Sometimes the covers to albums of this genre will just have a simple photograph of the artist, or simply have a empty background and just the album's title and artist which is quite plain. But the majority of covers are abstract images which can be just artistic and unrelated to any concept or subject of the album. They may also reflect the album's title and/or the musical content.
For example, these two album covers match the album's title. The first (by Pendulum) is titled Immersion and clearly shows two people deeply immerged under the water into sea life. The second is by Ross D and is named Musical D-lite with a cover which shows cutlery with the 'disc' in the middle. This is obviously a pun on the way many foods and menus have the word 'delite' on the end, and in this case the delite is a disc and not an actual food which is why the disc represents the dish.
We have started drawing the storyboards but they are not yet finished so hopefully they will be completed soon enough. We also wrote a questionnaire today which Aiden has sent to his e-mail so I assume he'll put it on his blog and then I can copy and paste it onto here. There's a chance we will have to add to it though as it wasn't long enough I don't think.
We decided that our video will be narrative-based because of the lyrics' influence of anti-violence/crime. The song is obviously a social message, so we think we can convey some visuals to contribute to its message. This is what we are so far thinking of having as our video narrative.
It will start with four people in identical masks (blank white masks) leaving their separate houses. For this we thought that during editing we'll intercut between each of them leaving their house through the door so it's all in time. These characters will then meet up in an open space (each running from opposite directions) and as they meet, the beat of the song kicks in and we'll speed them up like the song does.
I imagine that the masks will be something like this
To represent the lyrics of seeing the error of your ways and giving up on your delinquencies, we'll have each member in a different scenario in which they will harm someone or do something bad and then all get rounded up to the police station where they get lectured.
For example, one of them will be smoking and accidentally ran into by a kid upon which he will angrily jab the cigarette into the kid's eye (ha!); while it will be kind of hard to make that look convincing, Ali assured us we'd be able to contribute to it in the editing process (he has some good knowledge on these programmes in which you can add effects and whatnot).
Another scenario will involve another member attempting to steal a pregnant woman's purse who, already wary, manages to hold on to it so he hits her so that she lets go; unfortunately he hits her in the belly hard enough to damage and kill the foetus inside. We can show this by filming a close-up of the impact and, if we can, get some red stuff to look like blood briefly pouring out so it's obvious what happened (we can film the punching fairly slow then just make it look fast and furious in the editing by speeding it up).
We haven't thought of a scenario for the other two yet but I think the process is that they will all feel some remorse/guilt once they are home and are then each rounded up by a policeman (should be implied that this is following a number of other unsocial acts). We were told today that we had to include a postmodern reference; we briefly considered using a reference to the film Taxi Driver: as we had in mind that one of them would be staring in the mirror, we thought that could be related to the scene in which the main character has the "you talkin' to me?" sequence.
They are then rounded to the police station into a room of some kind and at this point it should be the rap verse (rapped by Dynamite MC) so we'll have the police lieutenant 'rapping' it to them as a lecture. I think that would be quite cool and original, but we'd need the actor to memorize the lyrics so they can mime them (or even rap them I guess it won't make a difference as we won't have audio from the scene). We got the idea that we could have some light works on the rapper, like a light flashing on and off or have him in a spotlight or something stylish. We got this idea from the video 'Pass Out' by artist Tinie Tempah.
I think we could achive this by using the lighting in the drama studio, which I've been told we can use during any lunchtime (as long as it's free). We'll see how that idea goes, it might not work with the lights they have their or something so we'll see.
We will also have a girl lip-synching the singing (as sung by Beverly Knight) throughout the video, that is to say that we will frequently cut from the narrative to her singing. We made the decision to include this so that it feels like a music video because if we only had the narrative, it would feel too much like a short film.
After that, the four 'criminals' will leave the station and now fully aware of the wrong path they have been treading on, will take off their masks which will represent them cleaning themselves of their sins and starting anew.
I think if we are able to make our video and include (at least roughly) all that we want, it will be a succesful video as it should provide interest and entertainment through the narrative and will contain a social message against crime which is always a positive aspect.
So for my third music video analysis I thought I'd go ahead and find a Roni Size. This song is one of the tracks he has done with his group Reprazent. The vocals consist of rapid rapping by vocalist Dynamite MC. Overall, the song is very aggressive with hard and over-bearing music blazing strongly mixed with furious rapping. I do not understand what the lyrics are, but I assume 'who told you you could do it like this' is some kind of taunting mixed with intimidation.
