This album cover is more on the controversial side, its ultra sexualised. Madonnas lips are a lot fuller than in real life and even though its black and white the audience assumes straight away thats she's wearing red lipstick, her lips being at the centre of the album cover establishes them as the focal point. This all links in to the sexual selling point of music which is further enhanced by the fact she's got black wires intercrossed around her face is clearly reminiscent of a bondage scene but it could signify that she's trapped within society rules and expectations and thats she constantly judged for being her outrageous self which is clear by the tittle of the album "Rebel heart" she's remaining true to herself therefor she's rebelling against societies expectations. The fact that her name is not displayed on the cover really establishes her as an icon, its almost like she's already so recognisable that her name doesn't need to be mentioned, her face is already known all over the planet.
Once again this album over doesn't feature the artist on it however there is a very distinct Y in the middle of the album cover that represents the name of the band "Years & Years. The bright colours against the black background is what made the album stand out to me. To me the odd asymmetric designs resemble something from space or even a mother board which links to the electronics genre. The tittle of the album being "Communion" could be trying to hint at the binding of music genres or even to coming together of different societies and beliefs.
The simplicity of this album cover is what stood out to me. Its got virtually no colour only black and white. Also i really like that there is no artist on the cover, only the name of the band "the1975" this means that its a self titled album. The fact that the album cover is very simple matches the personality of the band members very well as they all seem to dress in a very simple manner and live very low key lives however it contradicts the band lyrically as they tend to explore controversial themes such as sex, drugs, self discovery, death, love and fear with Clash magazine even stating that its rare to find a pop album with so much depth. Another interesting aspect is the fact "The 1975" is written in an odd font with the "H" looking more like a 3.
Hair is plated into side buns with her signature baby hair gelled to her face
No album title or artists name
Heavy red makeup all over her face
What strikes me the most about this cover is the simplicity of it. It has no album title on it or the artist name and that really strikes me because its almost like her face is recognisable enough, they don't need her name plastered at the front or even a catchy album title. The image itself brings an ora of abuse, the heavy makeup in deep shades of red, purple and blue is reminiscent of bruising. This becomes clear when you learn that the inspiration for the album art was the painter Francis Bacon who would paint distorted figures that would often be isolated by steel or glass geometric cages. Francis being an abstract/surrealist artist really links well to FKA Twigs and her music due to it being often sited as surreal.
The most obvious genre characteristic is the brightly coloured background, its very conventional of pop music to include bright colours. Also her costumes always seem to include a piece of clothing with a bright colour. Another more modern convention of pop music that this video contains is having a different artist perform a rap verse towards the end of a song, this is done to achieve a wider audience and so the song isn't too repetitive and annoying.
Number 2 - Relationship between lyrics and video
The most prominent link between the video and lyrics is the constant referral to money and price tags, an example is the money tree and the fact she rips up a note when she says "its not about the money". Also every time she sings "we just want to make the world dance" her and B.o.B start making more obvious dance moves and when B.o.B says "in 30 seconds were leaving to mars" a photo of mars appears.
Number 3 - Relationship between the tone of the music and the visuals editing
Price tag is a relatively upbeat and fast tempo song which is easily demonstrated by the fun coloured background but what the audience tend to not notice is the way the video has been edited and put together but then again it is not meant to be noticed. One good example of the relationship between the tone and the visual editing is in the chorus, the editing is a lot slower and the shot duration is longer right before the chorus begins and the the tone and rhythm of the song becomes a lot faster which is supported by the short shots and the fast paced editing.
Number 4 - Record label demand and artist motifs
Music videos are essentially adverts, they are trying to get the artists to be recognisable and the way the record label does this is by demanding lot of close up shots which is certainly clear in this video because it seems that every other shot is a close up of Jessie J. The artist also has to build a brand and show things that are associated to them so they become easier to be recognised and for Jessie J it was her statement lips and bejewelled lips which are featured on most of her music videos and her album cover.
Number 5 - The female body
In every industry sex is a driving sales point but it is definitely the main selling point of the entertainment industry, this becomes clear when you watch any female artist perform or their music video. This is no different for Jessie J, all her outfits are tight and hug her body and the first outfit we see her in is extremely exposing as its skin coloured and completely show off her long legs. Also the bejewelled lips being the focal point in her entire image really plays on the sexualisation of the female body.
Number 6 - Intertextual references
There is a large amount of intertextual references in this music video, right at the beginning we can hear a musical box rendering of Johann Strauss ||'s The Blue Danube. Also a quick reference to the men in black can be seen when she says the lyric "Got shades on your eyes" as well as a reference to the classic movie "A Trip to the Moon" in shape of the planet Mars rather than the moon. Other references include Pinocchio in the marionette scene by wearing a hat similar to his, Alice in Wonderland when she's inside the cool house and even referencing her own music video for "Do it like a dude" by doing the same dance moves and wearing the same costume seen in that music video.
