Analysing music videos using Andrew Goodwin's theory

Andrew Goodwin's music video theory

The Bay by Metronomy

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   The music video for 'The Bay' by Metronomy fulfils several elements of Andrew Goodwin's theory. The second element of his theory, that there is a relationship between the lyrics of the song and the visuals of the music video, is evident; the lyrics praise Torbay and the visuals amplify this through glamorised shots of the location (such as an establishing long-shot of the coastline, see figure 1). The visuals also amplify the music (the theory's third point), as it is cut to the beat. The fourth factor is also applied in the music video as there are several close-up shots of the band members, especially the frontman (for example, figure 2). Furthermore, the video includes the fifth factor in Goodwin's theory, in the form of voyeuristic treatment of the female body; figure 3 is an overhead shot of a model who features in the video wearing an exposing costume of a white swimsuit and posing provocatively. However, much of this element is bizarrely exaggerated, perhaps mocking the convention (see figure 4). It could be argued that the video includes intertextual references to other music videos (the sixth point of Goodwin's theory) because many music videos include women dressed in swimsuits and involve pool scenes.

Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High by Arctic Monkeys

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   The music video for 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High' fulfills the first of Goodwin's points as it has a dark colour scheme which is conventional for indie rock music videos. It prominently includes the second feature of Goodwin's theory by being illustrative of the lyrics, aided by the narrative device of a mobile phone which also fulfills the fifth point because the screen is a reference to the notion of looking (such as in figure 5). There is evidence of the fourth factor in Goodwin's feature because the video follows the band's frontman, including some close-ups (for example, figure 6). Additionally, there is some voyeuristic treatment of the female body.