Wow, this video is extremely dizzying. There is no narrative, so the video relies on its visuals to maintain the viewers' interest. This is an extremely conventional drum and bass video, and the hectic out of control visuals match the hectic audio perfectly. The video is set in a rave - the ultimate drum and bass location. Flashy lights are set off all over the place, and the editing is extremely sharp and swift. In fact, there is not a single shot which lasts longer than two seconds. The camera movements are stylishly shaky and rapidly panning all over the dancers, all of whom represent the expected reaction to the loud and fast style of drum and bass - to dance.
Roni Size is seen in a few shots seemingly surveying the scene, but I had to look carefully to actually spot him at all; there are also some rapid shots of the drummer. Dynamite MC gets the most focus by far as he is continuously seen dancing, rapping, and being spun around in reverse courtesy of editing. That same reversal movement technique is used many times in the video for other people. The erotic dancing of barely-clothed women creates a male gaze, although by the time you have acknowledged there is a near-naked woman the shot will have changed to something else. We cannot create these kinds of visuals so we will be using a slower song of his so that we have a tempo we can work better with
The song we have chosen to do by Roni Size is No More, one of his (slightly) slower songs and which has a soulful/r&b element to it. As a result, it is not so much a drum and bass song (it doesn't feature the conventional deep bass) and more of an R&B dance track. It features vocals by singer Beverly Knight and rapper Dynamite MC (from Reprazent). Our main reasons for choosing this song is that it is not as fast as the majority of his songs and we believe this will make it a bit easier to create a music video which fits well with this tempo. Also the melody within the song helps it maintain its novelty longer than other tracks (which are more so designed for dancing to).
Here are the lyrics to the song (have a go singing it if you want?) and try not to laugh at words such as "nooooo".
[Intro - Bev Knight] Noooooo, no, (no, no, no, no) gotta here me (here me, here me) here me, yeah, uh, uh, oh, no,
[Verse 1] what is going on, you know you surrender to ways that'll end ya before you have begun, Mr 'wanna be player' who rules with the terror of bottles knives and guns, it aint always the target that your bullet scars, it's the innocent passers by, it's always the good that shouldn't 'o died, now watcha gonna do, when you look in the mirror, the eyes of a killer, are staring back at you, It's too late for prayer and no-one will save ya with no place to run to, the thugs that you thought were your people, had bought you a ticket to your brain, this is your final day, but i say...
[Chorus] No, no more, put it, put it down, too many gone before they're grown, yeah No, no more, put it, put it down, you only reap what you have sown, no more, (family's torn apart,) no more, (tradegy is in the heart of....) this home, this street, this town, no more no more,
[Verse 2] now don't you read the signs, if those you be down with have done, got their ass hit, then you are next in line, (next in line) and so on and so on, don't tell me, your so dumb, that you can't see the light (can't see the light) It's time for decision It's time for some action to stop it once and for all, you still wont call, I'm calling for....
[Chorus] No, no more, put it, put it down, too many gone before they're grown, I say, No, no more, put it, put it down, you only reap what you have sown, no more, (family's torn apart,) no more, (tradegy is in the heart of....) this home, this street, this town, no more no more,
[Dynamite MC] c'mon c'mon people, none of us are made of metal, so when this bullet hits the street, now that's not equal! how many have to cry beneath the steeple too many walk the streets with their minds set that's too damn lethal! I know the argument, you got yours to protect yourselves, so you don't need to check yourself, coz you aint tryin' to wreck yourself, It's dem, But then there soon becomes you, when you find yourself defending a member of your crew, It's a vicious cycle, too many wanna claim the title, they wanna be the 'bad man thug' cuz that's their idol, don't live by the life you're not supposed to be living, don't try take,take,take with hate just try givin' cuz one can make a difference, Ten can make the same, One Hundred can make things get better round your lanes, One Thousand a new start, Ten thousand a revolution One million we'll finally be close to the solution, no more,
[Chorus] No, no more, put it, put it down, too many gone before they're grown, I say, No, no more, put it, put it down, you only reap what you have sown, no more, (family's torn apart,) no more, (tradegy is in the heart of....) this home, this street, this town, no more no more,
No more, (more, more, more, more.........)
