Indie Music Video Analysis

The Courteeners - 'That Kiss'

'That Kiss' is a narrative/performance video, yet the narrative is broken up and gives the impression that it could be concept. The narrative is broken up by the performance of the lead singer singing the song. These breaks from the narrative, showing the lead singer, allows the audience to establish the singer by himself, familiarising themselves with his image and also the feeling in the lyrics he is singing. The lead singer is only singing the lyrics to the song during the parts of the video where he is on his own, and not during the narrative. This produces a personal situation between the lead singer and the audience, as if what he is singing is quite private and the other people in then narrative aren't supposed to know.

The video opens with different coloured lights and then a shot of a disco ball.

This tells the audience that the setting is going to be at a party as these are the connotations of a disco ball. The coloured lights through the windows of the house in the background give the impression that it is busy inside the house and that thereis a lot going on, however we see the lead singer standing alone outside the house singing; showing him to be isolated and wanting separation from the other people inside.

During the video we see shots of a girl, who looks back at the camera as if she knows she is being watched. This shows the idea of 'notions of looking' and being watched. We assume the lead singer is looking at her, and therefore we as an audience identify her as an important role in the song, and the object of the lyrics.

The video also shows lots of shots of young people, drinking and dancing. This would appeal to an indie audience as they are generally young themselves, and it would be a situation they could relate to. The 'party' setting is also done in a realistic fashion, not made to

seem high budget or manufactured as it may be in other music genres; this would also appeal to an indie audience who like the idea of independence from the mainstream, and presentations of reality rather than idealistic representations of situations.

The visuals in the music video amplify the lyrics, as the song is about the lead singer liking a girl who is with another man, but the girl likes him back and they end up kissing, which the lead singer knows is a mistake. We can tell these things from the lyrics from lines like "That kiss is lasted too long and we probably shouldn't have danced to that song", and "I know that I shouldn't but I enjoyed it".

Therefore tis supports Goodwin's Theory, and the visuals are amplifying the lyrics by showing shots of the girl looking at the lead singer whilst kissing her boyfriend, and also when she whispers in his ear and hands him a note, we assume that is asking him to meet her somewhere, as later we see her about to put on lipstick in front of the mirror.

The visuals also amplify the the music in parts of the video, again supporting Goodwin's Theory, such as when the music speeds up and the drum beat increases, there are more cuts between shots and the pace of the narrative increases as well as the energy in the dancing people in the video.