Album Cover Analysis

I have chosen to analyse the cover for the album Nevermind by Nirvana, as I believe it is one of the best album covers created. The reason why I believe it is one of the best album covers created is because everybody knows it. No matter whether someone likes Nirvana or not, there is an extremely high chance that they know the image of the baby swimming with the dollar bill. The image is made to represent humanities obsession with materialistic possessions and that how even from a young age money starts to rule our lives. This album cover is so iconic that it in many cases it will be the first thing that comes to a persons mind when thinking of Nirvana and people appreciate it for the piece artwork that it is, as well as appreciating the music. 

Album Covers

Album covers are an important factor an artist has to take into account when releasing an album as it is the first thing a listener will notice when seeing the CD in a store or downloading the album on iTunes. In many cases the listener will automatically remember the album cover and associate it with the song on that album, making it easier to remember the name and the artist.

Beyoncé's cover for her album "4"

Different genres of music usually have different types of album covers. For example, a pop artist will usually have a picture of themselves on the cover, especially if the artist is female, this is because most people recognise pop artist by their face as they are in the public eye more than other artists. Groups such as rock bands will usually have a picture that holds a meaning behind it and relates to the message that the album is trying to convey.

Biffy Clyro's cover for their album "Opposites" 

Fall Out Boy's cover for their album
"Save Rock and Roll"

Eminem and his album covers: 

The Eminem Show (2002)

Some artists put more effort into their album covers than the average artist and although to the average person it may not seem like the cover is anything special however to the fans there is a lot of meaning behind it. One artist that does this extremely well is Eminem, as his albums all tie in to each other he has album covers that all follow each other too. For example his three albums "The Eminem Show", "Encore" and "Curtain Call" all follow the theme of Eminem being is the spotlight on stage, and as you can tell from the names of the albums they follow the structure of a concert. The first picture is him preparing for the show, then then next cover is him bowing down at the end of the show preparing for the encore, finally the album is the end of the show, the curtains are closing and roses have been thrown at his feet.

Encore (2004)

Curtain Call (2005)

Eminem also done this with another series of albums that all tie in together about his struggle with drug addiction; "Relapse", "Refill" (bonus tracks for Relapse) and "Recovery", Eminem made the album Relapse after a 4 year hiatus from recording music due to being in rehab for his extreme addiction to pills (mostly sleeping medication) and almost dying from an overdose. This inspired a lot of the tracks on the album and to reflect this the album cover that was chosen was Eminem's face made out of pills. He then released an album a year later called Recovery apologising to his fans for his absence and vowing to never drink or touch drugs again. There are two alternate album covers for this album, one of them illustrating Eminem walking away from his past life and an open road into the future. The other cover showing Eminem boxed off from the world, maybe referring to his time in rehab and the fact that although he is caged off from the world he is still in the public eye and cannot escape. 

Relapse (2009)

Refill (2009)

Recovery (2010)

Another set of albums that tie in with each other are "The Marshall Mather's LP" and "The Marshall Mather's LP 2". These two albums are Eminem's most personal albums and this is why he name's them after his real name instead of 'Eminem' or 'Slim Shady'. The first MMLP is about Eminem's struggle's growing up and about his family etc. this is reflected in the cover by Eminem sitting on the porch of his childhood home in the slums of Detroit as it is about Marshall revisiting his childhood and almost reliving the experiences that he struggled such as not having a father, his mother neglecting him and taking drugs, and his brother being taken away by child services. He then released the MMLP2 thirteen years later and he describes it as being a revisitation to the first MMLP, he tries to right all his wrongs by apologising to his mother for previous songs directed at her. The album cover is the same house from the first MMLP although now it has been boarded up at the windows, the garden is overgrown around it and Eminem is not sitting on the doorstep as he has now moved on to a better life. Also the deluxe edition of the MMLP2 has a cover that gives the image of looking out on to the house through the back window of an expensive car, almost as if we are looking from Eminem's perspective as he drives past his childhood home. 