As you can probably see, the lyrics display an anti-violence message. This is something to bear in mind in deciding as to what include in the video if we go for a narrative-based theme.
The song Roses is by American hip-hop duo Outkast (members Andre 3000 and Big Boi), though one could say it is more so by the former than the latter as it comes from their 2003 double album each side being a 'solo' album and this song coming from Andre 3000's side. The song doesn't have much meaning or message, it's just a harmless attack on girls who think they are all that and in the song a girl named Caroline represents those girls.
The rather simple story of the video consists of the Caroline from the song as a school-girl who thinks she’s all that and is thrown in the middle of two rival gangs: one gang of aggressive thuggish yobs whose leader (played by member Big Boi) desires her affections, and the other a posse of talented charming good boys (led by the other member Andre 3000) who make fun of the girl in a performance at the school hall. The thugs arrive at the show, and the two gangs get into a fight. The girl Caroline is rescued by a seemingly feminine camp man, and they both walk off.
The video has an intertextual influence to high-school/college set movies as it contains elements which feature heavily in those types of films, including the types of characters, the classic theme of rivalry between groups of lads, angry teacher, and the pun that a lot of the time the actors who play the students are in their mid to late 20's just like Outkast were at the time.
If you pay attention to the camera composition, it actually helps establish the characters. For example, a mixture of long-shots and close-ups of the thugs - showing their cars, gang-name on jackets, street gambling, and I guess aggresive-ish faces - inform the viewer that these lads are of the delinquent type. The same is done to introduce the other gang - which are instead dancing around and smiling - and, in contrast, shows them as much more friendly and approachable than the other guys. Also, a couple of tracking shots and long shots of Caroline and her gang show that they are 'big in the school' i.e. showing others getting out of their way, their dominance over the camera.
The mise-en-scène also helps identify the characters:
Caroline and her group of girls are seen checking themselves in mirrors, wearing pink and red, blowing bubblegum out of their mouths, and striding around like they own the place. These qualities of how the pretty and popular girls would act like are always used in high-school movies and are thus cliché but still quick to inform you of who/how the character is. The thug gang are seen hanging on a street corner, gambling on the street, possessing flashy cars (which they are seen knocking down school signs with), abusing others, and wielding bats. All these factors are stereotypical of your typical ‘hood’ gang.
The other gang are dressed neatly in matching clothing, and the lead singer is wearing sunglasses and has a bandana tied around his hair which gives a kind of cool but charming look. They spend a lot of the video dancing around and smiling, unlike the thugs, and objects they are seen with are innocent ones like flowers and cute decorations for their show. The camp man who rescues Caroline and seems to win her affections is dressed in a somewhat eccentric fashion sense, which is a common way for ‘possibly gay’ characters in films or shows to dress like.
Overall, the video is a parody of the high-school/college movie genre as it mashes together the common features into one big cliché. The visuals match well with the music as some of the characters dance appropiately in time, and the video roughly follows the lyrics too (about the whole Caroline girl).
The whole parody-concept is not unusual for a hip-hop video (I don't think it should be classified as a hip-hop video as there is hardly any actual rapping, but considering the group being recognised as a hip-hop act I guess that's why), as many rappers are keen to portray themselves in humorous/silly/fun ways/circumstances (contrary to popular belief that hip-hop videos all display arrogance and violence, that said there is a fight scene in this video but it's supposed to be taking the mickey).
All in all, there is no deep meaningful message it conveys; it's just a simple and silly.
The song Roses is by American hip-hop duo Outkast (members Andre 3000 and Big Boi), though one could say it is more so by the former than the latter as it comes from their 2003 double album each side being a 'solo' album and this song coming from Andre 3000's side. The song doesn't have much meaning or message, it's just a harmless attack on girls who think they are all that and in the song a girl named Caroline represents those girls.
The rather simple story of the video consists of the Caroline from the song as a school-girl who thinks she’s all that and is thrown in the middle of two rival gangs: one gang of aggressive thuggish yobs whose leader (played by member Big Boi) desires her affections, and the other a posse of talented charming good boys (led by the other member Andre 3000) who make fun of the girl in a performance at the school hall. The thugs arrive at the show, and the two gangs get into a fight. The girl Caroline is rescued by a seemingly feminine camp man, and they both walk off.
