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 19th, early 20th
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.