The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013)

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013)

Most Watched Music Videos of 2013

1. Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus 

Miley Cyrus' music video "Wrecking Ball" was a massive success with over 480 million views since the video was released 4 months ago. This video was extremely controversial with many people expressing their positive and negative views on social media websites such as Twitter, leading to it gaining more and more peoples attention and within a week almost everybody was talking about Miley Cyrus. This video was not Miley's only controversial antic of 2013 but more the pinnacle of her spot in the limelight. Miley was the center of attention at the VMA awards where she dressed extremely provocatively and 'twerked' on Robin Thicke's crotch. The fact that Miley was a child star on the Disney channel is what causes a lot of discomfort in viewers as one of their favourite childhood idols has now changed her image for what many would say is the worse.


2. Diamonds - Rihanna

Rihanna's song "Diamonds"takes the number 2 spot with over 380 million views over the whole of 2013. This is a very catchy song with memorable lyrics that stay in the listeners mind, when a song does this it helps the video gain a lot of views because people like to replay the song. Just like the majority of Rihanna's music video it is very appealing to watch, mainly for the fact that she is an attractive and talented person which is appealing for both males and females of almost all ages to watch. There are also a number of images and shots in the video that the viewer retains in their mind so it is easy to remember and come back to.


3. We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus 

This video gained a lot of attention due to the controversy that Miley Cyrus has created around herself. Although the video has over 330 million views, it has almost a 50:50 like to dislike ratio, which just goes to show that although a video is watched by a lot of people it is not necessary enjoyed by a lot of people.


4. Scream & Shout - will.i.am ft. Britney Spears 

This music video became popular because of it's unique collaboration of artists and because the two artists are so well know and famous in different groups of people, as Britney Spears is an older artist and popular among a large group of people whereas will.i.am is a newer artist that is popular among the younger generation. 

5. Roar - Katy Perry 

This music video was the 5th most watched music video of 2013 with over 325 million views in the 4 months since its release. Roar is a very good video and it is easy to see how it can get so much attention. Katy Perry is already an established star and has a very big audience and holds the record for the most followers on Twitter. The video appeals to a number of audiences for different reasons, for example, young girls may enjoy it as Katy Perry is a relatable character and is conveying a positive message in the video. Teenagers and males may enjoy the video as Katy Perry is an attractive female and does not wear much clothes in the video. 

Most Watched Music Videos of 2012

1. Gangnam Style - Psy

The reason that Gangnam Style was the most watched video of 2012 was mainly due to the fact that it was so quirky and different. Most people had not seen a video like it before, so the novelty of the video is what gained it a lot of publicity. The dance for the song is another big factor too, as the dance was very easy to replicate many people remembered it and also wanted to show other people how funny and odd this dance is. Gangnam Style is a music video sensation with over 1.8 billion views!


2. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

This music video I believe was not popular because of the video but rather the song itself. The song is very catchy and memorable for almost anyone that listens to it, whether they enjoy it or not, the lyrics will be stuck in many peoples head after hearing it on the radio or in public, which will make the search for it and find the video. However, I do believe that the video does appeal to a certain audience, which is most likely young teenage girls, largely due to the fact that there is an attractive topless male in the video and a relatable teenager-looking female.


3. Boyfriend - Justin Bieber 

This music video takes the number 3 spot with views 301 million views and I believe one of the main reasons for this is due to the fact that it is a Justin Bieber song, and as Justin Bieber is arguably the biggest pop-star on the planet his videos are bound to get hundreds of millions of views. The video is not a very generic pop video, with the star wearing expensive clothing, being surrounded by attractive females and expensive cars it's almost as if Justin Bieber is trying to change his image and move slightly towards the rap genre.


4. One Thing - One Direction 

One Direction are the biggest boy-band and the biggest group in the world right now, so whatever they do is bound to be a success. Their main audience is young teenage girls and this video is made to appeal to that audience by showing the five members of the group acting silly and joking around with each other. Every member has a small part where their are looking down the camera singing to the viewer so that every girl with a favourite member will have that part of the video that their can feel as though they have a connection with that member.


5. Where Have You Been? - Rihanna 

Rihanna carries all the traits that are necessary to be a successful pop-star and she has mastered all of them. She is an attractive female with an appealing body for both males and females to view, and she uses this by not wearing much clothes and dancing provocatively which this video consists a lot of. She wears many different outfits throughout the video and shows off almost every part of her body at one time or another. The video also has a lot of eyecatching shots such as dancers with glow-in-the-dark body paint and eyecatching video effects.