The video has an intertextual influence to high-school/college set movies as it contains elements which feature heavily in those types of films, including the types of characters, the classic theme of rivalry between groups of lads, angry teacher, and the pun that a lot of the time the actors who play the students are in their mid to late 20's just like Outkast were at the time.
If you pay attention to the camera composition, it actually helps establish the characters. For example, a mixture of long-shots and close-ups of the thugs - showing their cars, gang-name on jackets, street gambling, and I guess aggresive-ish faces - inform the viewer that these lads are of the delinquent type. The same is done to introduce the other gang - which are instead dancing around and smiling - and, in contrast, shows them as much more friendly and approachable than the other guys. Also, a couple of tracking shots and long shots of Caroline and her gang show that they are 'big in the school' i.e. showing others getting out of their way, their dominance over the camera.
The mise-en-scène also helps identify the characters:
Caroline and her group of girls are seen checking themselves in mirrors, wearing pink and red, blowing bubblegum out of their mouths, and striding around like they own the place. These qualities of how the pretty and popular girls would act like are always used in high-school movies and are thus cliché but still quick to inform you of who/how the character is. The thug gang are seen hanging on a street corner, gambling on the street, possessing flashy cars (which they are seen knocking down school signs with), abusing others, and wielding bats. All these factors are stereotypical of your typical ‘hood’ gang.
The other gang are dressed neatly in matching clothing, and the lead singer is wearing sunglasses and has a bandana tied around his hair which gives a kind of cool but charming look. They spend a lot of the video dancing around and smiling, unlike the thugs, and objects they are seen with are innocent ones like flowers and cute decorations for their show. The camp man who rescues Caroline and seems to win her affections is dressed in a somewhat eccentric fashion sense, which is a common way for ‘possibly gay’ characters in films or shows to dress like.
Overall, the video is a parody of the high-school/college movie genre as it mashes together the common features into one big cliché. The visuals match well with the music as some of the characters dance appropiately in time, and the video roughly follows the lyrics too (about the whole Caroline girl).
The whole parody-concept is not unusual for a hip-hop video (I don't think it should be classified as a hip-hop video as there is hardly any actual rapping, but considering the group being recognised as a hip-hop act I guess that's why), as many rappers are keen to portray themselves in humorous/silly/fun ways/circumstances (contrary to popular belief that hip-hop videos all display arrogance and violence, that said there is a fight scene in this video but it's supposed to be taking the mickey).
All in all, there is no deep meaningful message it conveys; it's just a simple and silly.
The song Roses is by American hip-hop duo Outkast (members Andre 3000 and Big Boi), though one could say it is more so by the former than the latter as it comes from their 2003 double album each side being a 'solo' album and this song coming from Andre 3000's side. The song doesn't have much meaning or message, it's just a harmless attack on girls who think they are all that and in the song a girl named Caroline represents those girls.
The rather simple story of the video consists of the Caroline from the song as a school-girl who thinks she’s all that and is thrown in the middle of two rival gangs: one gang of aggressive thuggish yobs whose leader (played by member Big Boi) desires her affections, and the other a posse of talented charming good boys (led by the other member Andre 3000) who make fun of the girl in a performance at the school hall. The thugs arrive at the show, and the two gangs get into a fight. The girl Caroline is rescued by a seemingly feminine camp man, and they both walk off.
The video has an intertextual influence to high-school/college set movies as it contains elements which feature heavily in those types of films, including the types of characters, the classic theme of rivalry between groups of lads, angry teacher, and the pun that a lot of the time the actors who play the students are in their mid to late 20's just like Outkast were at the time.
If you pay attention to the camera composition, it actually helps establish the characters. For example, a mixture of long-shots and close-ups of the thugs - showing their cars, gang-name on jackets, street gambling, and I guess aggresive-ish faces - inform the viewer that these lads are of the delinquent type. The same is done to introduce the other gang - which are instead dancing around and smiling - and, in contrast, shows them as much more friendly and approachable than the other guys. Also, a couple of tracking shots and long shots of Caroline and her gang show that they are 'big in the school' i.e. showing others getting out of their way, their dominance over the camera.
