1970’s was one the most important decade for the music world. Artists and Bands such as Queen, David Bowie and Abba were welcomed to the music industry and became famous all round the world. Furthermore, first proper music videos were made exactly during this decade.
QUEEN
This song is one the most famous songs of all time. Furthermore, in 1975 it was one of the first songs that was more than 3 minutes. It became popular all over the world and still up to our days, it stays one of the most listenable songs of all time.
Intro (0:00–0:49)
Ballad (0:49–2:37)
Guitar solo (2:37–3:05)
Opera (3:05–4:07)
Hard rock (4:07–4:54)
Outro (4:54–5:55)
To start with, the song is divided into 6 different mini songs that later all come to one. The use of putting many songs to one was familiar to a lot of audience during that decade, thanks to which it had such a great success. Everyone, except 4 members of the group, believed that because of how long was the composition, the song will not be welcomed among the audience. However, right after the release, the song became the most listened song of that year. Furthermore, because of the existed reputation of the band, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was number 1 hit until the end of the decade.
Not going in depth of the each lyric, the main idea of the song was about the relationship. Mercury refused to explain his composition and the band is still protective of the song’s secret. People believe that the song was dedicated to the song writer Freddie Mercury who at that time had personal traumas.
Despite this, critics, both journalistic and academic, have speculated over the meaning behind the song’s lyrics. Some believe the lyrics describe a suicidal murderer haunted by demons or depict events just preceding an execution.
Freddie Mercury wrote the lyrics, and there has been a lot of speculation as to their meaning. Many of the words appear in the Qu’ran. “Bismillah” is one of these and it literally means “In the name of Allah.” The word “Scaramouch” means “A stock character that appears as a boastful coward.” “Beelzebub” is one of the many names given to The Devil.
In the explanation, Queen states that “Bohemian Rhapsody” is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like Faust, sold his soul to the devil. Some believe the lyrics describe a suicidal murderer haunted by demons or depict events just preceding an execution.
Analysis of the music video
The music video starts with the establishing shot of three shadows. As the song has connections with the idea of a devil, audience can think that these shadows represent a specific image. Furthermore, the lyrics “Is this a real life, is this just fantasy” can further develop the idea of the non existing image of a person.
In the next 20 seconds, audience will see one of the most famous picture that represents the band even nowadays. Its an image of all 4 members of the group stand next to each other with the dark lighting (so we can only see their faces). We can see a clear picture of their silhouette which creates more mystery to the music video. Moreover, a very similar technique is used as we saw in the Beatles music video. The clip relies on abstract imagery with superimposition and close -up shots. However, instead of all 4 members like in the Beatles video, we can see the close up shot with the ghost editing of the face of Freddie Mercury. This can be because he is the main vocalists in the group.
In the picture we can see a middle shot from a low angle. This can further be developed into idea that the image represents “power”. From the photo above, all members are looking down which creates a feeling that they are looking straight at the audience. This also creates dark and uncomfortable atmosphere.
In the next part of the song, we see a live performance where the band is playing the instruments on the stage. We can see how all of them are wearing white instead of black, which can give an idea that they are singing about “heaven”.
For the most of the time, there is a constant change of numerous close up and middle shots of Freddie Mercury and how he is playing the piano. Because the vocalist is the representation of the band, the main focus throughout the entire music video stays on him. In the third part of the music video, there are more shades and close up shots of the group together.
Repeated image / whole mirror effect and Duplicating
In conclusion, the music video really helped to promote the image of the band. It has influenced not only to the success of the song, but more to the artists. People that were not interested in listening 7 minutes song, they were looking forward to watch the promotional film. Furthermore, the video was promoted through music channels and through different tv shows. Nowadays, everyone knows the iconic opening scene ( the establishing shot with the shadows) because back in 1975’s this picture was in all media platforms. This had a big impact on promoting the song and the image of the band.
DAVID BOWIE 1972
Even though the song was recorded in 1969, “Space Oddity” wasn’t a hit until 1972. So this video, from 1972, features David Bowie in Ziggy Stardust persona, complete with teased red hair, futuristic space outfit and shaved eyebrows.