Fifth Day Filming

Today we went to Davids house in order to film the 2-3 shots we still had left to do that we did not manage to film last time. We had to film a shot of crossing dates off of a calendar with and without the wolf mask, which was not very challenging, although we had to make sure we got it right first take because for the best effect we had to use permanent marker. For his shot we wanted to give the impression that it was dark in the bedroom, as it was night time. To do this we turned off all the lights in the room and used a small mood-light a it gave off a nice even amount of white light, almost like a moonlight effect.

The mood-light we used.

The bedroom we used.

Fourth Day Filming

Lighting controls.

Our fourth day filming was spent filming the band sequence and all of the lip-syncing shots. For this we used the school's drama rooms again as it has good lighting equipment and a plain black backdrop which was ideal for us. We spent a decent amount of time figuring out what type of lighting worked best as it was important not to over expose the subject or wash out any colour.

We filmed multiple shots from different angles and each time we filmed from a new angle we'd perform the entire song. This way when it comes to editing I can use whatever shot I feel suits best and I will have a choice from 4-5 different shots.

Tripod on chairs. 

We had to improvise slightly as the tripod we used was not tall enough to get the ideal shot we wanted, so we used some chairs in order to raise the tripod and get the perfect shot.

David filming me, using the
monopod.

To add some variety into the band sequence shots of our video we used the monopod as well as the tripod, this way we can get some immersive moving shots close up to myself and the other band members. The monopod is weighted at the bottom and has a grip at the top, this allows the user to get smooth moving shots that are much better than if you were to hold the camera with just your hands. We used the monopod for four separate shots; one of me lip-syncing the song, one of me with David playing guitar behind me, on one of me with Terry playing the guitar behind me, and one which was a close up of the guitar being played.



We managed to film all of the band sequence this time and did not run into a great deal of problems and the finished product looks good.

Thriller - Michael Jackson (1983)

Thriller - Michael Jackson (1983)

Michael Jackson's music video for the song 'Thriller' is first place in Channel 4's top 100 music videos. The music video is almost 14 minutes and was MTV's first ever world premiere for a music video. The video has been voted as the most influential pop music video of all time and named "a watershed moment for the industry" and also listed as the most successful music video by Guinness World Records in 2006 by selling over 9 million copies. The video starts with a 5 minute into in which Michael Jackson and his girlfriend (Ola Ray) break down in their car at night, Michael Jackson asks his girlfriend to "be his girl" then after placing a ring on her finger he  expresses that he is "not like other guys", suddenly a full moon appears and Michael transforms in to a werewolf. The werewolf-Michael then attacks the girl which is when it cuts to a cinema full of people, including Michael and the girl, watching the film. After storming out of the cinema the music starts, which is when Michael starts singing and dancing around Ola as she is walking. As they walk past a graveward Vincent Price's voice is heard performing a speech rising zombies from the grave, which all surround Michael and Ola and just as they're about to reach the couple Michael transforms in to a zombie too. All the zombies break out in synchronised dance with Michael leading the group. For the rest of the song Michael and the rest of the zombies dance, until the music ends and the story continues with Ola running back to a house and hiding. All the zombies break in to her bedroom and walk towards her, Ola screaming, then just as Michael touches her the camera cuts and Michael is not a zombie and asking "what's the problem?" The video ends with Michael's face green-eyed and animal-like as Vincent Price's haunting laugh echo's over the top. The characters dance during the credits and the very last shot is of Vincent Price, dressed as a zombie giving the camera an evil grimace. 

The video has won 2 grammies and 4 MTV awards.

Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel (1986)

Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel (1986) 

The song Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel is 2nd on the Channel 4's top 100 music videos list. The video uses stop-motion techniques, which is when a series of pictures are put together to give the impression of a moving image, such as that seen in 'Wallace and Gromit'. Peter Gabriel had to lay under a sheet of glass for 16 hours while shooting the video one frame at a time. There is a shot in the video where Gabriel is wearing a Christmas tree suit and jerking his body about; Gabriel was actually being electrically shocked during this shot. In total the video took one week to shoot. 

Take On Me - A-ha (1985)

Take On Me - A-ha (1985) 

Take On Me is ranked 3rd in Channel 4's top 100 music videos. This video uses pencil-sketch animation and live-action to create a technique called rotoscoping, in which the footage of the actors and band members can be placed in a cartoon/animation. There are approximately 3000 frames that were rotoscoped, which took the animators 16 weeks, as they had to hand draw each frame by tracing over the previous frame to give the characters previous movements.

