Summary of Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin touches on different areas of what he believes happens in and around music videos.
He starts by talking about common features in a music video, why they have a common template and what makes them that way.

1. Pop videos represent the song which normally centres around modern day, hence the strange videos
2. The artist is usually the singer & character
3. To bring in the audience the singer/s look into the camera

Thanks to advertising we grow up with hearing certain songs on the TV, radio and online. Because of this we grow up hearing the same sounding songs because of the simple format of a pop song.
This repetition ties in with the video allowing the 3 minute song to have a sense of closure from the video, giving what could be a forgotten song a unique story.

Some videos are weird and go beyond what the song says. There are three types of relations between songs & videos (according to Goodwin);

• Illustration - Where the video tells the story
• Amplification - Where the video tells a story the song didn't, but adds to the meaning
• Disjuncture - Where the video and the song have no connections between them, both hold seperate meanings

Video that represents Illustration:

Stan- Eminem

As the song is about a crazy man writing a letter to Eminem, telling him about his life, we see the lyrics come to life in the music video as it follows Stan (crazy man) through his messed up life, with his abusive relationship to obsessive fan then finally his death. In the final part we see Eminem playing Eminem and the song and video come together very well.
The genre is hip-hop.

Video that represents Amplification:

Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day 

The lyrics of the song have no connection between a couple in love and the military. That being said the song itself is very sad, from the first two verses it's slow and is sung soly by the lead singer (Billy Joel) and only the guitar is played. Once the chorus kicks in the song becomes very climactic and loud.
The video uses the song to create a story of a young couple in love. The problems start when the boy goes of to the military to support him and his girlfriend/wife?. She's left alone and he watches as his friends die beside him. It's all very dramatic and depressing but it works well.
The genre is  Rock.

Video that represents Disjuncture:

Paradise - Coldplay

This video makes no sense with the lyrics of the song. I think this just sums up Coldplays weird videos that have little to do with the songs. The song itself is about Paradise so the first shot makes sense, the animals and the sunrise/sunset, but then it gets weird and the band arrive on stage, which suggests their Paradise is performing to their fans.
The genre is arguably pop/rock