Intertextuality & Postmodernism; Lady Gaga - Telephone

I decided to look at the use of intertextuality in Lady Gaga's music video; Telephone. Lady Gaga is known for including many intertextual references in her miusic videos and is es one of the key influential figures in cultural society today. Her videos often have little sense to them, and are hard for the audience to understand the reasoning, but this is also one of the reasons she's so popular as no one knows what to expect next. This particular music video is over 9 minutes long and is very much narrative based.

In this particular video, she and director Jonas Akerlund were directly inspired by Tarantino’s pop-art aesthetic and this is reflected through the strong colours and cartoon feel. It's shown right at the beginning where the video has opening titles reading 'Streamline Presents, Telephone, Starring Lady Gaga and Beyonce, and Tyrese Gibson' even before we see Lady Gaga herself. This sequence appears to be similar to a film or television episode opening, which suggests a blurring of the line between reality or truth, and hints that this video will be more than the average one.

The pop art style of the video, fits with Lady Gaga's pop image as a brand. There is also the use of subtitling and other text on screen which isn't a convention within most music videos, identifying Lady Gaga as unique and willing to push boundaries. The video alternates between Japanese and comic book-style subtitles, channelling Roy Lichenstein and Andy Warhol. She was inspired by Warhol's exploration of mass consumer culture and advertising , so Gaga and Akerlund challenged the gender stereotype of the "perfect housewife" portrayed heavily in 1950s pop culture, using Wonder Bread and Miracle Whip (like Warhols 'Campbell Soup' can).The art element is strong in the music video, and throughout the parts where there is no singing, the editing seems to follow the rules of continuity which also breaks the conventions of music video. 

The video is a follow on from Lady Gaga's previous music video 'Paparazzi' where she gets arrested for killing her boyfriend. This shows a strong sense of identity, and a building of a narrative as she continues the theme throughout more than one video. It builds her up as a character which adds to her appeal.

Towards the end of the video, there are intertextual references to a news station where there is a report on Gaga & Beyonce being on the run. There is also a radio announcement in the video. The video is very American with shots of diners, motel rooms and outfits with the American flag on. Her outfit is very Wonder Woman-esque (a DC Comics superheroine who was created in the early '40s and was regarded as the model of the feminist movement) suggesting Lady Gaga is the modern-day Wonder Woman. The wonder woman theme is also continued through  the chained clothes she wears in the prison sequence, because Wonder Woman is often depicted as being chained by male villains and having to break free of their power and control. Also by having Beyonce (who is a major US popstar) feature in the video and feature on the song as well, she is creating a synergy between the two artists and therefore her market is widened as Beyonce's fans will want to watch the video/buy the song as well.

TV News Station:

American Motifs:

The influence from Tarantino also came into the video through the prescence of the 'Pussy Wagon' from 'Kill Bill'.  Lady Gaga is a controversial artist, and by putting the car into her video she is likening herself to the character from 'Kill Bill' who is trying to get revenge on those who wronged her, suggesting Gaga is doing the same within the video. Also, whilst in the car Beyonce feeds Gaga a Honey Bun (a Pulp Fiction reference, which also fits with Beyonces's "Honey B" nickname in the video). As the women drive off there is also a similarity to Thelma and Louise. The video has a strong sense of feminism as she is trying to break the stereotypes of women in the pop music/music video industry today. In the prison it is women who are restraining her, and in the dance sequences she is surrounded by men, subverting the 'norm' and defying expectations of the representation of women in today's society. In this way Lady Gaga is idolised and admired for her strength and independence.

Album Cover Analysis

I have chosen to look at Plain White T's - Every Second Counts for my album cover analysis. Although I do own the album, I am not a particularly massive fan of their music anymore, but I wanted to analyse this cover anyway because I find it really interesting and unique. 

IMAGE

• The front cover is a collage of the band members layered over some doodles & drawings, and because the shots of the band are all separate ones put together (unlike a typical boyband shot of them all together) it suggests the band members are all individuals rather than being 'clones' of one another.
• The brown background appears to be like paper, although in a more vintage style, and this adds to effect of the doodle drawings and as the style is very arty the drawings on the front, back & inside which create a continuous theme throughout
• The images all look a little bit rough and messy, but it makes the drawings look more realistic and edgy as the white edging of the band photo's make them seem like an actualy collage rather than being neatly cut out which would look fake
• The main image is black and white which adds more effect to the rest of the cover, but also makes the band stand out as they are different to the rest of the imagery surrounding them - it also makes it look more retro style
• The photos are obviously posed but the band is wearing casual, yet stylish clothing which makes you think that they don't take themselves too seriously
• The font is blue which juxtaposes to the rest of the cover which uses quite mild, neutral colours
• The band is central on the cover, as is the track list on the back of the album which places importance on both band and songs.

