Does a video/visual improve a song?

[Umbran]

Video killed the radio star. Adding video, changes the nature of the product, it is not just music, it is a music video. A slice of pie with ice cream, it is Pie à la Mode.

Well, look at the name - it is still pie there.

Bake a standard loaf of bread. Now, bake another, but remove the salt from the recipe. I can almost guarantee you that, to the vast majority of people, the bread with salt in the recipe will be preferable. Bread without salt is downright nasty. But, both loaves are still "bread".

Music with video is a different experience, sure. But the music part of it is still music. The question is whether the addition of video enhances the enjoyment of the music. Can video be the salt in the recipe?

I wonder if it is an age thing, being 54, growing up with my formative years being before the 80s (before music videos became mainstream).

Anecdotally, I'd say no, it isn't an age thing. My music-taste formative years were during the video star era, but without MTV - I didn't get cable TV until I went to college, but I still recognize that a pleasant piece of music can be much more with the right visuals. My iconic example this dates from 1952: "Make 'em Laugh" from Singin' in the Rain.


[video=youtube_share;2oWk4ZiuSHE]http://youtu.be/2oWk4ZiuSHE[/video]

 

[gamerprinter]

This sounds like the same kind of discussion that must have occurred a century ago, when the question was about combining movies with sound - oh those terrible 'talkies'. Movie audio killed the careers of silent movie stars (and in many cases actually did...)

 

[Umbran]

This sounds like the same kind of discussion that must have occurred a century ago, when the question was about combining movies with sound - oh those terrible 'talkies'. Movie audio killed the careers of silent movie stars (and in many cases actually did...)

Ironically, that's the basis for the plot of Singin' In the Rain...

 

[Scorpio616]

Sometimes it helps, sometimes it hurts.

Have a few songs I can't stand because of the band's politics become blatant rather than inferred in the video.

 

[Herschel]

Does a visual of some sort -- MTV-style music video, a stage performance, etc. -- improve a song? Some songs? Can a visual ruin a song?

I'm loving the song "Let It Go" from Frozen. I've watched the video on YouTube a half dozen times, (even though I've not seen the movie).

It depends. Demi Lovato is cute, but even if she's dancing in her birthday suit with a full orchestra her version isn't anywhere near as good as Idina Menzel's.

 

[billd91]

Does a visual of some sort -- MTV-style music video, a stage performance, etc. -- improve a song? Some songs? Can a visual ruin a song?

It can. Yes. Yes.

Visuals can help set a mood and, I think, tend to help a lot of live tracks that seem to have lost some of the energy of the performance (which I think happens a lot with live albums). "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard is a fun song to listen to and the video for it, despite being a relatively easy to produce concert-footage video, adds to the experience. "The Reflex" by Duran Duran fits a similar mode - actually, a lot of Duran Duran's music fits that mold because they were one of those bands who really jumped on the idea of presenting visuals that complemented the songs well even if they had nothing to do with the subject matter of the song (such as "Save a Prayer" - a song about catching a one-night stand but with images of frolicking in Sri Lanka).

They can also reveal a lot more than you want to know about a band or performer or just annoy you with the pointlessness of it all (Pixies, I'm looking at you).

 

[Dioltach]

"The Reflex" by Duran Duran fits a similar mode - actually, a lot of Duran Duran's music fits that mold because they were one of those bands who really jumped on the idea of presenting visuals that complemented the songs well even if they had nothing to do with the subject matter of the song (such as "Save a Prayer" - a song about catching a one-night stand but with images of frolicking in Sri Lanka).

Man, I love some of those Duran Duran videos: "Wild Boys", "Union of the Snake", "New Moon on Monday" -- they were like short movies that told a fragment of a story and got your imagination going.

 

[STIGMATADOR]

Does a visual of some sort -- MTV-style music video, a stage performance, etc. -- improve a song?

No.

Can a visual ruin a song?

Absolutely.

 

[Jhaelen]

If it has to have visuals, it is not a song, it is a performance. Music should be something that you can close your eyes to and feel in your soul, it touches passions within you.

I pretty much agree with this.

I don't mind watching some music videos of songs I'd never choose to listen to. However, if I do, I tend to turn the sound off...

If I already like a song, and the video is good, then it can add something, e.g. shed some light on the lyrics, which may increase my enjoyment.



So, my conclusion: videos can make good songs better, but they cannot turn bad songs into good songs.

 

[Zombie_Babies]

I don't care for Rahmstein, but the videos make their work entertaining.

I can't type the name of the song they did that I want to talk about but I can say that it's one of the greatest videos ever done.