Kygo – Stole The Show
The music video starts off with a bit of what appears to be an astronaut walking through grass into a Halloween party; however we hear government voices saying that it is in fact an ETI (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence). Since it is Halloween, the alien fits right in with the rest of the costumed individuals as someone hands it a miniature spaceman upon entry. This could symbolise that the alien feels it is a human because he holds it up close to his face and inspects it and the music starts playing. We immediately see that the glass at the front of the helmet is black because he doesn’t want to be seen, he wants to hide himself since he’s in danger. The space suit could symbolise that he feels isolated and alone.
As the words “we used to have it all” play we see the alien staring into the distance at a window, as another ET object lands while the words “now’s our time to go” play. Since Kygo is the DJ behind the song, it comes to no surprise that he shows up out of the blue to play the party. There is a mid shot of him that zooms out and becomes a longshot of him, and then we lose focus of him and then focus on the alien that starts dancing.As the words “at least we stole the show” are played, the alien breaks out some incredible dance moves that could only be described as out of this world. This could symbolise that since the alien is literally out of this world he’s the only one who can dance in such way. He might be dancing to attract the other alien that has landed.
The alien collapses and the partygoers surround it concerned. At this point the music stops, but a second ETI, presumably its partner arrives and revives it with some otherworldly dance moves of its own. Their helmets light up and become pink, telling us they are in love. They stand together in an embrace that appears to be love while we see government officials burst into the party in an attempt to capture them, however they burst into space as the words “stole the show” play again, indicating that the aliens did steal the show as they left. The narrative behind the video and the lyrics do coincide with each other because the final verse of the song matches with exactly what was happening in the video. The fact that their suits were white could mean that they were pure and that the government was hunting them for no reason.
James May – Hold back the river
To start off with, the song may be a metaphor for holding back your tears during an emotional time like a breakup. The lyrics in the song do confirm that this indeed is the case, for example the first two lines of the song “tried to keep you close to me, but life got torn between”. The fact that the song title has the word “river” may symbolise that the river doesn’t stop flowing; the tears keep coming out, and the tears stop him from seeing his lover clearly.
The introduction of the video starts off with James walking into an empty dark area with a spotlight emphasising on him. He’s dressed in casual wear; jeans and a shirt, with a hat. For props he has a guitar which he plays for the whole song and his guitar strap which holds the guitar for him. The fact that the song is a breakup goes with the darkness; it isn’t a happy time for him and the lighting signifies that. As the drums kick in, the camera starts panning in the form of 360 degrees, all around him, and we see the yellow panels opening in the background. This could mean that he’s starting to feel more upbeat about himself, and he’s becoming a happier person. The fact that the camera is rotating all around him shows us that now his life is all around him, and he’s the centre of attention; not the person whom he used to love. Then after a while we see his band come into the video, signifying that he’s not as alone as he thought; he has these people to help him move on.
There are many close ups of James playing his guitar; not all were focussing on his face, some were focussed on his hands when he was playing his guitar. This could add to the emphasis that even though there is a band in the background, the main focus is meant to be on James.
After the chorus the lighting goes back to low key, and the band members disappear. James is left alone singing which could mean that he’s alone whether or not the band members are around him. The video ends with him playing his guitar all on his own as the lighting keeps getting darker. This means that no matter how many people are around him, he’s always going to feel alone because of the loss of this person, and the tears will keep flowing like a river.
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