TEXT

• The text is in block form for both the band title, and the track listing on the back and they are all in capitals
• Underneath the band name is a more script like font which contrasts with the bold band name above it. As the album title is quite small, and below the band name it suggests that perhaps there is more beneath the surface in their music, and with them as a band.
• The block writing is easy to read, and even though on the back cover there is a lot of artwork surrounding the text, the track list is separated by a rough outline which still fits with the theme
• The font on the back is the same as the font used for the band name on the cover which sticks with the style of the album

FUNCTIONS

• Front: To promote the artist, to make them look good and make them appealing to their audience. It is entirely about the band as there is no extra information on the front to distract you from them.
• Back: The back is far more insitutional information, such as the record label, website and barcode and it is to let the audience know of any more detail they want to know other than the obvious. The track list is also useful to let people know what songs are on the album and what type of music the songs will be.
• Inside sleeve: To give a further insight into the band through photographs and also has the lyrics so that the fans can learn the words and sing along.

(disc & back cover)

POTENTIAL TARGET AUDIENCE

• I think their target audience is quite wide from this cover. The drawings make it more indie and cool, but then adults may also be attracted to the unique retro style of the cover. The drawings make the cover more commercial than the band would normally be considered, but their natural niche is shown through the types of casual photos on the cover and inside.
• It's their fourth album, so by this point they probably already had a fanbase which means they don't need to promote themselves as 'perfect' so much as an artist who puts emphasis on their beauty to sell records. Their imperfections is what attracts their audience, as fans of the indie/pop genre don't always buy into the 'perfect' representation of artists.

Research: Album Covers

1. What are the typical features that an album cover has?

• Name of artist/band
• Name of album
• All have images on the front - could be photograph of artist, or drawing/illustration.
• Track listing on the back
• Record labels name, copyright info
• Synergy - logo's, consistent with previous albums
• The newer albums have websites listed
• Consistency throughout (front, back, inside)
• Front sells the artist, back sells the album

2. How would you categorise the covers in front of you?

• By the type of image on the front - cartoon or photograph
• Literal interpretation of album title vs. abstract interpretation of title
• Decade it was created in - the older covers were more likely to include the singer or band whereas a lot of the newer covers just have illustrations
• Type of artist they are - if they are quite an alternative, indie band they may choose to have a drawing as their front cover, whereas female pop singers who are aspirational to young girls are far more likely to have a picture of themselves on the cover, to sell themselves as a brand
• Debut album vs. established artist - if the band has already created an identity for themselves, they have more freedom in their album covers and are able to use art which doesn't necessarily include them.

After discussing in class we came up with more definitive categories which were:

• Insitution
• Genre
• Audience
• Gender
• Fanbase
• Era
• Place in career - age as a band
• Soundtrack/Compilation etc.

3. What do you think the different functions/purposes of album covers?

• To create an artist identity and a brand identity so that the audience can recognise the artist from the cover
• To show the style and type of artist they are - to signify their genre
• To give the audience a visual image of the music - e.g. a dark, mysterious cover would suggest that the music would also be quite dark and eerie.
• To make the artist seem as idealistic as possible - you want the artist to look good (if they are on the cover) so that people buy it because they want to like said artist
• To be eye catching so that even if you didn't know the artist you may still stop and look at the cover in a shop/online
• To appeal to the artists target audience - e.g. pop artists need bright colours and child friendly, easily recognisible iconography that teens or younger would be likely to be attracted to
• To let the buyer/audience know what songs are on the album and the industry details involved in the making of the album

Debut Albums:

• Should have the artist on the cover
• Be quite simple in style
• Have the name of the artist on the cover
• Be bold and strong

This will be useful when designing and producing our own covers for our debut album.

Initial Track Selection/Video Ideas

After our first meeting as a group (consisting of Sam, Alex, Narishma and myself) we decided on two different ideas to develop, Kasabian - Fast Fuse, and Craig David - Signed Sealed Delivered. We talked over our ideas and these seemed to be the best fitting to our group.

The first is a song by the Indie-Rock band Kasabian. For this idea, we thought about having a dual narrative, with a performance in a studio, and then the main singer perhaps walking or running along a street. The performance would have to be aggressive, as the lyrics repeatedly mention 'just a city to abuse' and to pull the song off, a strong performance from the main singer would be crucial. We also thought about the video being black and white to fit with the genre and to make the performance more powerful and striking. I also thought perhaps of having inter-cutting shots of things being smashed to add to the element of 'abuse' without taking it too far.

