Kerrang - Front Cover - Analysis

Kerrang is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock and metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent. The magazine's first issue was published in June 1981 and has been covering all kinds of musical genres ever since.

The masthead is large and white, being partially overlapped by the image of the artists who are featured on this cover, similar to the front page of the Dazed Magazine. This extenuates how well established and known Kerrang! is and that you don't even have to see the full masthead the recognise the magazine. The font of the text looks shattered and edgy which reflects the music genre that the magazine covers. The magazine can apply to both genders as the colours are gender-neutral.

The main image of the magazine is a medium shot of the musical duo Twenty One Pilots (frontman Tyler Joseph on the left, Josh Dun on the right), which is presented in a central layout on the front cover. The duo are presented as cool characters with the coloured hair, piercings and sun-glasses. Their facial expressions suggest they are confident with calm and controlled attitudes.

In contrast to Dazed, Kerrang features multiple artists on the front cover, with American rock band Green Day on the skyline in white bold font over a red background with small images of the members of the band on both sides. On the left side of the main featured artists, there is a text in white reading Frank Iero who was a member of the rock band My Chemical Romance. This choice to feature many artists on a front cover suggests the editor is attracting the fans of all these bands and artists to pick up the magazine.

Kerrang also advertises music festivals such as Reading and Leeds at the bottom of the page, even including some of the artists and groups who will be playing at the festivals. The use of bright, bold colours such as yellow, black and red on this front cover make it more appealing to readers who pick it up. The cover lines also offer posters of popular bands.

The barcode and price for the magazine are positioned on the bottom left of the front cover. This placement is traditional for most print products as they don't get in the way of the images or text. The date is also with the barcode to inform the readers if the issue is up to date.

Dazed - Front Cover - Analysis

Dazed, formerly known as 'Dazed and Confused' is a British monthly magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art and literature. It is published by Dazed Media, which is an independent media group.

On the front cover, there is one image that takes up the majority of the page which emphasises how the artist is the main focal point. The image is a medium close-up of Zayn Malik, this choice of positioning connotes that the editor is attempting to get the reader to relate to the artist.

The masthead is big, bold and red at the top of the page. As it is partially concealed by the image, this suggests how well-known and established this brand is in the magazine industry as the complete title isn't required for the readers to recognise what magazine it is. On the other hand, it could suggest that the image of the artist is enough to attract a reader to pick up the magazine due to his established status and fan base.

The layout is very simplistic and easy to go through, with it only consisting of four pieces of text and one image. This highlights the minimal approach the editor wants to present to the readers. The abundance of space on the page makes it more aesthetically pleasing for the reader's eyes and makes it easier to understand.

The writing of 'ZAYN' goes downwards on the left side of the page, and the font's colour being black with red outlines against the white background makes it easily noticeable for the reader. It's positioning right beside the image of the artist, automatically associates the two, which is effective at emphasising his solo act, following his departure from One Direction.

The relaxed style of Zayn with the piercings, buzzcut and leather jacket present him as a cool character with a freeing aesthetic to the reader.

As the artist is looking towards the camera and not facing away, it puts the reader at eye level with the artist they are going to read about. This statuary confidence that Zayn portrays in this image extenuates how he is already a well-established artist in the music world.

Adele - Chasing Pavements - Analysis

"Chasing Pavements" is a song by British singer-songwriter Adele, from her debut album 19 which was released by XL Recordings.

The accompanying music video was directed by Mathew Cullen from production company Motion Theory. It was uploaded to Adele's official Youtube account on October 24th 2009. It centres around a car crash (a white Peugeot 505 saloon) occurring in Hyde Park, London (the video was actually filmed in Los Angeles). The video earned the 2008 MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography.

Background and Context
The song was inspired by an incident Adele had with a former boyfriend of 6 months. After learning he had cheated on her, she went to the bar he was at and punched him in the face. After being thrown out, Adele walked down the street alone and thought to herself "What is it you're chasing? You're chasing an empty pavement". She sang and recorded it on her mobile phone and arranged the chords when she got home.

Analysis
The video opens with a tilt shot revealing two characters lying down on the pavement after what looks to be a car crash, this shot is accompanied with the non-diegetic sound effect of ambulance sirens setting the mood and atmosphere for the viewers. The next shot introduces Adele in another car with a man who are in sight of the crash. This is followed by a close up of Adele singing the lyrics of the song, which then focuses on the man which alludes to the inspiration for the song. The next shots show people rushing over to the pair lying on the ground.

Once the chorus begins, the angle switches to an overhead shot of the pair who appear to be a couple and it visually recounts the couple's first meeting with the woman losing her scarf and the man returning it to her. The pair begin dancing in a choreographed manner in synch with the beats of the song. Following this, Adele gets out of her car and begins walking along the pavement singing, whilst the paramedics arrive at the scene. The second chorus starts and the overhead shot is used once again to show the couple embracing each other, but this is followed by a shot showing the woman giving a note to the man. Her gestures of covering her face suggest she is ashamed of herself which is accompanied by the shadow of another man which overall suggests the woman was cheating. She attempts to go back to the man but he rejects her after learning the truth.

