Nirvana was an American rock band which was active from 1987 to 1994; it was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. Nirvana went through a range of different drummers the longest being Dave Grohl who joined the band after three years of them starting off in 1990.
The band released its first album 1989 called "Bleach" for the independent record label "Sub Pop" establishing itself it the 80's era as part of the Seattle Grunge scene which is a sub genre of alternative rock as being associated with loud and distorted guitar sounds which both took place in the same decade.
I took research into Nirvana as they were in the same genre as the band we are using for our full A2 music video project which is rock/alternative rock and having the same type of musician members for example both bands have a singer/guitarist, base guitarist and a drummer. This makes them both very similar and relatable to compare and use their image to see the band's interpretation of what they think or use alternative rock to show themselves as in terms of their overall image as artists.
Image and Portrayal
Sunglasses and baseball cap as well as a semi dark gray scale effect shows they want to be hidden and unknown, could of been done to show how rebellious they are and some of the crimes (issues) they have to portrayed towards society and want to keep a low profile in order not to get recognized or caught.
Not looking at the camera rude and rebellious portraying the hardcore rock profile/image.
Long hair, bearded "I don't care attitude"
Costumes In this image on the right:
The use of graphic tee shirts, wording implying a meaning
Destroyed/torn jeans, rebellious and sex appeal for for showing fresh
Sunglasses used again, symbol or signature of the artist?
Lots of bracelets, fashionable and stylish.
Skinny jeans, gives the illusion of being tall and therefore more dominant as you are looking over him, also this is fashionable and in trend.
Rolled up tee shirt, hands on and getting into a mess as the artist doesn't want to get his top dirty perhaps for example
Definition, Meaning and Logo of the Band Name
Even though the name of the "Nirvana" hasn't intentionally have a meaning as Cobain stated "I wanted a name that was kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk rock name like Angry Samoans." which is a stereotypical approach and perception however it does help to define the group/band by what genre it is as well as helping to create an image for the band overall and defining them by their characteristics/attitudes. As I stated before that Nirvana hasn't intentionally given or shown a meaning towards its band name the word and definition could in fact be relatable and used to its audience/genre. Nirvana is used to describe the profound peace of mind; it is the state of being free from suffering as well as the word literally meaning "blown out" and the stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion and delusion have been finally extinguished. It is an ancient Sanskrit term used in many Indian religions including Shramanic, Hindu and Buddhism.
The logo name "Nirvana" is designed using black (for most) capitals for each letter in the word as well as having a semi bold and stylish curve to some of the lettering giving it a formal look and perception to the band which is misleading as many rock overall related bands in my opinion are sharp and bold looking and could lead audiences to think differently of the bands image/genre perhaps however it could be said that it is similar say to the Beatles own logo name as it has the same key features and can be related for being a rock band and does stand out for having the bold, black capital letters. Nirvanas symbol is appeared to be and shown as a badly drawn smiley faced drawing with its tongue lying to the side of its face and having its eyes crossed out appearing to have its mind blown out perhaps to show the effect of what the bands performance or music will have to the audience as well as having a smiley tongued face to show the enjoyment and keeping to portraying the blown out of the mind theory in a positive way. It could be drawn badly on purpose to show the rebellious side of the band in the I don’t care attitude, messy/sloppy portrayal of the hardcore, rock band image to contribute and help the appearance of the Nirvana name design to show and define to audiences that they are a rock genre band.
We plan on using and having a definition for our music video group which is "Lithium Studios" as it can be relatable with our audience as lithium is a mood stabilizing drug primarily used to treat people with bipolar however it is also used for people suffering with depression which is the effect we wanted to have on people watching our music video for example and made it recognizable/relatable through the one of our logo designs as lithium is also an element on the periodic table which was then drawn and designed out.
Seattle Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock and is portrayed as being a hardcore punk, heavy metal and indie rock, as well as being the inspiration to the overall perception of the genre and the formation.
The characteristics overall of the genre grunge are of heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song dynamics and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics. The image and appearance side of the characteristics show that many grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics.
College Rock and Alternative Rock
The alternative rock genre can also refer to College rock, College being Campus radio which were located in the institutions of higher education in and around the area of America, this name was given to the genre before the use of the term "Alternative rock" was created to define it as for its taste and popularity in the age groups of students. The stations playlists were often created by students who preferred the genre and type of music that was around in the era.
When looking through the statistics for similar related music videos to the band we are using to create a music video we took into consideration using Nirvana's "Lithium" video and when doing so we came across the fact that teenagers between the ages of 14 to 17 in both genders in our generation actually watched and knew about the band and their music even though it was there before they were born. Therefore this shows and portrays the fact that their rock image and new rock images haven’t indeed changed that much in order for the groups to evolve and adapt to move on and start listening only to newly released alternative rock for example however this isn't the case in this circumstance.
No comments:
Post a Comment