drug abuse
"Death is screaming my name but I refuse to listen to him" I see this line as the point were Sam decided he needs to change his way of life and get back on track
"Watch me rise again" Letting people know that he will change his ways and overcome his problem
"The choices I've made will lead me to an early fucking grave " Even if Sam has kicked his habbits, he has probably realised that what he has done will have an overall impact on his life
This song re enforces the "Live fast, die fun" outlook some people have on life. This song, like the others, apparently has no reflection on the story in the video.
Always analysis
Video
The story line in "Always" is a lot more simple but enigmatic none the less. The video begins with a very short establishing shot of a lighthouse and a shot of some drawing supplies. The camera cuts back to the supplies a few more times, after the last time you can see an arm drawing something. It is shown that the man drawing is on his hands and knees drawing. The man stands up and looks out of a small circle window in the room. The walls are covered in pictures and drawings. He is seen holding up his picture to the light and then spinning a small key in his hands. He runs his hands along the walls and begins to add to one of the pictures, then starts to inspect all the others. He tears one of the pictures down and starts to hold his head and clench his fists. He begins to frantically tear down all the pictures on the walls. The man is seen sitting cross legged amongst a pile of his drawings looking exhausted. He begins to scratch and rub the back of his neck looking like he is in pain. He stands and walks to a mirror to try and find out what the problem is. He picks up a small hand held mirror and holds it behind his neck so that he can see the reflection in the mirror. He sees that the Architects band logo is printed on the back of his neck. The man begins to search through his drawings, he picks up a certain picture and pins it back up on the wall. The picture is shown to be some sort of map or blueprint, he draws the logo over a section of the picture that resembles it perfectly at which point the video ends. Boths sides of this video are quite pale.
Lyrics
If only you were here to hold my head above bloody waters We could make it through You turned your back on me and now I do the same to you You made me feel so hollow How can the man that you looked up to turn around and say three words that hurt more than you'll ever know You don't know what it feels like to be in my shoes You turned your back on me as I stood there and fell to the floor This time there's no reason for me to turn around and scream for help But if only you were here to hold my head above all those things you said to tie me down I'm looking for forgiveness for something that I didn't even do How can you call yourself and idol, a person to trust?How can I look so high up when you're always holding me down?
Analysis - This song seems to be aimed at perhaps a parent or other support figure in his life that seemed to tell him he was never good enough, and never really supported him. He felt guilty about it for a while ("I'm looking for forgiveness for something I didn't even do") then realized he never did anything wrong, and so now he realizes they were holding him down and is turning away from them.
Quoted from "http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858672842/"
"If only you were here to hold my head above bloody waters" Saying that he needed support and nobody was there for him
"You turned your back on me and now I do the same to you" Re enforcing how they did not show him their support and now he has succeeded at what he was trying to do he doesn't need them anymore
"You turned your back on me as I stood there and fell to the floor" The person left him in his time of need
As far as I can see the lyrics beat no resemblance what so ever to the storyline of the video
The story line in "Always" is a lot more simple but enigmatic none the less. The video begins with a very short establishing shot of a lighthouse and a shot of some drawing supplies. The camera cuts back to the supplies a few more times, after the last time you can see an arm drawing something. It is shown that the man drawing is on his hands and knees drawing. The man stands up and looks out of a small circle window in the room. The walls are covered in pictures and drawings. He is seen holding up his picture to the light and then spinning a small key in his hands. He runs his hands along the walls and begins to add to one of the pictures, then starts to inspect all the others. He tears one of the pictures down and starts to hold his head and clench his fists. He begins to frantically tear down all the pictures on the walls. The man is seen sitting cross legged amongst a pile of his drawings looking exhausted. He begins to scratch and rub the back of his neck looking like he is in pain. He stands and walks to a mirror to try and find out what the problem is. He picks up a small hand held mirror and holds it behind his neck so that he can see the reflection in the mirror. He sees that the Architects band logo is printed on the back of his neck. The man begins to search through his drawings, he picks up a certain picture and pins it back up on the wall. The picture is shown to be some sort of map or blueprint, he draws the logo over a section of the picture that resembles it perfectly at which point the video ends. Boths sides of this video are quite pale.
