Fat Boy Slim - Weapon of Choice Music Video

I have decided to talk about this video and comment on its use of camera angles. It also won numerous awards, such as a Grammy Award for Best Short Forrn Video. The video involves famous actor Christopher Walken dancing around a hotel lobby to the music of Fatboy Slim. The relationship between the music and the video is seamlessly fluid and although unrelated to the music it makes perfect sense. It was directed by Spike Jonze who used the dancing talents of Walken (who did go to dance school). As the music escalates and the song draws closer to the end the lyrics "Cos I drift off into the night, I'm in flight" as Walken dives off a balcony to fly about in the air. I also think Jonze purposefully decide on some of Walkens moves that relate to some of his films: Pulp Fiction uses songs such as "Surf Rider" and at one point in this video, he does a surfing stance. The simplicity of the idea is what makes this video special as well as Walkens deadly serious face throughout.

 Throughout the video the camera stays at a long shot following and tracking the subject the majority of the time. Zoom is also used occasionally but only to focus on Walken more as his dancing becomes more intricate. It is also edited so the flow of his dancing continues in to a more spontaneous feel. Its fresh and imaginative and caught may peoples eyes because of this.

Album Cover Review: The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth

This Album was released in January 2006, the track list is as follows;

1. You Only Live Once
2. Juicebox
3. Heart in a Cage
4. Razorblade
5. On the Other Side
6. Vision of Division
7. Ask Me Anything
8. Electricityscape
9.  Killing Lies
10. Fear of Sleep
11. 15 Minutes
12. Ize of the World
13. Evening Sun
14. Red Light

The album art is very striking and different from many other CD's. This may be because The Strokes were an alternative band and they wanted to come across as unique and different. It is no coincidence that the title and the name of the band are in the four corners of the box. This because the first scientists that explored what earth was believed it was a flat square with the "Four corners of the earth". This shows that the layout of the box art is more than relevant to the title although not instantly recognisable. I think the strikes may represent the strokes of music and sound they make, and the red line being the connection people may have to their music bridging the gap between the bands music and the tastes of their fans.

CD Cover Review The Killers - Sawdust

This album was released in November 2007 and had the tracks:

1. Tranquilize
2. Shadowplay
3. All the Pretty Faces
4. Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf
5. Sweet Talk
6. Under the Gun
7. Where the White Boys Dance
8. Show You How
9. Move Away
10. Glamorous Rock & Roll
11. Who Let You Go?
12. The Ballad of Michael Valentine
13. Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town
14. Daddy's Eyes
15. Sam's Town
16. Romeo and Juliet
17. Mr BrightSide

As you can see it has "the Killers" written in their trademark font and is set in the middle of the width and slightly above the middle of the hight to allow the image below to be more easily seen. The central image is of an arm which is made of wood and is splintered and decaying. While in the background there is a setting of a forest with golden/green leaves. These two images symbolise two of the aspects of life within nature. Nature is beautiful and pretty but nature will always and it will always return to that stage throughout the seasons, it will always be beautiful. The arm on the other hand connotes the frailty of human life and it splintering and decaying suggests that humans are not as interchangeable and adaptive, and mostly that we will all die at some stage. But as the arm is wood it also suggests that humans, while in there prime are just as, if not as beautiful as and a part of nature.