Thursday, 13 October 2016

Referencing in Music Videos

Referencing: openly imitating the previous works of other artists, usually for humor or as a tribute.

Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm


Concluding commentary: a cover song of Michael Jackson's hit single "Smooth Criminal", it not only pays tribute but also references several other works of the legendary pop artist. For example, the monkey is a reference to MJ's pet monkey, Bubbles. Also the glowing pavements are in tribute to the music video "Billy Jeans", another single by Michael Jackson.

Tonight, Tonight - The Smashing Pumpkins



Concluding commentary: the original idea for the music video was for a Busby Berkeley-style video, complete with "people diving into champagne glasses". The second idea for the video was that as the band played on a surreal stage, the camera would go into audience members' eyes and the viewer would see that person's vision of the song. The third and final concept, inspired by Georges Méliès's silent film A Trip to the Moon, came from directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who got the idea for the video because the album cover for Mellon Collie reminded them of early silent films. Hence, the video was filmed in the style of a turn-of-the-century silent film using theater-style backdrops and primitive special effects. The couple escapes on a rocket similar to the one in A Trip to the Moon and land in the sea, where a merman resembling the sea-god Poseidon puts on a performance for them, including an octopus, singing mermaids, and starfish, before sending them back to the surface in a bubble. In the end they are rescued by a ship called "S.S. Méliès", in reference to the movie director.

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