Red hot Chili PeppersThe rock genre

The band was formed in 1983 in Los Angeles.

The group consists of the vocalist Anthony Keidis , bassist Flea, guitarist Josh and Drummer Chad Smith.

Who are they?

Dark costumes e.g. KISS Gloomy and mysterious music videos e.g.

Smells like teen spirit The use of instruments e.g. Guitars, Drums

etc. Memorable logos e.g. Nirvana smiley face One or more lead singers.

Common rock conventions

Rock is one of the most classic and popular genres of music as it can appeal to many different people, even those who weren't born at the time of release.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers are one of the most critically acclaimed and therefore classic bands.  They gained popularity in the 90s and their most famous song is the 1999 hit 'Californiacation'. Not only is the song globally famous, the music video is also one of the most recognised videos of all time.

The chilli peppers typically follow many of the conventions used in Rock music videos, such as displaying instruments such as drums and guitars, which isn't as apparent in the pop genre which does not glorify the use of instruments as much as Rock does.

Their connection to the genre

This is their most popular song. This is what introduced the band to a mainstream audience and brought more attention to the American rock genre and not just British who dominated the genre.

The video contains several common conventions such as instruments which are common in the genre. The music video is very different to other rock music videos as it is animated throughout most of the video,

Californiacation

One genre defining feature is the use of  instruments repeatedly during the music video, this is very popular in rock as it allows the audience to see all of the band members rather than one main artist, unlike most pop  stars who are always at the centre of attention.

Animation is used throughout most of the video which is quite uncommon for a rock video as they are mostly just performances and not conceptual.

This unique video is one of the reasons why the song was so well received.

Mise en scene

Its hard to talk about the use of camera in this music video as the majority of it is animated, however for the parts which are not animated, the use of wide shots are very common, the is typically to fit in all of the band members which is important to the genre like I mentioned before, The genre features a lot more bands than in pop and therefor all members are shown in music videos. The actual movement of the camera is almost as if the artist is being followed, With the steady pace of the music it allows the viewer to actually appreciate what is going on in the video which allows a story to be told

Camera angles and shots

The style of this song is a also quite unusual for the genre as the tune is very mellow and slow, the lyrics too are also quite meaningful as it explains a realistic version of Hollywood and fame. The tune of the song captures the style of the lyrics. This also relates to Andrew Goodwins theory that music videos have links the their lyrics which is true in this case.

The editing in the video is very smooth and calm, it also helps capture the mellow tone as all of the shots are fairly long, unlike other music videos like bohemian rhapsody which is quite jumpy and fast paced.

Sound and Editing

This is another legendary music video by the Chilli peppers. In contrast to the previous song Cant stop is relatively new as it was released in 2009 when the Peppers were still at their prime. The song itself was released in 2003 but the video was not made until 2009

The difference between these two songs are very apparent due to the fact that Cant stop is much faster and more typically rock sounding, this is unlike a lot of their music as their songs are typically slow like Californiacation.

Cant Stop-2000s Alternative

The 2000s alternative rock is considered its own sub genre due to the fact that the genre has changed and widened since 2010 and therefore it is easier to classify the music as ‘different’.

The music video is also much more upbeat with faster pace. Several popular conventions are used in this video such as the whole band being shown with guitars and drums

Alternative Rock (2000s)

The theme of the music video is definitely art. The members of the band are performing tricks with random everyday objects, I think the meaning of this is to tell the audience that even after 10 years the band can still release new and unique content. Id say that this music video is definitely a mix between conceptual and performance, as it features both the band playing and carrying objects.

The video also includes the lead singer topless which is iconic for the band as this happens in most of their videos and is used to convey the message of rock and rebellion.

Cant stop- Mise en scene

The first shot in the video is a continuous shot going through a yellow tube. This is all while the song beings to build up, the purpose of this is to make the viewer more excited because it doesn’t give away the theme of the video. It is almost as if its trying to make the watcher guess who is playing, as the song was a comeback after a couple years. This is one of their most popular songs however there are no complex aspects to the video. This shows that even with less effort than californiaction the band still continues to do well

Camera work

Several common camera movements are used, for example in the shot above, a tracking shot is used. This is to take the viewer on a journey with the band. There is no explanation for the lamps on their backs but the camera will follow them anyway because of their fame and power.

A lot of wide shots are used, this is especially popular in rock videos in order to fit in all members of the band giving a sense of camaraderie.

Camera work

The Editing for this video is almost completely opposite to californiacation, the reason for this is that the songs are completely different in pace and therefore the shots must be changed in order to keep up with the lyrics. The shots are very quick and there are very few continuous shots.

The reason for fast paced editing is so that the quick energy of the video can be felt, it also resembles how hyper people can be in their youth which makes the band seem younger.

Editing

With the increased use of guitars, there is a much heavier sound in comparison to californiacation. I think that the reason for this is that there isn't really a story that is being told unlike californiacation which is intentionally slow.

In this song there are also a lot more backing vocals from the other band members, this is to make the song feel more lively aswell as to show that its not just a ‘one man band’.

Sound

Dani California- Funk Rock

The very famous song Dani California was released in 2006 making it the bands latest song, However the song itself sounds quite old and nostalgic for fans of the band from the start. This is a very interesting music video as it is performance based yet conceptual in the fact that the band impersonates other extremely famous artists like the ‘Beatles’ and ‘Elvis Presley’.

Funk Rock is a mixture of Funk and Rock, giving it a really old and almost blues sound, which can be heard in the music video. This isnt the first time the band have made a song under this genre. ‘Under the Bridge’ was considered Funk rock.

Funk Rock

The mise en scene in this song is very interesting, mainly due to the costumes and props used in the music video. The costumes are used mainly to represent other rock artists, an example of this is the black suits and the bowl cut wig to look like the beatles, or the famous leather jackets worn by the punk band ‘sex pistols’.

For every costume change there is also a set change to make it more time appropriate, this is shown when chilli peppers impersonate Elvis and his eras instruments.

Mise en scene

The camera angles are very typical for a performance based music video.

A very common shot used in the video was extreme close ups, these were used to capture the energy that the band has when performing.

Camera angles

Editing is quite interesting in this music video as, it changes depending on which band is being impersonated for example, when the scene was supposed to portray Jimi Hendrix, the backdrop of the stage was full of colour and psychedelic looking.

The pace of editing also depends on which band is being shown, for example Nirvanas editing was much slower to realistically portray what type of band it is, but the opposite occurs for sex pistols.

Editing

The sound is a lot more old school at the start and then becomes more modern towards the chorus, this is to follow the theme of going through time with different bands as the video started with Elvis Presley and then made its way to Nirvana.

The sound of the bass guitar is a lot more apparent than in the other songs.

Sound

From what I have seen from the genre and sub genres I can tell;

The classic rock genre uses many shots of the band actually performing, this is least seen in the music video for californiacation, however this is mainly due to the fact that its narrative and mostly animated.

Genre wise, the alternative rock music video was a lot more upbeat and faster paced than the others, this is because the genre is aimed towards a wider demographic with younger listeners

Comparisons