By early 1969, Bowie had returned full time to music. He signed a deal with Mercury Records and that summer released the single “Space Oddity.” Bowie later said the song came to him after watch a movie 2001 : “I went stoned out of my mind to see the movie and it really freaked me out, especially the trip passage.”
David was inspired by the movie “Space Odyssey (1968)” and later decided to write a song dedicated to this production. The artists demonstrates the homage – great respect and honor through the song.
As the film ” Space Odyssey” is in science fiction genre – I think it is necessary to look at the codes and conventions of this genre.
- low key lighting
- artificial lighting – usually used in labs
- wide angles shots to show interesting location
- close up of faces / eyes
- red lighting to show danger
- CGI (computer generated special effects)
- diegetic sound – machinery / technology sounds alarms
- non – diegetic sounds – intense, dramatic music
- main colours : white, blue, grey, silver, red, black
The song quickly resonated with the public, sparked in large part by the BBC’s use of the single. The song enjoyed later success after being released in the United States in 1972, climbing to number 15 on the charts.
Throughout the entire music video, we can see David Bowie sitting on a chair in a small room; he is playing the guitar and signing.
The music video starts with the black screen and the green line. It reminds the audience of a heart beat line or something from the future. This has a straight connection to the main idea of the song, the theme from the movie 2001. Furthermore, this can explain unusual look of David Bowie, his red hair and no eyebrows.
The room is dark with red lights. Usually red would indicate danger, however in this music video, red colour gives more attention and mystery. As the song is dedicated to the film, I believe David wanted his music video have a few similarities with the film.
This picture is taken from the film. We can see how a fragment from the film and a fragment from the music video look very similar – both have same colours and shades of red. Furthermore, David used similar middle shots as in the movie.
Same camera technique is used here. I believe this technique was famous to use because we already saw something similar in Queen’s and Beatle’s music videos.
In conclusion we can see how David Bowie used codes and conventions of the science fiction genre. Music video took place in a dark room with low key lighting. We could see various of close up shots of the artist’s face and there was a lot red light in the video. Furthermore, the video promoted the artists – as a credible artist. There were a lot of shots that represented him as the visionary person. This attracted more demographic audience who like art and music.
ABBA
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY 1976
The song was created as from the viewpoint of a woman who, despite hard work, can barely keep her finances in surplus, and therefore desires a well-off man.
The video for “Money, Money, Money” was inspired by the film CARABET, showing Frida wearing a hat typical of the 1920s. The video varies from her determined presence in reality during the verses, to the dream sequences about money and “the good life” in the chorus.
The song has a direct message to all audience. It talks about the wealth and how money can change the life. Throughout the video, we see numerous objects that represent the wealth like rings, cars, diamonds and a lot of banknotes.
The establishing shot shows a mysterious women (one of the members) in black clothes. Everything is dark, therefore it is hard to see her. As an audience, this image reminds me of shots in movies when somebody would be about to rob something. Therefore, it is possible that the character will rob somebody in order to become rich.
The piano is also a very important object in the music video. The close up shot of the piano represents one of the members in the group. It again promotes the image of the artists who doesn’t sing a lot, however plays the main instrument. Furthermore, audience can see the word “Stockholm” – capital of Sweden and home city of the band.
In this shot, we see how all four members of the group are standing next to each other. We can see how they represent wealth because of their white shirts with rocks on. The low angle shot also represents their power and wealth. The blue light at the top creates an idea that that the light is coming from the top, making them looking like gods.
The shot also promotes the image of females in the band. It promotes and demonstrates the physical image of two artists as they are the main image of the band. The video also promotes the males as a capable musicians who play many instruments.
These two shots represent the wealth and richness. The music video has a direct meaning to the song, which makes easier for the audience to understand. The video does not have a specific narrative, however it is easy to understand.
This is the illustrating music video that has very literal lyrics to the images. The song is focusing on the idea of reaches and power, therefore there are a lot of middle and close up shots of objects like: diamonds, money, rings, expensive cars. The video is illustrative of the lyrics.
Elton John Best hits 