Music videos have become extremely popular since the rise of MTV in the 80s and the rise of the internet (and YouTube) in the 2000's. Some of the most watched videos on YouTube are music videos, gaining billions of views. But there seems to be a misconception between the music video, and the song itself. It seems to me that a number of people believe that the music video to a song, makes the song good. And even if you don't think about this consciously, you will most likely have a more positive view on a track if the video accompanying it is of quality.
But this simply is not the case, the music video should add a visual element to the song. NOTHING MORE. If the song is only tolerable if you are watching it, then simply put, its not a good song.
It seems to me that a lot of the time, you see this kind of thing in modern pop and hip hop. You remember when Shake It Off came out right? quite a controversial track that one. Now lets be real, the song itself isn't great but it isn't the worst either. The lyrics are pretty dull, the upbeat pop sound has been done to death and the emphasis on the beat and bass doesn't really do it for me. Whether or not you like the music video or not, it is very visually interesting containing a number of different styles and unique aesthetics all the way through. This is a perfect example of a song that is riding almost completely off of the video's back.
The way I look at it is this. If I heard it come on to the radio in my car, would I change the channel? In this case, yes I would.
But the music video doesn't always have to be of quality to make the song seem like it is better than it is. Sometimes, all it takes is for it to be just bizarre or disturbing in some way. A prime example is Fatty Boom Boom by Die Antwoord.
Now this song is just crap. When listening to it, by itself, it is repetitive, cheap sounding, and annoying. But when accompanied by its really creepy and strange video, it seems more tolerable. This is because you really aren't listening to the song itself, you are too distracted by the LSD inspired visuals being launched at you.
I am not saying that music videos are inherently worthless of course, they are almost another entity by themselves. However it simply bothers me when someone praises a song based off of the music video when the song itself isn't of quality.
I agree with you a lot on this! however if find for songs that I like and listen to just for how they sound, once I actually look them up on youtube and see the music video that goes along with the music, I tend to end up enjoying them even more afterwards, even when im not watching the video along with the song. do you think this kind of thing is applicable to all songs in just giving them and extra level of entertainment?
ReplyDeleteI've never really sat down and watched random music videos (like the old MTV), so the only time I see music videos are when I search them out on songs I already love (or when I'm at the bowling alley). I agree that the music video shouldn't make the song popular, but I do thing that some music videos are certainly worth acclaim... Often times it is interesting (and usually weird) to see how the artist interprets their own music. (Like Radioactive by Imagine Dragons... wtf is that music video?)
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