For Signed, Sealed, Delivered we had a contrasting idea, with the singer looking more retro and mo-town, although presented in a modern way. We were thinking of the guy being dressed in a sharp suit, with iconic motifs such as an old-fashioned radio, microphone and setting. The song is really upbeat and happy, and so the idea was to have a guy following a girl down a road (or in a studio) and she ignores him as he tries different tactics to get her attention. The idea is very light hearted and fun to signify the music. We were also thinking about having group shots of people celebrating in the streets but there would obviously then be practicality issues with reliability etc.

After talking to our teacher we evaluated the negatives of each idea and whether or not we'll be able to make it work successfully:

Fast Fuse;

Although there are good changes in music tempo allowing us to vary our editing and the performance could be really effective if we amplify everything to make it bold and impacting,

The negatives are:

• The video will greatly rely on a strong performance
• The genre has already been used before by quite a few groups
• How will we be able to widen the audience/change the audience from Kasabian's existing target audience to make our band different? How will we make our band unique?

Signed, Sealed, Delivered;

This idea would be easier to make our own, as we are taking old and making it new meaning there are less artists to be similar to and it brings something new and fresh to the market.

The negatives are:

• It will be difficult to find someone to play the male singer as he has a distinctive voice and most people wouldn't look right lip-syncing to this song
• As the song is so happy, it almost requires a lot of people to be involved which would cause many issues when shooting
• The music doesn't have enough change - it's all very one pace and one style rather than changing throughout which makes editing harder and potentially could make it more boring.

In the end we decided to go forward with the Kasabian song as we feel it is more workable, but first we have to come up with a viable image to market them with as there is the worry of making them too similar to the artists already in the industry.

Music Video Director; Marc Klasfeld

Marc Klasfeld is an American video director, who has directed over two hundred music videos. Due to his strong collection of discography, I have chosen to analyse his directing style and see if there are any continuous themes throughout his videos.

Here is a list of some of the most notable music videos he's directed:

• Avril Lavigne- "When You're Gone"
• Backstreet Boys- "Just Want You to Know"
• Biffy Clyro- "Bubbles"
• Destiny's Child- "Lose My Breath"
• Far East Movement- "Rocketeer" (featuring Ryan Tedder)
• Flo Rida- "Club Can't Handle Me"
• Foo Fighters- "Times like These"
• James Blunt- "So Far Gone"
• Jay-Z- "Girls, Girls, Girls"
• Katy Perry- "Last Friday Night" (Nominee 2011 MTV Best Pop Video Award)
• Kelis- "Bossy"
• Lostprophets- "It's Not the End of the World, But I Can See It from Here"
• 'N Sync- "Girlfriend"
• Orianthi- "According to You"
• Pixie Lott- "All About Tonight"
• Shinedown- "Save Me"
• Sum 41-"Fat Lip", "In Too Deep"
• The Script- "The Man Who Can't Be Moved"

All his videos are very performance based with the focus on the band/singer and the narrative includes the artist instead of it being a duel narrative with other characters involved. His videos do vary though, with some being more serious (such as Biffy Clyro - Bubbles) and others being humourous and mocking. It is probably due to his range and versatile nature, that he has become so popular amongst artists. The video revolves around the band or singer.


Two videos which he's directed which seem to be similar, as Katy Perry - Last Friday Night, and Backstreet Boys - Just Want You To Know.

Both videos are Parodies, which focus on humour and fun. He references other decades in each of the videos, and they are both very busy videos rather than an artist just standing around singing. The mix of performance and narrative means his videos are always very interesting to watch as he brings something new to the table each time. The Katy Perry video is a bit of a risk, as it pushes the boundaries concerning her image, as it contrasts the way she is normally branded to her audience. She is portrayed as the geek rather than the perfect girl she normally appears as in videos.


He also directed this music video by Vanessa Carlton, which again has the artist driving the narrative, with the singer and her piano, being the only constant throughout. It is the same in the other video, 30H3! - Starstuckk which has the main two singers in most of the video, and they are the reason behind the narrative; the girls running towards them. I particuarly like the 'A Thousand Miles' video as the idea is quite simple, but the change in setting/mise en scene keeps it interesting, as then it isn't just a video of an artist playing a piano.

In 'Starstukk' he makes the singers seem irresistible and desirable, which is a great way to sell their music, and the bright colours and strong shots mean that the video is quite visually striking. There is also the use of slow motion when the girls are running, and through the use of cross cutting between the singers and the other people in the video means your attention is always brought back to the band as they are the most prominent thing within the video. There is also the sense of humour at the end of the video when the audience finds out the guys imagined the whole thing.

In general the editing style is quite simple, and the ideas aren't too 'out there', but his "unique blend of humour and visuals makes each and every video he produces something that has not been seen before."