Now Adele is leaning on the tree that the couple's car collided with, watching as the paramedics attempt to resuscitate the pair. Another shot depicts the man that Adele was in a car with and his facial expressions suggest he is agitated. As the chorus builds up for the last time, the overhead shot shows the couple dancing again, now accompanied by the surrounding people who are also dancing in the same choreographed manner. The final shot pans up to the tree and the sky as the couple lay motionless on the pavement.

Many people who have been in relationships can relate to the couple in the video, in the aspects such as, being cheated on, getting your heartbroken, and how you can find yourself hanging onto relationships that have already ended. The scenes are well lit with natural lighting as they were filmed outside, which was a thoughtful decision as shadows are used throughout the narrative.

When describing the meaning of the title 'Chasing Pavements' along with the lyrics, Adele said "It's me being hopeful for a relationship that's very much over. The sort of relationship you hate when you're in it, but you miss when you're not." This type of relationship is very much similar to the relationship of the car crash couple in the video, with the pair being initially happy but eventually, leading to heartbreak and regret.

In terms of editing, the transitions are mainly simple with just cuts between different shots and scenes. The pace deviates throughout the song, with slow pace in between each chorus and fast pace during the choreographed scenes. This fast pace could allude to the energy of early relationships and the slow pace could link to the hard and difficult moments during a relationship.

The Wire

The Wire is an independent print and online music magazine covering a wide range of alternative, underground and non-mainstream music. Its first issue was published in the summer of 1982 and has been issuing monthly in print ever since. Its website was launched in 1997 and an online archive of its entire back catalogue became available to subscribers in 2013.

The Wire celebrates and interrogates the most visionary and inspiring, subversive and radical, marginalised and undervalued musicians on the planet. With genres ranging from experimental rock and electronica to nu jazz and free improvisation.

The magazine itself is available at all good newsagents and record shops in the UK. It is also available at large retailers in the US and Japan. The website explain that the best way to get The Wire is to subscribe (£55 for print and digital). If you subscribe to the magazine; you receive each new issue by direct mail, get access to the complete archive of back issues, receive exclusive free CDs and downloads regularly, all while saving money on the cover price.

More recently, The Wire published an issue covering music during the COVID-19 pandemic, with famous composer and vocalist Diamanda Galás on the cover. The cover shows her behind a glass window, most likely referencing the nationwide self-isolation brought on by the pandemic. 

XL Recordings

XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It is run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group.

There are many artists that have been signed to XL Recordings, including Adele, Vampire Weekend, Dizzee Rascal,
Lapsley and the White Stripes.

XL Recordings releases an average of 6 albums per year. They release albums worldwide and operate across a range of genres However, it was originally launched to release rave and dance music.

Beastie Boys - No Sleep Till Brooklyn - Analysis

"No Sleep Till Brooklyn" is a song by the New York hip hop group the Beastie Boys, it was from their debut studio album Licensed to III which was released by Def Jam Recordings on March 1st 1987. It describes the group's exhaustive tour and all the events that made it tiresome, but nevertheless the band won't rest until they've reached their home base, Brooklyn.

The music video for "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" was co-directed by Ric Menello and Adam Dubin, having previously directed the video for the "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)". It can be regarded as a performance music video as the video includes a performance of the artists. Menello played the club owner in the opening whilst Dubin was in the gorilla suit. Kerry King who plays guitar on the track also appears in the video. Ruth Collins is featured as the lead dancer. The video was released on the BeastieBoys' Youtube Channel on June 16th 2009, 18 years after the song's initial release.

Narrative

The opening shot shows an owner of a club opening his door to the Beastie Boys who hand over an LP record to him. The club owner proceeds to smash the phonograph record on them, saying "What the...? We only play rock music here". Seconds later, the Beastie Boys knock on the door again, except they are disguised as rockers with big hair and guitars. They then take the stage playing the song, but the crowd of women quickly mobs them and tears off their clothes. They rap another verse in their underwear before changing into their regular outfits.


The performance is a series of jabs at and parody of glam metal performance videos, with headbanging fans, a backup dancer, and lots of destruction. Eventually, the club owner and his crew try to get them off the stage, but the Beastie Bos are fighting with them. Kerry King makes an appearance during the guitar solo, body checking the gorilla who was originally performing the guitar solo.

The band is later seen trying to steal money from the club's safe, which they succeed in doing by MCA bashing it with his head. They dance around with bags of money from the safe, but the hot backup dancer is seen walking away with the gorilla.

Visual Codes
The music video is an expressive send-up of heavy metal music, playing up the funky costumes, excessive hairspray and tendency for bands to take themselves a bit too seriously in a 'Spinal Tap' way.

The club owner's costume consists of a large blazer, an old fashioned blue shirt with many buttons undone, a large anchor chain prop and a pair of simple black sunglasses. This choice of clothing along with his body language suggests that the character is rich and is the authority figure in this setting.

The Beastie Boys initially wear the attire accustomed to the laid back people in the 1980s, but for the majority of the video, the trio wears big rock-style wigs, ridiculous costumes, this can be seen as a vivid representation of the assumed rock star aesthetic.

