Music Videos - The Visual Marketing of Sound

It is interesting that we are analyzing music videos based on their content. People often talk about their story telling qualities giving added value to the music or they talk about whether a music video “fits” its music. Like Dr Twombly stated, this is an interesting case in which the visual aspects of a piece of cinema give added value to the audio and not the other way around. Yet, this is not as shock as after all, music video as created for the music.

I also find the discussion of music videos interesting because, in the end, academic analysis is being applied to a promotional or marketing tool. It brings up the questions of the value of analyzing such a thing. Is there even a value worth being analyzed in these music videos? Obviously, there is something to be gained by analyzing music videos. They allow us greater insight into a song’s meaning or intent when a musical work is given a visual element. They allow us to redefine the intent or meaning of a song if need be. Finally, they add a new tactile dimension by adding visual elements to a piece that was originally aural.

But where does one draw the line? If music videos are acceptable for academic analysis, are television commercials fair game? Is it possible to seriously analyze the value of a Rogaine commercial? I do not have the answers because I do not think there are any absolute answers to these questions.