The mise-en-scène also helps identify the characters:
Caroline and her group of girls are seen checking themselves in mirrors, wearing pink and red, blowing bubblegum out of their mouths, and striding around like they own the place. These qualities of how the pretty and popular girls would act like are always used in high-school movies and are thus cliché but still quick to inform you of who/how the character is. The thug gang are seen hanging on a street corner, gambling on the street, possessing flashy cars (which they are seen knocking down school signs with), abusing others, and wielding bats. All these factors are stereotypical of your typical ‘hood’ gang.
The other gang are dressed neatly in matching clothing, and the lead singer is wearing sunglasses and has a bandana tied around his hair which gives a kind of cool but charming look. They spend a lot of the video dancing around and smiling, unlike the thugs, and objects they are seen with are innocent ones like flowers and cute decorations for their show. The camp man who rescues Caroline and seems to win her affections is dressed in a somewhat eccentric fashion sense, which is a common way for ‘possibly gay’ characters in films or shows to dress like.
Overall, the video is a parody of the high-school/college movie genre as it mashes together the common features into one big cliché. The visuals match well with the music as some of the characters dance appropiately in time, and the video roughly follows the lyrics too (about the whole Caroline girl).
The whole parody-concept is not unusual for a hip-hop video (I don't think it should be classified as a hip-hop video as there is hardly any actual rapping, but considering the group being recognised as a hip-hop act I guess that's why), as many rappers are keen to portray themselves in humorous/silly/fun ways/circumstances (contrary to popular belief that hip-hop videos all display arrogance and violence, that said there is a fight scene in this video but it's supposed to be taking the mickey).
All in all, there is no deep meaningful message it conveys; it's just a simple and silly.
The song Children's Story is the first known song (dating back to 1988) of London-born American rapper Slick Rick, and is considered a classic of the hip-hop genre (a testament to its inluence, its lyrics as well as its beat and composition have been both sampled and reincorporated in countless songs). The song starts with (apparently) kids asking Slick Rick to read them a bedtime story (thus the title), and he tells them a tale (that can be interpreted as an implicit condemnation of violence and greed) about a young man who gets into crime, becomes addicted to it, and finally goes too far as he is hunted by the police and is eventually shot and killed.
However in the video, while the lyrics stay the same, the 'story' is presented in a very different way with visuals which differ from what is actually being told. The video starts with artist Slick Rick as ‘Uncle Ricky’ who reads the bedtime story to three ‘children’ (who are really adults), but the story seen consists of an innocent man mistaken for a bank robber and chased by police and eventually arrested. Once in jail, he escapes and the police chase him again; the story ends ambiguously without it being clear what his ultimate fate is. Uncle Ricky then leaves in his limousine, and the limousine is then chased by the same police, implying it was a true story and that Uncle Ricky was the young man from the story.
The story acted out is much less brutal and is done in the style of comedic silent films, so the lyrics contrast heavily with the visuals. As a result, I reckon that the video looks slightly stupid at times, for example when Slick Rick raps the line "the cops shot the kid I can still hear him scream" while the kid is seen alive and well.
There is a massive intertextual reference to silent films, as all scenes representing the 'story' look set in the past, are in black and white, have no synchronized recorded sound of their own, and are full of projected speed, muted gestures and pantomime. The video uses comedic tricks like the classic slipping on a banana peel, and portraying the police as clumsy buffoons who jump up and down a lot and fall over a lot as well as the leader wearing an obviously fake moustache.
There are few features of the genre's (hip-hop) characteristics; the only ones I can spot are the use of the artist wearing a big piece of bling, and the sequence in which he brings two females with him into the limousine at the end when he leaves. The latter brings to mind that 'pimp' image which many rappers seem to be keen to associate themselves with. All in all, it's a weird video: the location in which Slick Rick is telling the bedime story is some kind of exterior lair with somewhat creepy trees and statues of characters from Alice In Wonderland. The 'children' are actually adults: two of the females who leave with him, and a short happy man who seems to like sleeping outside.
This is both narrative-based (there is some story to the police chasing the man) and concept-based (the whole style of the silent films). The relationship between the music and visuals fit well, as it sort of looks like the police are dancing to the beat as they jump around and wave their arms about. There are no real star motifs really, other than his eye-patch. All in all, it's a music video which tells a story of anti-crime but is shown in a different innocent and humorous way.
