The first music video I have decided to analyse is the video to ‘Scar Tissue’ by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. This video demonstrates the realism of being on tour at the beginning of a music career; this is shown through naturalistic lighting and damaged equipment combined with unclean skin, messy hair and torn clothes that the band is wearing. Richard Dyer’s (Stars, BFi, 1981) ‘Star Image’ theory can be applied to this video as it attracts the male audience that are interested in living rough and touring frequently. The video also suggests that some anger or violence has occurred judging by the injured band members in the car; this is also a common value of the ‘Star Image’.
In comparison to Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ previous singles an audience can clearly see how they have been nurtured and evolved into an obviously successful band. The bands earlier songs are quite relevant to the time period. For example the 1984 self titled album ‘The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ was much more of the ‘Funk’ genre than the album ‘Californication’ (June 8, 1999) of which ‘Scar Tissue’ was released. Keith Negus’s ‘The Organic Ideology’ can be easily applied to this as the release of 7 albums after such an incredibly disappointing first album and tour proves how EMI and Warner Brothers have moulded Red Hot Chilli Peppers into a multi-platinum record selling band.
There is a clear contrast in lyrics to visuals in this video to ‘Scar Tissue’. The video is set in a desert wasteland and so there are no birds, or at least an unobvious amount of them. This visual of a lack of bird life contradicts the lyrics of “With the birds I’ll share, this lonely view.”. This being a Funk/Rock genre, typically there should be some performance from the band. This is seen when the lead guitarist, John Frusciante, picks up a guitar with no strings, a broken neck and seamlessly plays the solo (another key feature of a rock song) adding to the bands ‘Star Image’. Many close ups are used throughout the video of the band’s faces, injuries, car, ruined possessions and instruments which also adds to the bands ‘ Star Image’. There is also a subtle intertextual reference to the film ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ (Terry Gilliam, 1998). This is seen through the use of driving a car through a desert. Although this is very open ended it could still be a possible reference to the film. Therefore you may apply Andrew Goodwin’s music video key points in Dancing in the Distraction Factory (Routledge, 1992) to the video to ‘Scar Tissue’.
In conclusion there are several different music video theories applied to this video which make it a good video as there are different aspects to the video which attract different people.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue Video
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