Lyrics
If only you were here to hold my head above bloody waters We could make it through You turned your back on me and now I do the same to you You made me feel so hollow How can the man that you looked up to turn around and say three words that hurt more than you'll ever know You don't know what it feels like to be in my shoes You turned your back on me as I stood there and fell to the floor This time there's no reason for me to turn around and scream for help But if only you were here to hold my head above all those things you said to tie me down I'm looking for forgiveness for something that I didn't even do How can you call yourself and idol, a person to trust?How can I look so high up when you're always holding me down?
Analysis - This song seems to be aimed at perhaps a parent or other support figure in his life that seemed to tell him he was never good enough, and never really supported him. He felt guilty about it for a while ("I'm looking for forgiveness for something I didn't even do") then realized he never did anything wrong, and so now he realizes they were holding him down and is turning away from them.
Quoted from "http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858672842/"
"If only you were here to hold my head above bloody waters" Saying that he needed support and nobody was there for him
"You turned your back on me and now I do the same to you" Re enforcing how they did not show him their support and now he has succeeded at what he was trying to do he doesn't need them anymore
"You turned your back on me as I stood there and fell to the floor" The person left him in his time of need
As far as I can see the lyrics beat no resemblance what so ever to the storyline of the video
Buried at sea analysis
Video
The story line in "Buried at sea" begins with a man wearing a ripped and scruffy suit waking up in a coffin and walking around, apparently looking for something on a beach. After a few shots of the man walking around the beach, we are shown him picking up a small book that he finds by the side of the coffin he awoke in. He opens the book and finds a key has been hidden inside the pages. We then see the man walking through what appears to be a small forest. The camera keeps focusing on his feet and the ground he is walking on. The next shot shows the man walking across the horizon then walking under "The angel of the North" The man is seen to be continuing on his walk through the beach and collapses. The man is then seen awaking from his coffin again, stumbling away and collapsing on the floor. He begins to regurgitate the key that he found in the book and drops it onto the sand. When the man stands up he starts to go crazy flinging his arms around and violently removing the coat he is wearing, slamming it to the ground. The man is then seen awaking from his coffin for the third time, this time standing up and immediately running down the beach removing his jacket, he falls to the floor and starts to claw at the sand, eventually digging up and retrieving the key. He turns and starts to run in the other direction, running through the forest and then appears in an urban modern day setting. He passes the angel of north for a second time. He gets to his destination and the camera focus' on his feet as he stands in front of a lighthouse holding the key. In this video, the shots of the band playing are grainy and have the black ring around the screen efffect.
Lyrics
Send my regards to you and yours I'm not coming back for you And I'll hold onto the last memory of you I'll hold onto you and bury you at sea How can you watch me split in two?You've done this before, you know me oh too well Send my regards to you and yours And no hope will come from this So turn around and run How can you smile when you see me crumbling?And we all stood back and watched the waves crash down on you Send my regards to you and yours And there's no hope for someone as cold as you You made me sink into the coldest of Waves watch you sink into lies that you created
Analysis - I think its about a relationship or a friend, and they haven't been a good friend/partner and they have lied to the the other person so many times "You've done this before, you know me oh too well" and they don't want to know them anymore.And now there life is falling around them and know one is there to help them because of what they have done in the past"I watch you sink into lies that you created ""And we all stood back and watched the waves crash down on you" As quoted from "http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858672838/"
"Send my regards to you and yours, I'm not coming back for you" Saying his goodbyes to the person in question and washing his hands of them
"How can you smile when you see me crumbling?" Asking the person, even though he knows they are not as close as they were, after all they've been through, how can they take pleasure in seeing him in pain?