Good news has come in the form of Aiden confirming that his uncle Roni Size has agreed to let us use a track of his. So here is some information about the artist which I read up on wikipedia:
Born Ryan Williams in 1969, he is a British drum and bass artist and record producer. He is both a solo artist, and a member of a group - Reprazent. Expelled from school at 16, he went on to learn about music production at his local youth club and came to found the record label WTP (Where's The Party At?). In 1994, he set up the label V Recordings, from which he realeased his debut release.
In 1997, Roni Size formed and led the drum and bass group Reprazent. Alongside himself, the group consists of DJ's Krust and Suv, singer Onallee, and rappers Dynamite MC and Bahamadia. With each member bringing their style and influences, their drum and bass contains elements of hip-hop, house, funk, and soul. The group has worked with artists including hip-hop extraordinaires Wu-Tang Clan and Method Man as well as Rage Against the Machine.
Both as a solo act and as part of Reprazent, Roni Size has released 19 albums and has an upcoming album to be released this year.
The first form of music videos came to be in the 1930's, when short films/clips were made based on music. Jazz musician Louis Jordan had short films made for his music which were then put together to create a feature film named 'Lookout Feature'. The video to the song 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen was the first proper music video as we know it to be made.
Soon enough more followed, and the US video channel MTV was launched in 1981. As a new way of promotion, the music video grew to play a central role in music marketing. Music videos began to change from their original use of just simply promoting the artist to showing a narrative or a concept of some kind. Sometimes the artists themselves did not even appear in the video; an example of this is the video to George Michael's song 'Freedom 90'.
Artists started using influences from films for their music video material, one of the most famous example being Michael Jackson who's video 'Thriller' contained many intertextual references to the horror genre, and his video 'Bad' was influenced by the choreographed fighting dances seen in 'West Side Story'.
In 2005, YouTube was launched, making music videos extremely internet-friendly. This also allowed for many many artists to become well known through music videos which had been viewed almost entirely online - for example, rapper Soulja Boy found his succes through this way. Many videos are deemed controversial for their content of sex (such as Bjork's 'Pagan Poetry', which showed depictions of intercourse), violence (M.I.A.'s 'Born Free' shows the US military killing kids through ways such as blowing them to pieces), and drug use (Soulwax's 'E Talking' cycles through various club-goers taking drugs).
As a break from all that drum and bass paraphernalia, here are analyses of three album covers.
LONDON CALLING - THE CLASH
This is the third album by The Clash. The shot is actually a photograph taken by a photographer (named Pennie Smith) during their US tour in 1979 of the bass guitarist (Paul Simonon) smashing his bass against the stage. As a photograph, it's quite well-taken and succesful as she managed to capture him right before impact and show him in good quality (not looking blurry, as he was in rapid movement).
The pink and green bubble-like letters of the album's title are a homage to Elvis Presley's debut album, which had his name in the same style and colours (as well as also a black-and-white photograph, courtesy of its time).
The cover has been described as the ultimate rock and roll moment - a loss of control (Simonon literally had lost control) and a representation of chaos (an overall feeling which embodied the followers of punk) . This representation of chaos fits well with the album's subject matter, which includes unemployment, racial conflict, responsibilities of adulthood and drug use - all of which are at least in some way chaotic.
THE DON KILLUMINATI: THE 7 DAY THEORY - 2PAC
The final album that the artist Tupac Shakur made before his assassination; it was not released until after his death, although he had already completed it. The cover shows a drawing of him dying on the cross (the white letters read "In no way is this portrait an expression of disrespect for Jesus Christ"), which seemed even more poignant once it ended up being released after he had actually died. But the artist had chosen this cover to both convey his crucifixion by the media and to imply an artistic renaissance, as he had decided to change his artist name from 2Pac to Makaveli. Thus, it’s supposed to mean ‘2Pac’ dies on the cross but is resurrected as ‘Makaveli' (named after the Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli). The theme of resurrection is also frequent throughout the album's lyrics (this whole resurrection business helped add theories to the countless rumours which claimed Tupac had faked his death and would return at some point in the future).
Perhaps the most conventional aspect of the hip-hop genre to this cover is the parental advisory sign, which is placed on a convenient spot (it is rare to see a hip-hop album without a parental advisory sign). The lettering on the cover shows his 'name' much more larger and brighter than the album's title, perhaps to emphasise on the fact that he wanted to become known as Makaveli from then on. The album's grim cover links well with the grim content of the lyrics, which deal with his fears, agonies, angers, and with his paranoia of an upcoming death he rightly predicted.
CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS? - SUPERTRAMP
The image on the front cover of Supertramp’s fourth album mirrors the title (taken from a line in the 1973 film ‘The Day of the Jackal’) as if the man in the photo is saying the title out loud. While there is no obviously chaotic sign of crisis in the background, the dull, grey, messy, dirty and polluted (as implied by the factory chimneys) and overall negative landscape contrasts heavily with the man sat in a ‘sun’ which only shines on him, with a radio, drink and newspaper, all items of relax and comfort. So of course, it greatly represents the album's title is as if the background is the crisis and the man is the ignorant asking of 'what crisis?'.
As one may predict from the relaxed cover, the musical composition of the songs is bright and jolly (the album starts with someone whistling down a street). Referring back to the 'crisis' title, one could imagine the band happily playing through each song as the world crashes around them.
Matt Gresham's music style is of the more soul-influenced style of drum & bass, but it is still targeted at a club audience rather than a home audience. His style is described as "bridging the gap between a lacklustre sub-genre, liquid funk, and more exciting, dancefloor orientated drum and bass" (as quoted on his biography section on the website for his record label Hospital Records).
APHRODITE
Despite the artist name being the same as the Greek goddess of love, the artist is a man called Gavin King who is commonly reffered to as the 'Godfather of drum and bass'. Along with fellow DJ Micky Finn, he founded the drum and bass record label Urban Takeover.
Real name Lincoln Barret, this Welsh man grew up greatly interested in films and film soundtracks. He cites the soundtracks to 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'Blade Runner' as defining musical influences. His specific sound is classed as 'liquid funk' (which provides a calmer atmosphere), and is today a highly sought-after DJ who receives numerous remix requests.
SHY FX
This man Andre Williams is among the pioneers of drum and bass. His record 'Original Nuttah' is one of the most well-known anthems of the genre. He remixes and produces tracks for popular artists such as Plan B and Dizzee Rascal.
So here is some detailed information on the music of drum and bass. Some of this research is based on information I read up on wikipedia. Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated to DnB) is a genre of (hardcore) dance music which emerged from the UK rave scene around the early 1990s. Although it brings influences from techno and hip-hop, it mainly focuses on the breakbeat (sampling of breaks as drum loops/beats) side of rave rather than the house/techno side. This genre is characterized by fast breakbeats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines.
Drum and bass has number of scenes and styles; from highly electronic, experimental sounds of techstep through to the use of more conventional, acoustic instrumentations which find themselves in a more jazz-influenced end. Because there is a range of influences behind the music, the sounds of drum and bass are quite varied. The genre emphasises greatly on the 'bass line', a deep bass pattern which can be (if played through powerful soundsystems) felt physically. It is common to have an MC rapidly rap or chant over the music, as well as using samples (line/s from other songs or from films, etc) which are played repeatedly throughout the track.
Drum and bass is mostly a form of dance music designed to be heard in clubs (and thus danced to). Its loud and epic bass/beats/breaks can really only be fully appreciated on professional sound systems. As a matter of fact, drum and bass parties are often advertised as featuring uncommonly loud sound systems. However, because of the loud and physical sensations given in these events, many of those who attend intoxicate themselves with substances like ecstasy. Whilst the majority of drum and bass music is fast, loud, and powerful, there exists a subgenre named intelligent/atmospheric drum and bass. This subgenre consists of somewhat more melodic music which emphasises on influences from lounge, jazz, and ambient music. Althought this mellow and tranquil style contrasts with the more common dark and aggressive style, tracks of this subgenre are still generally produced for a dancefloor in mind. Another personal thing associated is the dance style of 'x-outing', in which the dancer rapidly hops between their heels and toes from leg to leg. Though perhaps a more common dance move is 'skanking', which consists of thrusting your arm in the air with your hand in the shape of a gun. Fair enough but I don't do it myself, I prefer the old John Travolta style!
Drum and bass is quite popular with teenagers, adolescents, and generally young/ish people perhaps up to those in their mid-30's (those older probably get headaches or suffer heart attacks from it). Despite its huge fanbase and constant airplays on some stations, it remains an 'underground' genre. Personally, I'm not that keen on it. I don't mind it, but it quickly loses its novelty on me after a few songs and after a while starts to sound like broken engines being grinded against each other.
