Steve Tingey OPGS
How typical are your three main texts of their genre?
Genre plays a major part within an artist's work, as each genre comes with certain conventions to follow, although some artists may choose to purposely subvert these conventions to express their own star persona. The three artists I have examined are the Arctic Monkeys, Lady Gaga, and Kanye West.
The Artic Monkeys are part of the indie genre, although to what extent can be argued. The band started with conventions conforming to the genre, seen throughout the music video for "Fake Tales of San Francisco" from their first album, where a handheld camera is used with a low resolution to give a low budget feel to the video, something seen throughout the genre as many artists are from independent music labels who struggle financially to create opulent promotions. Male camaraderie is ever-present throughout the video, with no 'main star' as all of the musicians are seen as equal, depicted through a long shot of the band performing in what seems to be a bar, portraying the idea of touring and that there is no commodified leader, displaying the authenticity of the band and illustrating a key ideology of valuing the actual music more than money or fame - an ideology seen throughout the indie genre.
Therefore, the video to "Fake Tales of San Francisco" can be seen as typical to the indie genre, and it also set up a very successful career for the Sheffield band.
This high level of success has enabled the Arctic Monkeys to break away from the common conventions, displaying evidence that subverts the typical conventions of the indie genre. Their recent single, "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?", from their fifth album uses a narrative based...