Here is a summary of the key motifs featured in Klasfeld's videos:

• Main focus on the band/singer - the artist is the main feature
• Use of bright colours and bright lighting
• Mixture of close ups and long shots
• Narrative includes singer/band
• Often have a blue tint
• Close ups of instruments

I think his directing style will be useful in our project as he moulds his style to fit the artist, and I like how the focus isn't on the narrative, but on the singer themselves which means that the audience doesn't get distracted, and the singer is branded well. I think when making our video it will be easier to focus on the performance rather than the narrative, because it will be easier to film and make look professional.             

Reflections on 'Music & Me'

In the lesson, we went around the room, and we all talked about our choices for the 'Music & Me' homework. It was really interesting to hear everyones choices, and why the song was relevant/meant something to them. I feel like I learned a bit about myself when doing this task, as we discussed the places our music influence comes from, whether it's our parents, friends, the media or the internet.


Most of the songs which were chosen for the beginning period of our lives, were influenced by family and friends. We decided that at a young age you are heavily influenced by the music around you in choosing what you listen to, and it is only when you get a bit older, that you're able to decide for yourself what you listen to, and your likes/dislikes become more unique. When we were young groups such as Steps, S Club 7 & The Spice Girls were all marketed directly to us as a 'brand' and could be seen everywhere. They were promoted as kid friendly which meant parents would be willing to buy the music for their children. We realised that when you're a child you are far more likely to go along with the group opinion rather than having/following your own, and so everyone is likely to listen to the same music.

The difference when you're older is that because you have different tastes to other people, and music is more readily available, music becomes more of a personal thing, whether it's listening to a song on your iPod on the bus, or playing music on your computer at home. It becomes something you like to do by yourself, rather than as a group all the time. I personally hear a lot of music (which i then go on and choose to listen to) on TV shows I watch. Most shows have a soundtrack, and I find it a great way to hear new music and for artists to be showcased.

Being able to go to live conerts and gigs also helped us define our individual tastes as you get to experience the music firsthand, rather than watching them over the internet. It is often these live experiences you will remember for a long time as the divide between the band and audience is removed. As technology is now far more prominent in our lives at a younger age, I think that the type of music young children listen to will vary far more greatly than my generation or above. They are now able to go and search for the music they like on sites/programmes such as YouTube, iTunes and Spotify from as young as 5, which means that they have a lot more choice in what they listen to before having their friends influence them, and in some ways I'm slightly jealous of that, but I'm also glad I was able to experience it differently when I was that young!

Music & Me

Steps - 5, 6, 7, 8        

The reason I've chosen this song is mainly because the first ever concert I went to was a Steps one! I can clearly remember having to stand on the seat as my friend and I were too short, and we were so far back! But it wasn't any less enjoyable because of it. This song in particular is one I remember clearly, and although I definitely do not listen to their songs any more, I am not ashamed to say I did learn the dance routine...but then I was only about 6, so that's ok right? It was a great song to play at parties and I remember hearing it quite a few times, as Steps were everywhere, and at that age I remember being carefree and enjoying life which is what I feel this song reflects well.

Imogen Heap - Speeding Cars (2005)

I first heard this song when watching an episode of The O.C (a.k.a. the first american teen show I fell in love with). The O.C had many songs played throughout it's episodes, but this song immediately became one of my favourites after the first time of hearing it. It sparked my interest in less mainstream music, instead leading me towards more alternative music with less of a 'pop' feel to it which is what I had been previously listening to. I also grew to love a lot of Imogen Heap's music including 'Hide & Seek' which was also played on The O.C. I can clearly picture the scene which plays alongside it on the show (a graduation scene) and this is probably one of the main reasons why It's so important to me. It was when I was first discovering my interest in the media, with an emphasis on television and music and I find the music played in a scene is just as important as the dialogue. The lyrics also can be reflected on my life at the time 'it's just textbook stuff, it's in the ABC of growing up' and although not all the lyrics fit with my life, the song is still incredible moving. This song was in the show in 2005 which was when I first joined Latymer, it was a real sign of progression for me as my taste in music became more individual similarly to me as a  person.

Barcelona - Falling Out Of Trees

The third and final song I have chosen to represent the latest stage of my life is a song by Barcelona who are one of my favourite bands. I find this song to be extremely emotive and the singer makes you feel what he's singing about. I feel this song reflects my life at the moment because I (and everyone else in my year) will be moving on to somewhere different soon, and I think that this song is about trying to deal with that independence, and trying to find your own place in the world. When you leave home for the first time, I can imagine that is does feel like falling, and although in the song they talk about wanting to go home, and back into their 'tree' I feel that you need to face your fears to be able to get through life. The fear in this song is what I think makes it most effective and allows me to relate it to my life, no matter what the situation. This song also reflects my current music taste which is much more alternative, and I enjoy listening to unknown, smaller bands such as Safetysuit and artists such as Andrew Belle who put a lot of emotion into their music, which in my opinion makes it a more enjoyable listen.