LLIAR Analysis #3

The Walkmen - The Rat

The Walkmen are an alternative rock band which gained a large amount of publicity throughout the 2000's. They had a large influence on bands in the alternative rock genre and the subculture which revolved around it following the release of their acclaimed album 'Bows + Arrows' in which this song features on. The band could be interpreted as the type to follow all the conventions of alternative/indie-rock, due to their style and way in which this music video is filmed.

Representation in The Rat is conveyed by the bands attitudes and style throughout playing the song to the camera. There is no fixed narrative within the video which gives the idea that the band may be more focused on their image or the song that they are playing rather than creating a long story line for their audience. This gives the question of whether having a large narrative is conventional of alternative rock, the answer is no. Including videos which I have analysed previously (Title Fight, Pity Sex), artists such as The Strokes and Vampire Weekend who belong to this genre of music often use videos which do not depict a narrative, they are more focused on the bands' performances. Questionably, alternative rock bands do this so that it shows their talent involved in writing this music away from the mainstream artists who often use electronic instruments rather than guitars and drums. The Walkmen use representation in this video to give the impression that they are a formal, professional band. This is shown through their choice in clothing which is strictly blacks and whites, if the band were aiming to create a bold statement, it is likely that they would have appeared in brighter colours and with a more vibrant attire. 

This music video gives the impression that there is no specific audience other than fans of the alternative rock style of music. From this theory, the lack of trends and themes shows that the band have a professional outlook in which they do not aim to target any age group or type of person, they are a band which make music for those that will enjoy it. With that said, from personal information, I am aware of people from older and younger generations that both enjoy The Walkmen. Bands which are as largely established as The Walkmen can often have this effect in the alternative rock genre where they do not aim to be trendy or modern like many bands that target the younger generation. Yet, their music is based around influences from a range of eras which allows them to have a broad audience. This is illustrated in their music video as there is no colour or props present in the mise-en-scene which show character to the band, they are only shown playing their instruments to the song that the video is based on. 

Within the music video, there is no ongoing narrative or interference's which provide personality for the band. It is quite simply a video showing the band playing their hit song The Rat from a range of shots, very much so like historical music videos when they first came around (see The Beatles - Day Tripper). The similarities between this music video and those which were filmed historically are very outstanding in that they do not feature much narrative at all. This could possibly be The Walkmen's intentions towards creating this video, to give some appeal to an older audience, this ideology could also mean that they intended to create a vintage impression which is very popular in younger people in this modern day. It is also possible that The Walkmen intended to appear as darker characters in their persona and their music writing technique. This is represented through the presence of shadows which are featured continuously throughout the video; although this song does not give any dark imagery upon listening. 

In terms of institution, The Walkmen have released records on Fierce Panda, Gigantic, Bella Union and Startime; all of which are American independent labels. As the band are based in New York, there are many institutions for alternative-rock in their area. The record label Fierce Panda has released music from bands such as Keane, Kings of Leon and Art Brut; all of which have filmed music videos of the same style as The Rat. These often include the band playing the song in the background for the duration of the music video. 

The language throughout The Walkmen's video is conveyed in mise-en-scene by the colours of the clothes that the band members wear throughout. These are all whites and blacks which are normally used only for formal attire, however they are wearing it when simply playing their song. This almost seems like a postmodern feature of the music video as they are aware that they are being filmed (the reason why they are dressed formally), although their facial expressions make it seem that they do not wish to be in the music video. There are no extraordinary props or settings used in the video besides a plain practice room and the backline instruments of a band when they play live. The cinematography used in the video is that of a normal performance where there are close-up and long-range shots based on which band member is performing the most outstanding part. The shots are distributed equally so that each band member is shown playing along to the song, also in some parts the camera tilts to the tempo of the song. The sound is diegetic in this music video as the band are all self aware of the video being filmed. As they play along with the song it is clear that it is intended to give the audience the impression that they are playing it live. Editing techniques used in The Rat are very subtle as there are no bold uses of transitions or filters other than the music video being filmed in gray-scale. This has a large impact on the way the viewer receives the video as there is a slightly darker, more negative tone used; the use of black and white filming converges with the black and white outfits that the band are wearing. In the background of the practice room there is a pattern which moves, almost identical to a lava lamp. This is potentially used to appeal to the older audience who may remember when lava lamps were a groundbreaking invention, giving the video an 80's style.