Lyrics and sound
The lyrics of the song ‘By The Way’ illustrate how the person who is singing the song had tried to be with some one he loved but was stopped by a certain obstacle continuously blocking him. The genre of the music is Rock/pop so the song is mostly fast paced rock which breaks down to a slow pace mellow ‘pop’ sounding chorus. This allows the producer to be creative and resemble the moods by slow and extremely fast editing. The editing on enthusiastic instrument playing resembles the bands personality and life style. The way the chorus is repeated shows how the problem is continuously occurring and is established at the end of the video when a fellow band member enters the taxi the lead singer had just been abducted in. Here are a few lines from the song to show this.
Standing in line to see the show tonight
And there's a light on
Heavy glow
By the way I tried to say I'd be there
Waiting for
Dani the girl is singing songs to me
Beneath the marquee
Overload
Skin that flick, she's such a little DJ
Get there quick by street but not the freeway
Turn that trick to make a little leeway
Beat that nic but not the way that we play
Standing in line to see the show tonight
And there's a light on
Heavy glow
By the way I tried to say I'd be there
Waiting for
Kiss that dyke, I know you want to hold one
Not on strike, but I'm about to bowl one
Bite that mic, I know you never stole one
Girls that like a story so I told one
Genre/Mise en Scene
Being a rock video the main editing is focused on the band performing. By using specialised editing and animation technology the producer has resembled the bands personality and lively ‘rock stat’ lifestyle. The genre of the song also contains elements of pop music and is shown in the video when the taxi driver beings to dance, almost mimicking other pop videos by focusing on his unique body movement which explains he is trying to ‘fit in’ with pop culture. The fact his dancing is not good enough or seen as professional adds humour and reminds the viewer that the band focus on playing rock music. The taxi driver is wearing a small leopard skin top with very low tight trousers, like an 80’s glam rock rockstar which adds to the humour as it is seen as ‘out of fashion’ and ‘uncool’ which goes against the codes and conventions of a purely based pop video.
Camera work
Camera movement is a key factor of this video as it is unsteady but smooth through out the whole music video to illustrate the singers uncomfortable position in the taxi and his eagerness to get to the show. It foreshadows that something is going to go wrong. Most of the video is shot close up within the taxi to create a suspense feeling of enclosure and awkwardness between the singer and the taxi driver. A lot of silhouettes are used when the band are playing to show that they are not the main focus of the video. As Red Hot Chilli Peppers are a well established band by the release of their album ‘By The Way’ the band its self do not need to be promoted through the video.
Editing
The editing in the video foreshadows the mood of the music on two different levels. As the tempo changes from chorus to verse so does the editing. During the slow chorus the editing seems to reveal its self as relaxed and mellow, demonstrating the singers need to meet the girl in the song, known as ‘Dani’. During the verses the editing becomes ferocious and jolty to show the how the taxi driver is scaring the singer and how he is feeling very petrified about his abusive driving and abduction. When showing the band performs the editing becomes even faster to show the bands talent, the bassist ‘flea’ was voted the best bassist in the world on ‘I’m in a rock and roll band live’. The editing is used to show to the audience that this is what the band are capable of, and also highlights there hectic rockstar life style.
Narrative/performance
The singer is seen lip sinking when the band is performing to show that it is almost like a concert. But when he is in the taxi the video purely focuses on a story line based around the song opposed to pop and rap music videos which usually contain female dancers exploiting there bodies sexually and then cuts to singers following a montage of actions to the lyrics of the song.
Star Image/ Brand
The image portrayed in this music video is that the band are very good musicians and are capable of making very good music opposed to pop and rap videos where the majority of the time the star of the video is showing they are beautiful and attractive, or have a lot of money and respect. By focusing on the band playing they are connecting to there target market of rock fans who are interested in how the instruments are played and the level of talent which is acquired to be able to play it. The video also appeals to its market of pop fans by an unusual sequence of events taking place with suspense car chases and over exaggerated action, such as a taxi jumping down an alley way.
Voyeurism/Looking
When the band is playing they are seen topless. This attracts a whole a female audience and fits in with a new era where nude women are not being used as unique selling points during the 90’s, and infact men were replacing women in videos from bands like ‘Take That’. But Red Hot Chilli Peppers use nudism to express a sense of freedom as they used to play a lot of their gigs nude and were never afraid to reveal there bodies as shown on this album cover as they walk across the same zebra crossing as the Beatles did on their Abbey Road album.
Brad Hart
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