I dimly recall posting on this (probably giving Doors and Beatles examples) before, but with minimal web connection for now I'll make do with this addition - glam/sleaze rocker archetypes Motley Crue, of recent biopic The Dirt fame/infamy, have cut a new vid for a track from their debut album (1983?).
Remember, this is essentially what you're doing with your coursework (dependent on track selection)!
Please take heed of the warning below - this
post is about videos/music subjected to censorship, so view/read with
caution and not with younger children in sight of your screen.
As I
recently returned to this topic, I've added a few more examples below,
and I'll develop this further when time permits, perhaps into an exam
case study on the mediareg blog (where there are further resources on
this). Use the censorship tag to find more on this blog.
There
are many interesting, highly readable books on the topic - I'll add
details of some I've read as + when time permits, but you can find
examples with a simple 'banned music' search (eg AmazonUK). I'll be reading Southall's book shortly - available on Kindle Unlimited if you're a subscriber.
Brian Southall’s history of the songs, performers, record covers BANNED
by ‘the authorities’ includes the incredible facts behind stories such
as… Roger Daltrey trying to perfect Sonny Boy Williamson’s
stuttering, Cliff Richard banning himself, the airbrushing out of Alice
Cooper’s ‘penis’ on a record cover, and attempts by USA citizens to get
Justin Bieber deported to his native Canada.
Did you know that
Serge Gainsbourg’s ‘Je T’Aime Moi Non Plus’ was the first single banned
from UK’s Top of the Pops and that before that No.1 hit with Jane Birkin
he’d completed an earlier version with Brigitte Bardot? What was
the real reason the Sex Pistols were prevented from topping the singles
chart with ‘God Save The Queen’ in Silver Jubilee week 1977? Why did a falling out between Terence Stamp and The Smiths create a collectors’ item in 1984? Boycotted, banned and the subject of death threats – what exactly was The Dixie Chicks’ crime in 2003?
NB: we also discussed the economic context of the music industry: the concentration of ownership (one of Chomsky's five filters in his propaganda model; filters remove radical counter-hegemonic content before it can shape public discourse or opinion), or consolidation as free market apologists would prefer.
With such scale, the pressure from threats of boycott, often exerted through campaigners targeting advertisers who put ads on some other wing of a conglomerate, can be immense - advertiser power being another of Chomsky (and Herrmann's) propaganda model. Madonna lost a multi-million Pepsi sponsorship when she dared to depict a black Jesus in her Like a Prayer; Time-Warner famously pulled Ice-T's Cop Killer after facing high level political and police pressure, and threats from shareholders. Ice-T now claims the decision was his; he left the record label after the row over this - the Wiki is a short, informative read, but you can find further accounts easily.
When I started out, [Warner] never censored us. Everything we did, we had full control over. But what happened was when the cops moved on Body Count
they issued pressure on the corporate division of Warner Bros., and
that made the music division, they couldn't out-fight 'em in the battle,
so even when you're in a business with somebody who might not wanna
censor you, economically people can put restraints on 'em and cause 'em
to be afraid. I learned that lesson in there, that you're never really
safe as long as you're connected to any big corporation's money. [Wiki]
To the eyes of someone who fondly recalls all the acts featured, and the (now!) primitive video game style pastiched, this is a thing of marvel - a trailer for a notional 'Monsters of Rock' game, with legendary bands, music videos and singles all rendered in this retro style.
Bands like Chipmunk have of course made tech-retro part of youth/popular culture, fetishising 80s synths and recording technology.
This is a great example of convergence - an e-zine (there is no print edition, and Facebook, where I most often find its articles, seems to be, in effect, its key 'distributor') commissioned a fake retro video game trailer, 'published' on YouTube, featuring lo-fi music renderings that recall the early mobile phone ringtones.
[below the line: a second example, some important terminology, and points on 2005's Crazy Frog...]
This curious countertyping helped Mastodon gain publicity
There can be considerable shock or at least novelty value still in incorporating elements from a contrasting genre; in this example the prog-metal band Mastodon. In their video for The Motherload they incorporate ... twerking!
So, we get some fairly standard, though well-executed (nicely lit, and some effective focus pull), sepia-coloured footage of vaguely demonic figures ... counterpointed with a range of very modern dancers twerking, often in slo-mo and fairly uncomfortable close-up. The point (the 'reading') is debatable, and may simply come down to the shock value, or may be a critique of what the likes of Sinead O'Connor has attacked as exemplifying male industry control over female artists, with Lily Allen's attempted critique itself attacked for allegedly racist undertones.
Easy enough to find analysis and egs of conventions of most major genres - a google search such as "[genre] music video conventions" (try other variations too) will get relevant results, including several from A2 students elsewhere!
An example follows: detailed breakdown, with clear egs, of conventions of metal vids, including an historical perspective on their evolution and changes
Bibliography» MTV and the "Live" Metal Concert Video
These sources were viewed or referenced as part of a discussion about the depiction of "live" concert imagery in music video primarily related to the Heavy Metal genre. Heavy Metal is used loosely here to include the widest number of sources within this genre of music.
The term "live" (used in quotes) denotes a video production that attempts to capture or simulate the visual experience of a rock concert. Most of these sources are studio or sound-stage productions. Some were shot on location in an arena with an invited audience. A few appear to contain footage from actual concerts. Many of these sources mix concept footage with "live" footage in different ways.
No attempt is made her to create a definitive list. Some videos were selected because of specific content, themes, or images presented. Others were selected at random.
This page is under development
[add classification notes]
[add chronology notes]
Historical Sources
MTV News and Specials. "It Came from the 80's II: Metal Goes Pop" Dir: Abbie Kearse. Writ/Narr: Chris Connelly. MTV Networks 1996.
Produced for MTV this special program is structured around a series of interviews with metal band-members about the transition of metal into the mainstream and it's sudden abandonment by the record labels. There are many short clips of music videos demonstrating the height of ridiculousness of the genre. A couple of those interviewed express anger or resentment about the experience of being launched into the pop-metal genre and then quickly dropped. Most of those interviewed, however, are able to joke about their unlikely short ride into the pop music spotlight.
Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister on the transition of heavy metal into pop music:
There was Twisted, and we were …street urchins, bad boys, ugly, angry--but other bands were starting to smile. And the biggie with that of course was Bon Jovi—you know—the birth of happy metal. Suddenly everybody found out …that some of the bands had teeth… Instead of everybody scowling and being pissed off, they were saying hey, what are we pissed off about, we’re making millions of dollars, we’re playing happy metal now.