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (1975)

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (1975) 

Bohemian Rhapsody is 4th on Channel 4's top 100 music videos. Although some artists had made video clips to accompany their songs, Queen was the first to make a full music video and after Bohemian Rhapsody it became common practice for record labels to produce a promotional video for artists' single releases. This video was created so that the band would not have to continually keep flying over from other countries while on tour to appear on shows such as Top of the Pops, they could show a music video instead and after Queen done this many other artists followed.

Like a Prayer - Madonna (1989)

Like a Prayer - Madonna (1989) 

This music video is number 5 on Channel 4's top 100 music videos. Madonna wanted this video to be more provocative than anything she had ever done before, which she succeeded in doing as this video has been condemned by the Vatican and was protested against by family and religious groups. The narrative of the video addresses racism in America, particularly the south. This was very controversial in the US and many people found it to be strongly anti-Christianity, due to images such as Madonna dancing in front of large burning crosses and Jesus being black.

Rock DJ - Robbie Williams (2000)

Rock DJ - Robbie Williams (2000) 

Rock DJ is placed at number 6 on the Channel 4's list of top 100 music videos. The video is of Robbie Williams dancing in a large room with numerous females roller-skating around him, eventually William's wants to gain the attention of the female DJ up in the booth, so he beings stripping his clothes. Robbie fails to gain the attention of the female DJ by stripping naked, so he starts stripping his skin away so his flesh and muscles are exposed. This still fails to get the DJ's attention, so his strips away his flesh and muscles so all that is left is his skeleton, this gets the DJ's attention and he dances with her on the podium.

Billie Jean - Michael Jackson (1983)

Billie Jean - Michael Jackson ( 1983) 

Billie Jean ranks 7th on Channel 4's top 100 music videos list. The video is mostly Michael Jackson dancing on tiles that illuminate when he stands on them. It was one of the first music videos by a black artist to be aired regularly by MTV because the executives felt that black music wasn't rock enough. The narrative of the story is of a paparazzo that is trying to get a picture of Michael Jackson, while on his way to Billie Jean's hotel room, but never manages to, finally when the paparazzo manages to take a picture of him, the photo doesn't develop.

Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve (1997)

Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve (1997)

Bittersweet Symphony is 8th in Channel 4's top 100 music videos. This video was noted as one of the most recognisable music videos in the 90's which is because it is so basic yet so hypnotic. The video focuses on lead singer Richard Ashcroft simply walking down a busy road in London, singing the lyrics of the song. Ashcroft walks down this road not moving for anybody and only stopping one when he is forced to by a car, this act of not moving for anybody causes him to bump in to numerous people and even knock a woman to the ground. At the end of the video Ashcroft is joined on the road by the rest of the band members and the final shot is of them walking away, which leads into the beginning of the music video for the song "Drugs Don't Work."

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (1991)

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (1991) 

Smells Like Teen Spirit is 10th on Channel 4's top 100 music videos. This music is very basic as it is purely band sequence and there is no narrative. The band sequence is non-conventional as it is not a big crowd or of high production, which the director (Samuel Bayer) believes is why he was hired for the job, so the video would be "punk" and "non-corporate". The video starts out as a school rock concert in a gym, with all the students sitting politely and ends with riot and anarchy with the students destroying the bands equipment. According to the director this was genuine frustration from the students as they were tired of acting all day and after Kurt Cobain (Nirvana's lead) convinced the director to let the extras mosh, the director told them to just go wild and wreck the place. Samuel Bayer noted "unlike subsequent artists he worked with, Cobain did not care about vanity, rather that "the video had something that was truly about what they were about.""

The Scientist - Coldplay (2002)

The Scientist - Coldplay (2002) 

The Scientist comes 11th on Channel 4's top 100 music videos. This music video is a story of a man (played by Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin) and his girlfriend being in a car crash, in which she dies and Chris Martin's character lives and walks aimlessly singing. However, the video is different as it is in reverse and slow motion, which meant the Chris Martin had to learn how to sing the entire song in reverse and 50% slower, to give the illusion that he is moving backwards but singing regularly.

