Dizzee Rascal- Love This Town

The lyrics to this song express Dizzee's love of London and how even though there's different layers (different cultures, beliefe's, ages etc) everyone acts/should act as one.

The videos starts off with Dizzee sitting at a bus stop next to a man, (who is famously known for being assaulted during the London riots 2010) with his crew of friends joining him shortly after, they (Dizzee and Crew) then surround the man in an intimidating fashion, looking as if they're about to steal from him, none the less, this is not the case, you then later see Dizzee and crew, instead of stealing from the man, they fill his bag with sandwiches 

As the video progresses you see Dizzee and his group of friends wearing dark clothing and balaklavas looking as if they are about to cause trouble, however, this is not the case. In the first instance you see the group of boys surrounding a shop as if they were about to riot it, however they throw a bucket of water on the widows and start cleaning the shop

Also, there's a scene where Dizzee and crew are supposedly looting a shop, but, they're actually recycling old boxes 

This theme of supposedly doing bad but instead doing good, continues throughout the video and subverts stereotypes. 

The concept of the song is the love of London and the video shows how good London can be, it emphasizes the fact that one incident shouldn't determine the perception of London. 

This video shows people of different races apart of Dizzee's crew to take away the stereotype that only black youths cause trouble in London.

One key clip of this video is when the police and Dizzee's crew come face to face, initial thoughts are that there's going to be war, as young people are often associated with hating the police and vice versa. But, this is not the case in the video, they actually end up dancing together, highlighting the emphasis of the lyrics of the song... London is one and that's how we should act

This video successfully tackles and removes the negative stereotypes of London, (that London is ran by ruthless youths who have no morals) it shows that there is positivity in London. I feel that this video is a good representation of London and a benefit of the video is that it can be viewed all around the world so those around the world who heard about the riots, or those who even hear bad things about London, can look at the video and see that it's not all doom and gloom and that there is some positivity within the city.

Video Director analysis

I have analysed 3 music videos Michel Gondry has directed

Video analysis of my choice!

Jhene Aiko ft Childish Gambino- Bed Peace

 

Audience

This video has no specific audience, however it does mainly appeals to fans of Jhene Aiko and/or Childish Gambino and even fans of John Lennon

Genre

The video has elements multiple genres, such as Rock and Pop and aspects of R&B

Representation

This video represents Jhene as a calm person, someone who enjoys relaxation, she is essentially presenting herself as being like everyone else in the world, she likes to chill out and enjoys relaxation and being at home, even though she is a celebrity

Narrative 

In the video, it is implied that Jhene has a love intrest, her featured artist (Childish Gambino) although they don't show obvious displays of affection they are shown to be laying in bed together and have moments of play fighting. It is obvious that this video was inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-Ins for Peace protest against the Vietnam War

Institution

Jhene Aiko is currently signed to Def Jam, She been signed to many other labels including The Ultimate Group and Epic Records, however she left these labels in order to persue education. Jhene started her career in 2002 as backing vocals for group B2K and signed with Def Jam in 2012

Analysis

This video has no specific audience, it relates to those of all genders, races etc, and as it contains elements of multiple genres it appeals to a wider audience, those who are fans of John Lennon and possibly those who enjoy peace and happiness. The video shows Jhene as a calm loving person, who, possibly alike John Lennon, has a calm nature and is all about the music. Although the video shows Jhene as having a slight love interest, it is not highly emphasized  and by the fact that she is being interviewed within the music video, shows she is a person of the people, she's not self-centered and has firm beliefs, those of which she will fight for.

5 videos that can easily be recreated!

Kanye west - Gold Digger

Jhene Aiko- The Worst

Jhene Aiko- Bed Peace

Robbin Thicke ft Pharrell & TI- Blurred Lines

Rihanna ft Mikky Ekko - Stay

These videos are all easily recreate-able as they only feature on scene and the setting is really cheap and easily accessible. These videos dont use any special effects of hard camera angles yet they still remain really effective videos. They are all simple and don't require any choreography or true narrative, yet you still understand the purpose of the song

The record business

The Record Business The Majors Majors top artists Indie Labels The Major-Distributed Independant The True Independent  | Infographics

Holy Grail

During this song, they mention a lot of other songs and artists, what effect does this have? What theories can you apply to this?

By Jay-Z mentioning loads of artist during the song, it has one of two effects, he's presenting himself as one of them or above them. By him mentioning multiple artist/performers it could imply that he likes them enough to include him in this song by giving them props, or, it could mean that they're so beneath him that he shouts them out as they were either once above him, or he sees himself as helping them out (in a negative egocentric way).
However, In this case it's none of the above,  Jay Z is comparing himself to other great artist/performers and expressing his love for the fame and bright lights a like them but is also analysing how unfortunate they, the artist turned out. He is discussing the music industry, how amazing, but also how cruel and how flaky it can be 'one day you're here, one day you're there' (as said in the chorus by Justin Timberlake).

I can apply Richard Dyers theory of pop stars. This song shows Jay Z as being a pop star as he evidently has brand awareness, he knows his brand and how much he's worth and the brand of those that he mentions that he mentions in his song, like international pop legend Michael Jackson and rock legends Nirvana.