Research & Planning - Music Video Unit

White Lies "Farewell to the Fairground"

The track I have decided to shoot my music video for, is called Farewell to the Fairground by White Lies.


Track Analysis

White Lies are an English post-punk band from Ealing, London. Formerly known as Fear of Flying, the band consists primarily of Harry McVeigh (lead vocals, guitar), Charles Cave (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Jack Lawrence-Brown (drums). The band perform live as a five-piece, complemented by sidemen Tommy Bowen and Rob Lee.

White Lies formed in October 2007, upon writing songs they felt didn't suit their original band. After delaying their first performance for five months to build up media hype[citation needed], they earned a recording contract with Fiction Records days after their debut. The release of singles "Unfinished Business" and "Death" led to tours and festival appearances in the United Kingdom and North America, including a headline performance at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend and a place on the 2009 NME Awards Tour.

Farewell to the Fairground is a powerful song that sends you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. The track begins with a deep sense of worry and seriousness and slowly builds up into a whirlwind of powerful synth cues. Harry McVeigh has a very strong deep voice that compliments the harsh tone of the track. The lyrics seem rather symbolic to me and represent a persons struggle to deal with issues at home. This is my opinion but the name "Farewell to the Fairground" might be a person running away from a dark unhappy place in their life.

Bands Image & Representation

The English post punk music scene has grown massively over the past decade with bands such as the Arctic Monkey's and The Libertines growing its fan base every day. The Arctic Monkey's have especially seen a rise to fame winning a number of awards and nominations. With bands such as White Lies growing alongside these bands they have ultimately evolved their image to suite current trends. For example when the band was first formed in 2007 the band focused their image around a darker style of music. They often wore smart black clothing. Since then their image has slowly turned more mainstream which has shown in their music. Their latest album has been reviewed as being "generic" and it shows in the fashion. They have lost their dark, mysterious look and opted for plain generic t-shirts and slick hair.  I feel as though their tours in the states have altered their image a lot. This becomes apparent in their latest music videos that hold no narrative and instead focuses on architecture and relies heavily on clever editing. Their older music videos focused on emotions such as fear and love. Their music videos intrigued the viewer and you actually felt something towards the narrative and its characters.  They portrayed their ideas with subtle references to issues in our modern day society. "Death" their very first single released in 2008 focusing around the fear of growing older making decisions something I myself can relate. The video focuses on a young teen who seems isolated and depressed but fights through these issues instead of letting them boil over and worsen.

Lyrical Analysis