Can’t Stand Me Now – The Libertines

Music Video Analysis

Andrew GoodwinI really like this music video because I think it’s, in my opinion, a true representation of the indie/alternative genre, with some aspects of rock. This music video is primarily performance based, showing us a concert of The Libertines doing a set for a song. Despite this, we can’t see the band visibly singing the song, so it might be a different song that they are performing with an overlay of Can’t Stand Me Now. • The relationship between the lyrics and the visual (music video) are contradicting because the

song lyrics have a different meaning to the video, which is the band performing on stage in an arena, so they look like they are just having fun and this could signify that the band themselves have different views or could have multiple meanings in their songs.

• The relationship between the tone of the music and the visuals are quite amplifying, as the music is upbeat and fast paced, as is the visuals, as there is very fast paced editing and the body language and facial expressions of the band members are happy and excited, thrilled from the set that they are performing.

• There are no voyeuristic views within the music video, probably because there are no actual girls that are the focal point. This signifies that they care more about the music than grabbing the audience’s attention through half dressed girls and other things that we are supposed to ‘look’ at, which I found was quite common in this genre. There are also no notions of looking, denoting that we should be focusing on the band.

• The main adherence to Goodwin’s theory in my opinion is that the video demonstrates clear links to the genre conventions. Instruments, smoke, dark lighting with bursts of bright light, dark/scruffy costumes are just some of the conventions of the indie/alternative genre that the music video shows.

Andrew Goodwin continued…

• Another theory followed in the music video is the use of close ups, mainly advised by the record label that the band or artist is signed up to. Close ups in this video allow us to focus on the things that they are pointing towards, mainly of the band members so we get an idea of what they look like.

• From what I can tell, there are no intertextual points within the music video, which for me, tells me that the band would prefer to make their own memorable points rather than rely on those that have already been created and that people already know but associate with another person or object. It gives the band a sense of individuality.

This shot shows the band’s outfits, the dark leather jacket, the scruffy jeans. One of the band members is even without a shirt, denoting his careless attitude towards appearance.

Narrative theoriesTodorov: As the video is mainly performance based, there isn’t a particular story line, however it could be said that the narrative is the trip to a concert.

Strauss:I thought a very important binary opposite shown within the video was Youth V Old. The band members are relatively young, with a target audience of teenagers/late teenagers, so they’d naturally have connotations of ‘loud’, ‘youthful’ and so on. The actions that the band members use when on stage, such as when one throws a bottle of water over the other band member is quite juvenile, suggesting that they are there to play their music and have fun. The song and the visuals kind of make you think about what it’ll be like to grow up, when acting like this will not be acceptable. Another binary opposite could be linked to the youthful behaviour, which is Rebellion V Peace. The band create quite an image for themselves that isn’t the most peaceful and in fact it is the opposite. I think this could make the audience think about their own actions and the opposite to these. It’s not to be said that the band have made a bad image for themselves, it provides a clear view of how they want to be seen, which is not the ‘norm’ and in fact it relates to the genre of music well and it’s obvious to someone who isn’t a fan that they are form the indie/alternative/(rock) genre because they care more about the music than fitting in and they do things that make them stand out/look different.

Propp:I think the heroes are obviously the band members, as they are ‘doing good’ for the audience by performing their music and they are most likely looked up to by their fans.

Technical elementsLinking back to Goodwin’s theory, the close ups are accompanied by other elements to create a certain image. The mise en scene is of course relevant at helping to decipher a genre, so in a few shots we can learn a lot about the person and the genre too.

This shot shows one of the band members in a bright light, surrounded by dark, kind of signifying that we should be looking at him because he’s important (obviously being one of the band members) and also that he is someone to look up to. His facial expression is almost expectant, his eyes looking at another member of the band which could tell us that the band get on well and rely on each other to make good music.

Another camera shot used quite frequently is a low angle shot, looking up at the band member. It puts him in a position of power almost, we need to focus on him because he’s important, a similar use to the close ups. It could also reinforce the idea of patriarchy, like in other videos I have looked at, such as Sweater Weather, which again tells us that indie bands are mainly male based, with female fan-bases and audiences, though of course this isn’t always the case.

I found that shots like this also make it look like we are part of the audience, getting a close up, realistic view of a show from The Libertines themselves.

Technical elementsI found the editing to be very fascinating in this music video. With the other videos that I looked at, editing didn’t really play a huge part, but right from the start of this particular music video, it is evident that the editing is important. At the very beginning of the video there are a series of extremely fast straight cuts, cutting from different parts of the concert and then it goes back to a long shot of the place where the concert is taking place. I think that the quick cuts give the audience an idea of what to expect throughout the rest of the video and it prepares you for what must look like a fast paced, thrilling video, just from the first few seconds. Then throughout the video, more towards the beginning and middle, as the music video is playing, we see the video and then it’ll stop on a still image for a second or two and I think this is really effective at helping the audience to focus on these parts as well as the whole video. Montages, which is kind of what is at the beginning, are throughout the video and it quickens the pace and gives the band an identity that they take things how they are and are quick and ‘happening’. I think the editing reflects the music tone too, because the pace of the music is quite quick too so it reflects the music too. I found a camera movement used in most video that I looked at was hand held camera. It adds a rough, edgy look to the video I think, and it’s a reflection of some of the genre conventions, such as carless and wreck less.

This high angle of us looking down at the band member with the fans shows us another perspective that counteracts the patriarchal side: that the band are just like the rest of us, and they like to appreciate their fans.

Technical elementsI think the sound is diegetic, as the fans that are in the video are dancing and the band are playing a long to it. The instruments are shown, as they are in every video I watched with the exception of one, emphasizing the idea that they enjoy their line of work and care about it deeply. Instruments as props in videos like this are almost like symbols, they’re symbolic to the genre because we see them in most indie/alternative videos. I think it’s a good thing because it shows that they are serious about their work and have a passion for what they do, meaning the audience get quality, which also results in more sales for the band as well as happiness for the listeners. The colours are dark in this video and quite blurry, which gives it a unique, edgy feel. For me, it makes the video seem raw and real, like some videos that I also researched, and for the specific genre, this is key. I noticed that the band members are of different ethnic/racial backgrounds too, and they all get around the same amount of screen time, which could send a message to the audience that the band are for equality and everyone matters, linking back to the point about the band caring about all of their fans. I think this is an important point because it helps people who look up to this band to be better people as well as just people who enjoy music.

The whole band are shown together quite a lot, and none of them are shown to be degraded by the others, they are all equal.