Music Video Analysis – Gay Bar – Electric Six

This music video contains 54 shots, making it a relatively low cut-rate video considering many music videos surpass 100 shots.

The video begins with an establishing shot with a title saying ‘Washington D.C. 1863’. The scene then changes to a wide angle shot of a picture frame featuring the white house. We can then see through jump cuts, which zoom into the image that there is a well-known silhouette, Abraham Lincoln. As the lyrics begin the scene cuts to the figure in the window, which is also the lead singer, stereotypically dressed as Lincoln. As the tempo changes we then see that the character is only accurately portraying Lincoln with the upper half of his body, he is wearing leather shorts. On the beats additional ‘copies’ of this character are edited into the frame, they are singing the same lyrics but have different movements.

After a jump cut we then see a medium close up shot of the same character in a different setting, he is riding a stationary bike surrounded by his doubles. After a zoom cut we can see that the characters are all dressed in different colours: purple, red and blue. Similarly to the previous shot additional characters have been added using the surrounding gym equipment. We then see a medium close up of the main singer doing weights on a weight lifting bench with the aid of an additional character. In the censored version of the song there is a prominent whipping sound that replaces the words ‘nuclear’ and ‘war’, this could hint towards what is to come in a scene in the video.

The shot after this is of the lead singer in his costume, consisting of shorts, a top hat and a fake beard, the latter of the three being used to resemble Lincoln, is doing weights along with a double, which would have been edited in during the production of the video. They are surrounding a Greek statue of a naked man, which goes along with

the theme of the song and also with the title, “Gay Bar”. The camera then cuts to a scene of the main character holding onto a ladder as an additional character grinds up and down on him. This too goes along with the whole theme of the video/song. The scene after this is of the main Lincoln character looking into a mirror flexing while an additional Lincoln holds up the mirror. It then cuts back to the

previous scene of the gym where the Lincolns are riding the exercise bikes and doing weight lifting on benches surrounding. They then clap along to the beat of the song in unison. The following shot is then of the two Lincolns doing weights by the Greek statue, but this time 2 additional Lincolns are clapping to the beat of the song.A Flying V electric guitar is then introduced into a previous scene, we is lying on the weight lifting bench playing the instrument while looking at the camera.

Through the use of a jump cut the scene then changes to a medium close up, similar to what has been seen previously, of the character in a bath being groomed by multiple other Lincolns. We then zoom cut

out to where we can see multiple hands in the bath water fondling Lincoln; this is censored through the use of bubbles. The scene then cuts to 3 Lincolns, singing along to the lyrics as they are grinding up and down a stripper pole, similar to what could be witnessed in a gay bar. The costume in this scene differs from the others as they are now wearing bondage gear, involving leather chest restraints and chains. The camera then cut zooms out to a wide angle shot showing

additional Lincoln’s grinding on stripper pole’s wearing bondage gear.

The next scene cuts to a hamster travelling in a plastic tube, this section appears much more tame compared to other scenes, this fits well with the slower pace of this section of the song.

In the following scene a set of curtains open to show what appears to be a male exclusive gang bang of sorts. This is teamed with a guitar solo at which point the camera zooms is. The video then cuts to a variety of phallic shaped images e.g. squash, pepper grinder and eggs. This then leads to the artist singing “I’ve got something to put in you” which is shown alongside the phallic objects so suggest adult orientated activities.

At regular intervals when the artist begins to sing the camera cuts to the main character in a bed with 2 other men. We can see that there are several bubbles on screen, this shows how surreal it is but also gives the impression of a good time as bubbles are often associated with childhood memories, only in this case those memories are tainted black by the innuendo style of Electric Six. The scene which follows is of the lead singer sitting on a chair as another man in braces rubs and strokes the lead singers chest, whilst sitting on the chairs arm as the singer strokes his leg. There is then a montage of previous scenes in which all characters are clapping along to the clap track placed in the song; this provides a good summary of the surreal environments provided in the music video. The camera then cuts to the lead singer of the band standing naked in a bath, with only an electric guitar covering his manhood. The camera then quickly cuts to the bed scene in which the lead singer is shown licking a lollipop, an innuendo in its own right of a homosexual act. A montage follows again, this time with a variety of innuendos

including the ringing of a bell, the rubbing of a hammer and the final one being a model train going into a darkened tunnel. On the final guitar strum, the video cuts to black.

In an attempt to poke fun at the sci-fi craze of the 60’s/70’s the artist has portrayed a stereotypical sci-fi/alien attempting to hypnotize a female dressed in white. Meanwhile another female is holding a gun behind the initial female and we can see that a gunshot has been fired. The theme ties in with the comedy that is

present in the single. We can see from the darkened framing that the artist is attempting to centre the audience’s focus on the image that is playing out. The name of the band is also their logo, in which the i’s of ‘Electric Six’ are replaced with thunderbolts. The white edging of the text and image allow the person looking at the cover to distinguish

between the various colours, such as the blacks and the dark blues.

There is no digipack of the Electric Six album “Gay Bar”, due to this we have decided to use the digipack of a band that may share a similar genre and therefore may share artwork tastes. This digipack, “Veneralia” by “Electric Taurus” features a female form wearing a goat skull. This digipack consists of 3 folds, overall protecting the CD disc from damages. Each side of the folds contains either artwork or typography. The typography is used to show the songs on the CD and also the persons who helped create the CD and the artwork and most importantly, the band. The whole digipack as a whole creates a dark theme involving colours such as browns, blacks and greys, the digipack continues to follow a satanic theme due to the depictions of a goat/ram skull complete with horns, often associated with Satan. The CD inside the digipack also follows the theme of the artwork as it also has a ram/goat skull with many dark colours such as greys and blacks. The CD also contains the name of the band. From the size of the CD cover we can see that the CD booklet can neatly fit into the case, therefore providing a convenience. Overall it provides all the aspects that you would expect a digipack to contain, such as a simple folding system, a place to store a booklet, a protective CD casing and appropriate themes to portray the genre of the music that the band have created.

Due to an absence of any Electric Six adverts we have decided to use a band of a similar style and genre. Aerosmith’s magazine advert for “The Very Best Of Aerosmith”. The advert for the best hits album will appeal to a male audience because of a female in the process of having her bra removed. The advertisement consists of 4 colours, grey, skin-tone and black with a small hint of white. There is minimal typography in order to portray the sexuality of the image within the background. The small amount of typography is used to explain how the

band is going to be releasing an album including the release date. The colours of the typography is black and white, these colours contrast. The bands logo is shown in the form of a tattoo on the female’s right

shoulder blade. This can show commitment that she has towards the band. We can then begin to ask whether she is a committed, long term fan as the band has been around for a long time and the album due to be released is a “Very Best Album”. Because there are no discernable features to the characters the audience is able to take on the role. This lack of features also allows the audience to focus their vision on the text. The name of the band is in block capitals, this allows this main feature to stand out and grasp the attention from any of the less important bodies of text/imagery.