Kings of
Several of Goodwin’s points can be seen in the music video above, titled ‘Sex on Fire’ by The Kings of Leon.
Lyrics and music – Some parts of the lyrics including the lines “feels like you’re dying, you’re dying” and “hot as a fever, rattling bones” the beat and the bass become heavier to intensify the moment and create suspense among the viewers.
Lyrics and visuals – within this video there are a handful of links between lyrics and visuals for example, “lay where you’re laying” you see the lead singer of the band lying down where he is. Another example is when the lyrics say “I know you’re watching…” and the visual is of one of the band member’s faces, with the camera focusing on his eyes to show that he is watching. The links between the lyrics and visuals can also be seen during the instrumental parts of the song, or when the beat gets heavier, for instance, one of the instrumental parts shows visuals of the guitarists and the drummer playing.
Genre characteristics – The Kings of Leon come under a handful of rock genres including alternative rock, southern rock and garage rock revival. Some of the key aspects in a rock video include a dark place with dim lighting, instruments, leather and props. These aspects are included in the Kings of Leon’s music video. Below are some stills from their music video which demonstrate the things I have just mentioned.
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| "Lay where you're laying" |
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| "I know you're watching..." |
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| Dim lighting |
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| Performing |
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| Instrumental visuals |
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| Instrumental visuals |
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| Instrumental visuals |
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| Kings of Leon performing 'Sex on Fire'... |
Notions of looking – Rock videos don’t usually contain much notions of looking. Both men and women can be portrayed as rebels or love interests in music videos of the rock genre. From watching the music video for ‘Sex on Fire’ the only notions I picked up on was how the band members could possibly be seen as rebels.
Intertextual reference – The Kings of Leon are signed to several labels including Sony Music, RCA Music Label (a flagship label of Sony Music Entertainment), Columbia Records and Island Records Music Label. Sony is a globally known company in the music and entertainment industry making the Kings of Leon a hugely successful rock band all over the world. With such a successful company distributing the band and music video it’s no wonder the official music video has had more than 40 million YouTube hits in less than 2 years!
Demands on label – Being signed to extremely successful record labels, the rock band have developed a successful image with a rebellious rock edge. This can be seen through the music videos that the band makes and also through aspects such as interviews, outfits and styling, performances and lyrics. This all helps with the band and the record labels success around the world.
Structure – From watching the music video you can tell that the structure of the video is a performance as there isn’t really a story being told. Although the rock band isn’t performing in front of a huge crowd, the viewers can still tell that they are doing a rock performance due to the lighting, styling, camera shots and most importantly the music.
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