Thursday, September 29, 2011

※ Color and Music and Soul ※

I am an emotional individual, not a logical thinker. Often I "think" in emotions and when I do not know what that emotion is I give it a color (I feel more than I think, give these "thoughts" colors). So to me, (and I assume to everyone else) colors are almost synonymous with emotions. Music videos (good ones) use this to their advantage as they communicate their message through color. They set a mood or atmosphere and evoke a certain emotion through association (e.g a grey color scheme may evoke empty or cold feeling, like a cloudy day, depending on how the director uses it). I would like to share this video with you as it an excellent example of how color can engage. Click Here:  Sigur Rós - Viðrar vel til loftárása

Sigur Ros is amazing band as not only do they create haunting and moving music, they also help and sometimes direct their own music videos so that the song and the video "harmonize". I do not want to analyze or talk about my own interpretation of the video too much, as I do not want to taint your subjective impression. However, I will say that the video bought me emotionally with its cloudy and gloomy-optimistic colors and then turned my insides out towards the end using unsettling visuals that are emotionally challenging. It bought my trust and then squeezed my arm a bit too hard, and at that moment I was confused as to how to feel. It challenges expectations and manipulates your skin when you are inside it's atmosphere, taking you on an emotional roller coaster. 

Another thing that I would like to share is this video by Bjork. A woman that I find both beautiful and infinitely interesting. Her weirdness and the amount that she invests "herself" into her work make her a rewarding artist to follow as when you "get" Bjork, you get a great feeling of accomplishment. However, that is not why I am posting this video. The reason I post it is because it is one of her most colorful videos, and yet there is no color. Anything visual that is used to represent this song while it plays, so long as it is on a gray scale, would be tainted with color when this song plays in the background. Listen to it and allow your mind to enjoy this colorful feast as your eyes see black and white while the eyes inside your head register and project a range of color combinations unique to you. I can't guarantee that specific color images will approach you, but it did it happen to me. Click Here: Bjork - Big Time Sensuality

On another note: sorry these links are not presented on this blog as big, flashy YouTube thumbnails. I feel the YouTube uploads of these are bad quality and distract from the beauty of these videos and songs. I would also like to say thank you to anyone who actually invests their time to read all this and see both videos, I realize that it is a lot of stuff to look through. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did!

Jonsi (left) the lead singer of Sigur Ros and Bjork (right) are among my favorite artists, give'em a listen. ;)

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