I Want To Break Free - Queen (1984)

I Want To Break Free - Queen (1984)

I Want To Break Free ranks 21st on the Channel 4's list of top 100 music videos. This video and song are both strong statements to society about homosexuality, for example the lyrics "god knows I want to break free" and "oh how I want to be free" is Freddie Mercury saying how he wants the world to know that he is gay and that he wants to be accepted for who he is instead of hiding his true self.

Stan - Eminem (2000)

Stan - Eminem (2000)

Stan is 31st on Channel 4's list of 100 greatest music videos. Stan was a massive success as it was the first video of its type and the first song of its type too. The song is about an obsessive fan that is writing to Eminem with each letter (verse) getting more and more insane because Eminem is not writing back, until eventually Stan ends up killing himself and his pregnant girlfriend by driving off a bridge and drowning. The final verse is from Eminem's perspective, writing back to Stan and apologising for being busy, the letter goes on saying about how Stan needs to relax until Eminem realises that Stan has killed himself. The video is 8 minutes long as it has a couple of minutes at the beginning laying down the story of the song. The actor that plays Stan in the music video (Devon Sawa) had to learn the song and rap it while also acting, according to the directors Devon found this difficult and it took multiple shots to get it right, this worked out for the better as it brings out Stan's frustration in the video. Dido sings the chorus for the song and also plays Stan's girlfriend in the video. This video, like the majority of Eminem's songs, breaks the genre conventions for rap as he is not rapping about the usual things a rapper might rap about such as car, money and drugs.

Just - Radiohead (1995)

Just - Radiohead (1995) 

This video is 80th on Channel 4's top 100 music videos. The video cuts between a band sequence of the entire band playing the song in an apartment room and a narrative. The narrative is of a man laying down in the pavement and a crowd of people gather to ask him why he is laying down, eventually he tells them and the shot cuts to all the people laying down on the floor. This music video caused frustration as what the man says is never revealed.

Outside - George Michael (1998)

Outside - George Michael (1998) 

Outside by George Michael is 63rd on Channel 4's list of top 100 music videos. This music video was very significant, especially for George Michael's career, as it symbolised him coming out as gay after being caught by a police officer in a public toilet with another man. This was a big step as he was one of the first famous pop stars to come out as gay to the public as it was less accepted at the time.

Where's Your Head At? - Basement Jaxx (2001)

Where's Your Head At? - Basement Jaxx (2001) 

This video is 73rd on the Channel 4's top 100 music videos. This video gained popularity due to it being humourous and unique. The song is one of Basement Jaxx's most popular songs and the video is memorable so it stays in the viewers mind.

I Want Love - Elton John (2001)

I Want Love - Elton John (2001) 

'I Want Love' is 88th in Channel 4's top 100 music videos. One aspect of this video that made it iconic was that it was shot all in one take, so Robert Downey Jr had to lip-sync the entire 4 and half minutes of the song without making a mistake and trying to convey the emotion in the lyrics. The fact that it was lip-synced by Robert Downey Jr, as Elton John did not like being in videos or in-front of cameras, was also an iconic factor. At the time Robert Downey Jr was in rehab for his extreme drug addiction however he was allowed out of rehab for the filming of the video.

Rockit - Herbie Hancock (1983)

Rockit - Herbie Hancock (1983) 

This video placed 92nd on the Channel 4's top 100 music video. This video made an impact on the music industry and done good for the future of music videos, mainly for the reason that at the time black musicians were not allowed to appear in music videos on television. Herbie Hancock worked his way around this by appearing for a brief amount of time on a television in the video, whereas the majority of the video contains animatronics and robots carrying out unusual movements and activities.

21 Seconds - So Solid (2001)

21 Seconds - So Solid (2001) 

This video by the So Solid crew is a group of 21 black, British rappers that all have 21 seconds to rap their part of the song. This song is 96th in the top 100 music videos according to Channel 4. Each rapper has a unique gimmick in the video, for example bursting into flames or creating a tornado etc. This video was a big success for So Solid and really helped boost their fame and gained them a lot of, both good and bad, publicity. 

100 Greatest Music Videos

In the following posts I will be writing about some of the most significant music videos from Channel 4's "100 Greatest Music Videos"

The Editing Process

Although we have not finished filming as we still need to shoot the band sequence I have started the editing process by just chopping up all of our clips and deleting excess material.