Friday, September 5, 2014

weezer | hash pipe

Weezer is a band that has founded the genre of Nerd Rock; who formed in the nineties in Los Angeles. Their first album (titled the blue album) was released in 1994, including hits such as "Buddy Holly", "The Sweater Song" and "No One Else".

Nerd Rock is a sub-genre of rock which - despite the name - shares some elements of punk. Typically  the lyrics are hyper-literate and clever; though many Nerd Rock bands dislike the "Quirky" label. There's often an experimental aspect to Nerd Rock, but it's more concerned with using rock and pop structures for atypical lyrics for rock songs However it's not uncommon for the music to feature rapping and intertextuality to pop culture (See: Pork and Beans). Such is seen in the unknown song that I have chosen for making a music video.


  • Thought beats: The structure of the song is quick and tightly wound. however the chorus of the sound is sweeping and easily comparable to more mainstream forms of rock. The video itself opens with a sumo wrestler preparing for his fight, all to the rhythm of the aggressive guitars.
  • Narrative & Performance: As mentioned, the video involved scenes of sumo wrestlers preparing for battle, as the band plays on in a separate ring. There are elements of performance, narration and abstraction.
  • Star Image: All members of the band are seen and heard in this music video, who 'look' at the audience. This creates a false intimacy and bond with the artist which makes the music more enjoyable and easier to relate to.
  • Relation of Visuals to Song: The song and its lyrics actually have no clear link with what is being shown, save for the confrontational nature of the band's music and the large men in nappies sumo wrestling.
  • Technical Aspects of Video: Technically speaking, the editing of the video is probably the simplest of any other of their videos. The cuts time perfectly with the changes in the song's tempo; it's fast paced but not too distracting. More than once, tracking shots have been used and extreme close ups of the band members to create that intimacy with the viewer.

No comments:

Post a Comment