Arctic monkeys i bet that yoou look good on the dancefloor

media

1. Arctic Monkeys I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance floor

2. How does the music video demonstrate genre characteristics? Genre: Indie Rock Low key lighting (with warm tones) in the background of the video – creates a sense of suspense; links to the fact that the indie genre as a whole is rather mysterious because the audience don’t fully know what they are about to receive, broad genre. Performance based – Multiple long shots of the band seen playing the musical instruments. Low budget production – Simple music video of the band performing the song, no complex camera equipment required and there is no real narrative. Setting – On a stage/performing area as they sing and play to the song. Male dominated – The music video only contains men – band consists of male members only. Retro theme, old-fashioned/ low quality cameras.

3. Is there a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals? “ Stop making the eyes at me” – The main artist of the band looks directly at the camera, enables the audience to feel involved with the song. “I bet that you look good on the dance floor” – The setting looks similar to that of a nightclub – low key lighting etc. Due to the fact that this music video is dominantly performance-based, it is very difficult to find a link between the lyrics and the visuals. The lyrics describe a party atmosphere with a male character singing to a woman. However, this music video only includes the artist/band singing and playing along to the song on a platform. It is only the [male] band members featured.

4. Is there a relationship between the music and the visuals? In the song, there is a clear diegetic sound of musical instruments, corresponding to the visuals of the band members performing the song. Again, because the music video is performance-based, there is a very minimal relationship between the music and the visuals due to the simplicity of the video [no real narrative, just the artists performing their song].

5. Are there any close-ups of the artist/band? Multiple close-ups used throughout the music video to establish the artist/ the band. First close-up occurs in the first few seconds of the music video, emphasises the performance aspect of it and conforms to the record label’s demands. Many close-ups of the main artist, the lead singer, the most important member of the band? There are also many close-ups in other Arctic Monkey’s videos – their visual style.

6. Is there a frequent reference to the notion of looking? There are close-ups of the lead singer looking directly at the camera – pulls the audience in and makes the music video more intriguing to watch. This music video is very simplistic, conforming to a stereotypical indie music video. This means that there are minimal props used [only the instruments] so there is no notion of looking except for the band members looking at the camera – direct mode of address. The band members are the only characters seen in the video, and they are all men. Subsequently meaning that there is no voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

7. Are there any intertextual references? The song’s title and overall message is about a male character trying to impress a women at a club. “I bet that you look good on the dance floor” refers to a line in the disco film ‘Saturday Night Fever’ = “Are you as good in bed as you are on the dance floor?” The lyrics “Your name isn’t Rio, but I don’t care for sand” references another song titled ‘Rio’ by the band Duran Duran in which Rio ‘dances in the sand’ in attempt to win the woman’s affections. The whole feel of the music video – the mise en scene & setting, refers to an old British TV show called ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’, from the '70s and '80s. It was a live show with bands similar to what would become the Arctic Monkeys. Hence why Alex Turner introduces the band at the start of the music video when there isn’t a physical audience there with them.

8. Is the video performance, concept or narrative based? Performance-based music video – Throughout the entire duration of the video, the band members are seen performing the song with their instruments. Common for low-budget music videos, a cheap and easy way to get the song across to the audience. Arctic Monkeys are an indie band who were signed to an indie label during the time this song was released; so created this performance-based music video. The band are seen centre of the frame in multiple medium shots, with some of the members on a raised platform. Moreover, the various camera shots and angles are always focused on the band performing – emphasises that they are the focus of this music video.

9. Does this music video apply to any narrative theories? I do not think any narrative theories can be applied to this music video. This is because the video is not narrative-based, there is no story to be told within the visuals, instead it is focused solely on being a performance for the audience. The same setting is used throughout and the band members remain the only characters seen in this music video.