Kasbian Fire

IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF KASABIAN “FIRE”

Genre characteristics

The genre of the song is an Indie / rock song. This is shown by the bank robbery as this is seen as a very aggressive act. This is stereotypical of the rock genre as the music videos typically centre on these acts.

The lead singer has long dark hair, which is stereotypical of the rock genre.

As they wave and show off their guitars, although representing guns, are still following the rock generic conventions as rock bands are traditionally playing guitars and waving them as they play them at their concerts. 

Relationship between lyrics and visuals

The video is set in the West of America in the late 19^th, early 20^th century, as is shown by their cowboy style costumes with cowboy hats and neckchiefs. The whole of the video has a golden brown tint which makes us think it is old and a story from the past.
The video opens with a non-diegetic speech from the lead singer of the band. He is staring at his reflection, and we believe that he is reflecting on a plan that he is about to try and carry out.

The red nail varnish on the lady’s hand connotes a sense of danger as she presses the alarm button. This is a foresight on the chaos and the death that is about to ensue.

When the band escape from the bank they use a fire escape which links to the title of the song – “Fire”. This also creates a sense of irony as the escape is to avoid the fire but in the video it very much becomes apart of it.

When the money spills from the sacks it is shown to be not money but music manuscripts. This could be seen as a message from the band as they are showing that music doesn’t need to be paid for it can be free to everyone. As they are stealing music this very much relates to modern day piracy which is stealing music from artists and giving it away for free. It could also be seen as Kasabian stealing back music which could relate to them returning to the music scene after a long absence. It shows us music is their real passion.

Relationship between music and visuals

The video tells a very clear and strong story, however there is no direct link between the visuals and the lyrics of the video.

We are shown a young teen in a car with a note of music tattooed on their upper cheekbone. The streets are deserted and there is an ominous feel of danger.

As the chorus begins, the pace of the music greatly increases. We are shown a CCTV image with the numbers counting in the corner. It shows a bank robbery being held out by the band. They are using their guitars as guns, and in fact the guitar actually becomes a gun as it fires bullets at one of the bank workers. There is a connection between the band and the gang shown by the use of the guitars.

There are lots of slow action shots which allow the viewer to focus on the bank robbery. There is a diegetic sound of gunfire. This is not stereotypical of music videos which usually just feature the track from the song and do not want anything to detract from that.

The video’s editing is in time with the beat of the music and does change pace with the pace of the music.

Demands of the record label require lots of close up shots of the artist

The lead singer is prominent in the opening shots of the video, defining him as the leader of the band. He is seen in close up although with subdued sepia colouring. When the music starts, he sings in time with the music.  

During the chorus, action shots of the robbery are shown, but then the scene switches back to the lead singer singing again, focusing the attention on the lead singer which is a generic convention of this style of music. The record company would want his face to become familiar so his records would sell well.

Reference to the notion of looking

There is no direct notion of looking, but the way the band is portrayed in the video would appeal to its rock fans.

Intertextual references

There are no direct references to any films or other music videos, however the video does pay homage to all western films.

Titling

There are no titles used throughout the video.