This is Kasabian's video to their 2009 hit 'Fire'. It was directed by acclaimed British director W.I.Z. It is an Indie/Rock song, but also featured in a Super Bowl commercial and used for Leicester Goal's music. The video shows a bank robbery gone wrong, with the use of instruments as firearms. The music video is narrative based rather than concept or performance based.
There is no clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, as at times the lyrics are both illustrated and contradicted. The main way that the lyrics are illustrated is through the sepia tone of the video which conveys the idea of fire and also fits into the Old Western scene they create. Similarly, the line "Wire me up to machines I’ll be your prisoner" fits in with the idea that they are criminals as they rob the bank in the video. However, for the majority of the video there are no clear links between the visuals and the lyrics. For example, the first line "Take me into the night, and I'm an easy lover" has no visual aid, as the video is set in the daytime, and has no signs of 'lovers' or relationships. The visuals clearly do have much significance, as the audience receive the message that Kasabian are stealing the music back, and this might represent their absence from the music scene, and that they are now back, and on 'fire'. For example, they use guitars as weaponry,steal music sheets, and their are music notes disguised throughout the video, for example, tatooed onto a girl's eye, used as a car air freshener. This show's the audience that the band's main interest is the music.
Furthermore, the relationship between the music and the visuals is interesting, as at times the video does cut to the beat, for example at 2:52, the music slows, and we can see this through the cut into a different scene, where the band's attitude has dropped, but then when the chorus kicks in at 3:08, we see the band begin to run and this amplifies the music. This shows that the video changes pace with the music, however the video doesn't always cut to beat and you can see this throughout.
The band's star image isn't portrayed as much as another pop video, and this perhaps suggests how Kasabian sell themselves through the quality of their music rather than how they represent themselves in the video. However, there are close-up's of the artists, for example at 0:25, and this would be how the record company sell the track. However, for the rest of the video the close ups are not especially of the band. The video doesn't really relate to their other video's, for example their 2011 track 'Days are Forgotten' has a much more modern feel with the use of graphics, and has a much bigger element on performance and the band. However, their 2004 video 'Clubfoot' shows similarities with 'Fire' as they both have an 'old western' feel, therefore, the 'Days are Forgotten' video could signify a change in their star image.
In the video their isn't a particular reference to the notion of looking, but clearly fans of Kasabian would like the way the band are portrayed, their isn't a sense that the band are on sexual display. Their cowboy style costumes, and the way they use their guitar's as guns can imply sexualised display but is not particularly explicit.
There is an evident intertextual reference with the video...
Really informative, thank you!
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