'The Funeral' by Band Of Horses is a classic song of 2006 which has been highly used in TV Dramas such as the american hit TV Series One tree Hill, 90210 and Gossip Girl. The music video is very different to what the audience would expect from the Band Of Horses as it combines the black and white years of the 1950s by using a grey scale filter and filming in a particular style. Considering that the Band Of Horses are a male band, the general audience would be expecting a group performance or at least some of the members featuring in their music video. However this is not the case, in contrast to their other music videos and other similar artists such as Radical Face and Radiohead, 'The Funeral' uses a narrative of abusing alcohol after a special person has passed away in which many audience members can relate to.
The genre that the band makes is known as indie rock, southern rock and alternative country as it brings across an unusual style which attracts a variety of different listeners and ages. Personally I would consider this band and song to be targeting 18-60 year old's as it not only links to the fact that these ages can legally drink alcohol but that these ages have experienced a lot more of grief due to how long they have lived. The slow, soft instrumental music also supports this as it brings an emotional feel towards the listener. Unlike teenage bands such as One Direction, Band Of Horses' music video presents an older lifestyle and tells an emotional narrative which draws the audience into their storytelling.
Kings Of Leon (KOL) is an American band which was formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. This band are particularly unusual due to the formation of brothers and cousins, the group consist of the main singer/guitarist Caleb Followill, bassist Jared Followill, guitarist Mathew Followill and drummer Nathan Followill. In contrast to today, during the beginning of their success their music was a mixture of an upbeat blend of southern rock and garage rock influences but today we see them expanding their sound to include a variety of other genres such as alternative rock.
Like other boy bands, throughout their album releases KOL have chosen to add mystery to their image by not posing on the front of their albums in an obvious way. Although they have included images inside the digipacks, the front cover is a different image that would reflect the particular album in some way. For example, one of their first albums 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' features the famous band Queen's 1975 album 'A Night at the Opera' but KOL have edited the image to give it more of a floral look but eye catching at the same time. 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' includes their southern rock styled music which compared to their recent songs is very different due to the twang of their origin in their early days.
From having this album myself, I can see inside the digipack that the album has included an image of them all standing alike staring at the camera. Compared to their recent image, they all seemed to have the look of long hair which emphasises the contrast, their youth and also how they were brought up in Tennessee. Although it can come across as quite feminine by having a flower looking image on the front of this album, they have made it more masculine by making the background black but it also becomes more bold with the contrast of colours and sophisticated.
In 2010 when KOL released their 5th album called 'Come Around Sundown', their audience noticed a change in their image. Although on the front cover of this album they hid themselves like their earlier covers, inside the digipack you can see how they wanted to represent themselves individually to bring a more personal appearance to the audience. Another contrast between their recent albums and their earliest ones is that 'Come Around Sundown' is shown as more positive with the light colours and sepia effect on the photographs whereas their 3rd album, 'Because Of The Times' is more of a mysterious album cover with the black background again with a white image on the front.
In terms of Mise En Scene, Kings Of Leon have been styled in a typical boy band way but that would attract a wide range of audiences:
- From looking at this photograph to the right, you can see that by Caleb wearing a cross necklace symbolising his religion which will attract audiences from different religions and societies.
- Having no expression on their faces and just looking at the camera brings out their rebelious side, their boy image and their southern look.
Recently, KOL have released a song called 'Supersoaker' along with a music video. Compared to their previous music and videos, this music video brings their alternative rock genre as well as their interpetation of the lyrics through the ages of the 1950's. The music video features a love story set in the 1950's using the rock and roll culture to reveal the angst of teenagers and the sensual ideas of them. They do this by using different effects to the lighting and colours, for instance they tried to get the look of pop art and did this by hand tinting and technicolour film.
The music video involves the band performing in a concert styled format but with shots of the love story. The video includes long shots of the band to identify the surroundings, set the scene and to emphasise the mise en scene such as clothing and props. Medium shots are also used to identify the band individually and in some shots the camera is tilted upwards, for example when the camera focuses on Jared Followill on the bass, the camera is tilted upwards to make him look bigger and powerful with his bass guitar.
Musical Artist's can be represented in all kinds of different texts; through their appearance, album covers, photo shoots, magazines, interviews on TV, music videos. Throughout their career they build up their image to bring more audiences to their music and provides them with a unique style to not just look different from the crowd but to inspire their audiences. Over the years, people are known to associate musical artists' with their genre which has made the industry more cliquey, for example a band such as The Cure with the genre as gothic rock and punk rock, have influenced their audience to approach the gothic style with the dyed black hair, heavy make up and black coloured look. Whereas the majority of female pop artists tend to portray their sex appeal in their media texts such as posters, advertisements, online photos and music videos. -Madonna is an example of this with her stages of wearing very little where the mise en scene plays up a big part within her image.
