M.LANG INDIE: Jesus + Mary Chain

A band notorious for its fraternal flare-ups (the brothers in the band were reknowned for fighting on stage), but also an obstinate attitude towards pop (they were seen as noise-smiths rather than tune-smiths) the Jesus and Mary Chain naturally didn't produce straightforward commercial videos.

Here's examples from classic J+MC tracks which exuded Indie attitude, by which I mean...

• low-key, naturalistic lighting (practical as much as aesthetic: low budget!)
• some strange, elliptical framing
• whip pans that lead to ... nothing!
• distorted footage
• performance which is so wan, exuding such froideur, its the antithesis of the exciting, energising rock performance we're so used to seeing
• the lipsynching in particular is reluctantly done, but shots of drumming and guitar playing also slowed down to be out of synch with the music
• just like Iron Maiden on the German Top of the Pops back in the 80s (when the band swapped intruments repeatedly, making a mockery of the miming) these vids stand as an uneasy compromise: marketing and commercial returns seem like a dirty word to Indie bands and fans BUT the band's record co needs the vids to sell records and the band to raise their profile + build their fanbase
• this reluctant, contrary attitude is also where the Pixies' Velouria single-shot vid arose from
• neither are so surreal as to be not be recognisable as m.vids tho: we see many of the standard signifiers of performance (some focus on singer, MS/MCUs of playing instruments, reasonable pace of editing), its just that the delivery is alien to the hyped up norm

J+MC vids on YouTube.

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