"You made me sink into the coldest of waves" I see the "coldest of waves" to be guilt, and he is accusing the person this song is about of making him feel guilty all the time
Just like the other videos, these lyrics are no relevant to the content of the video
The story line in "Buried at sea" begins with a man wearing a ripped and scruffy suit waking up in a coffin and walking around, apparently looking for something on a beach. After a few shots of the man walking around the beach, we are shown him picking up a small book that he finds by the side of the coffin he awoke in. He opens the book and finds a key has been hidden inside the pages. We then see the man walking through what appears to be a small forest. The camera keeps focusing on his feet and the ground he is walking on. The next shot shows the man walking across the horizon then walking under "The angel of the North" The man is seen to be continuing on his walk through the beach and collapses. The man is then seen awaking from his coffin again, stumbling away and collapsing on the floor. He begins to regurgitate the key that he found in the book and drops it onto the sand. When the man stands up he starts to go crazy flinging his arms around and violently removing the coat he is wearing, slamming it to the ground. The man is then seen awaking from his coffin for the third time, this time standing up and immediately running down the beach removing his jacket, he falls to the floor and starts to claw at the sand, eventually digging up and retrieving the key. He turns and starts to run in the other direction, running through the forest and then appears in an urban modern day setting. He passes the angel of north for a second time. He gets to his destination and the camera focus' on his feet as he stands in front of a lighthouse holding the key. In this video, the shots of the band playing are grainy and have the black ring around the screen efffect.
Lyrics
Send my regards to you and yours I'm not coming back for you And I'll hold onto the last memory of you I'll hold onto you and bury you at sea How can you watch me split in two?You've done this before, you know me oh too well Send my regards to you and yours And no hope will come from this So turn around and run How can you smile when you see me crumbling?And we all stood back and watched the waves crash down on you Send my regards to you and yours And there's no hope for someone as cold as you You made me sink into the coldest of Waves watch you sink into lies that you created
Analysis - I think its about a relationship or a friend, and they haven't been a good friend/partner and they have lied to the the other person so many times "You've done this before, you know me oh too well" and they don't want to know them anymore.And now there life is falling around them and know one is there to help them because of what they have done in the past"I watch you sink into lies that you created ""And we all stood back and watched the waves crash down on you" As quoted from "http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858672838/"
"Send my regards to you and yours, I'm not coming back for you" Saying his goodbyes to the person in question and washing his hands of them
"How can you smile when you see me crumbling?" Asking the person, even though he knows they are not as close as they were, after all they've been through, how can they take pleasure in seeing him in pain?
"You made me sink into the coldest of waves" I see the "coldest of waves" to be guilt, and he is accusing the person this song is about of making him feel guilty all the time
Just like the other videos, these lyrics are no relevant to the content of the video
Thursday, 24 September 2009
A2 Media: Comparisons
Architects are a technical band from Brighton that formed in 2004. Techincal music is a genre that focuses on complex rhythms, riffs and song structures. The end result is a fast paced % energetic sound. Architects currently have four music videos out, they have one from their bebut album "Nightmare" two from their second release "Ruin" and one from their latest album "Hollow crown" They have videos for the songs:
- In the dessert - Nightmares (2006) released through "In at the deep end records"
- Buried at sea - Ruin (2007) released through"United by fate records"
- Always - Ruin (2007) released through"United by fate records"
- Early grave - Hollow crown (2009) through "Century media records"
From viewing these videos the first thing I noticed is the narrative structure is extremely similar through the videos. The main two conventions of Architects narrative structure is that all videos begin with silence while the video plays. All of the videos .(except the first video "In the dessert" but this can be explained by a line up change that completely turned the band around & the fact that the new members produce all of the new videos), also have shots of the band playing the song and shots of some sort of story line. The stories in all three videos is never explicity explained & is extremely enigmatic.
A2 Media: Outline of brief
I have chosen to make a music video for my media courseowork. The song I have decided to make a video to is "Dead March" by the band "Architects"
I will start the planning stage of my assignment by watching and comparing several different music videos by the band. I will then watch and compare different videos by bands of the same genre. All this will help me find out the conventions of the type of music video I am looking to create.
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