Music video contextual analysis

OASIS
The importance of being idle

I sold my soul for the second time
'Cause the man don't pay me
I begged my landlord for some more time,
He said "Son, the bills are waiting"

My best friend called me the other night,
He said "Man, are you crazy?"
My girlfriend told me to get a life,
She said "Boy, you lazy"

But I don't mind
As long as there's a bed beneath the stars that shine
I'll be fine, if you give me a minute, a man's got a limit,
I can't get a life if my heart's not in it, he-heah

I don't mind
As long as there's a bed beneath the stars that shine
I'll be fine, give me a minute, a man's got a limit,
I can't get a life if my heart's not in it, he-heah

I lost my faith in the summer time
'Cause it don't stop raining
The sky all day is as black as night
But I'm not complaining

I begged my doctor for one more line,
He says "Son, words fail me"
It ain't no place to be killing time,
I guess I'm just lazy

I don't mind
As long as there's a bed beneath the stars that shine
I'll be fine, give me a minute, a man's got a limit,
I can't get a life if my heart's not in it, he-heah


Analysis


The promo film was directed by Dawn Shadforth. Shadforth's film for "The Importance of Being Idle" starred Welsh actor Rhys Ifans and pays homage to the style of early 1960s kitchen sink drama British films, and is set during the build up to a funeral procession in a northern town, with the extravagant undertakers parading the coffin at the video's climax and Ifans playing the part of a high-kicking funeral director whose funeral it is


Throughout the song, reference to the song title is expressed in the song lyrics. For example, "my girlfriend told me to get a life, she said boy, you lazy". This type of lazy behaviour is often referred to as being idle, so straight away the audience understands that the song title doesn't have a hidden meaning, and instead is connected directly to the lyrics. In addition to this, the opening scene consists of two children playing football in the street, and this again shows the connection between 'idle life' and 'active life'.


In addition to this, there is also a connection between editing and the title of the song. As the title includes the word 'idle', we would expect the editing to be of a slow pace, and this is the case. If there was to be quick cuts between camera shots then it would make the song seem contradictory and confusing for the audience.


As the music video is more narrative based, it means that less focus is made on the band and more focus is on the story being told. Despite this, the main band members of Oasis, the Gallagher brothers, play key roles in the music video. These two members are the most recognisable faces of the band, so they are used to promote the band as well as confirming to the audience that this is Oasis' song. The main focus of attention though is on Welsh actor Rhys Ifans, who is also used to promote the band as well as showing real acting skills in this narrative based structure.


The music video clearly tries to emulate this 1960's style video in many different ways. Firstly, the entire music video is portrayed in black and white. This gives the audience the impression that the video is of an earlier period in time. In addition to this, the clothing and scenery is all of a 1960's town in London, for example, top hats are worn and the members of the band are sitting in an old0fashioned pub playing cards.


Overall, this music video appears to have a 'hidden meaning' behind it. It is evident that the director is trying to show the real 'importance of being idle' through the nature and actions of the characters we see on the screen, but the whole 1960's style appears to be irrelevant. I came up with a conclusion that this style has been used to show that life in this period was much simpler, and therefore more 'idle' as time is often spent doing nothing, i.e playing cards in the pub. This can be seen as 'important' in modern day society as we are now overwhelmed with new technology, so Oasis and the director may have been trying to get this point across with this music video.