The iconic 'headbanging' (first coined by legendary rockstar Led Zeppelin) is shown whenever the band plays their instruments and when the fans in the crowd are shown. The facial expressions of the band shown in the close-ups suggest their expressivenes
s and their lack of control when playing their music as their eyes are rarely staring directly at the camera.

Shots of the band performing and the audience reacting to the music gives the audience at home a sense of involvement and atmosphere.

Technical Codes
Throughout the video, there are several close-ups of the performers which have a direct mode of address in order to engage the audience. Music videos of this style can also be referred to as 'a spectacle' with direct interaction with the audience. These close-ups of the artists allow them to have full speech and power to the audience.

These shots are also used to build a relationship between the audience and the rock band in order to get viewers to know the group and possibly build a fan base. To add entertainment value, the artists performed in unusual places and were lip-synched.

In term of editing, there are quick transitions between shots once the music starts which creates a fast pace. In the intro, the shot was a long take which allows the audience to focus on the characters and the setting before the music starts.

The graphics of the video are representative of the time that it was recorded as AV products in the 80s were a bit 'gritty' with some missing pixels. The shots are also usually filled with colour due to the use of multi-coloured lights whilst the band plays the song which amplifies the positive, metalhead vibes of a stage performance of a rock song.

Audio Codes
The audio is mainly diegetic as the music only starts once the band starts playing their instruments on screen. However, the song still plays in the background whilst the characters are acting in the narrative, e.g. when the trio are stealing money from the safe.

Representation
The first women shown in the music video are the fans seen during the performance, they are seen going crazy for the Beastie Boys and they are sexually objectified through codes of clothing, narrative situations and provocative dance moves.

One woman in particular is seen throughout the film, dancing on stage wearing revealing clothes and later kissing a man topless. This reinforces the stereotypical representation of women who are defined by their body image, as in the 1980s, there weren't that many challenges to this stereotype.

The Beastie Boys have said themselves that a lot of the songs and videos from their first album were sexist, e.g. the song 'Girls'.  Live shows of that era even featured women in cages dancing on stage.

However, after the band heard about the criticisms about being misogynistic, they quickly changed their act and sexist lyrics stopped appearing in their songs. In their 1994 song "Sure Shot", MCA explicitly apologised for the group's past misogyny.

Logic - 1800-273-8255 - Lyrics Analysed

Pre-Chrous:
"I've been on the low, I been taking my time, I feel like I'm out of my mind, It feel like my life ain't mine" - This line is in reference to the songwriter and how long it took them to start writing about suicide. Logic decided to do it anyway and make it an 'anthem'.

Chorus:
"I don't wanna be alive, I don't want wanna be alive, I just wanna die today, I don't wanna be alive, I don't wanna be alive, I just wanna die" - the chorus has been described as a bit 'morbid' as the rapper is literally saying he wants to die, but Logic has said that he had to write about it and that he couldn't 'sugar coat' suicide. Logic himself has been open about his own suicidal thoughts but also how it is normal for people to think about it, he has also known people close to him who have struggled with suicidal thoughts and this is also a factor that inspired the creation and release of this song.

Verse 1:
"All this other shit I'm talking 'bout they think they know it I've been praying for somebody to save me, no one's heroic and my life don't even matter, I know it I know it, I know I'm hurting deep down but can't show it" - This line allows the listener to feel connected to the song, the song has been described by Logic as an 'outlet' for them as he himself is expressing how he feels with song to a global audience. The line is also supposed to remind the listeners that there are people out there who show how they feel but don't have anyone who loves them enough to care or just doesn't understand and is inspiring those particular people to use the title of the song and call that number to talk to those who would care and help them.

"I never had a place to call my own, I never had a home. Ain't nobody calling my phone. Where you been? Where you at? What's on your mind? They say every life precious but nobody cares about mine"

Chorus:
"I want you to be alive, I want you to be alive. You don't gotta die today, You don't gotta die. I want you to be alive, I want you to be alive. You don't gotta die, now lemme tell you why" - this hook is from the perspective of the operator on the other end of the line who is explaining to the caller all the reasons why they should be alive.

Verse 2:
"I know where you been, where you are, where you going. I know you're the reason I believe in life. What's the day without a little night? I'm just trine shed a little light. It can be hard, It can be so hard. But you gotta live right now, you've got everything to give right now" - this switching up of the perspectives in the second verse is important as it entails the person explaining how the way they feel isn't permanent and how things will get better. Logic has expressed how he loves to interact with his fans on social media platforms such as Twitter and start conversations about daily life with people. He wants people to appreciate life and what they can do the same way that he does. Logic expresses the importance of positivity.

Chorus:
"I finally wanna be alive I finally wanna be alive, I don't wanna die today I don't wanna die. I finally wanna be alive I finally wanna be alive, I don't wanna die I don't wanna die" - It notably took Logic months to write these lines simply because he didn't want to talk about the topic of the song and most of the album. Differently to his other songs, he wanted to take time working on 1800 because he knew it could potentially save lives.