Ever seen a music video with such narrative perfection, you wish it were a whole movie on it’s own? Imagine a generation raised on constant musical television clips blended seamlessly together amounting to little narrative sustenance whatsoever. Videos that either lacked meaning or contained themes too abstract for their juvenile audience minds to interpret. Fostered by the same media outlet that spawned cultural influences from Dire Straits to Jackass. You might be thankful for how much the music industry has grown and expanded to allow for more production quality both in sound and video complexity. Or maybe you appreciate the era for the massive waves of creativity and a decent amount of thematic complexity it spawned. Either way, you may be puzzled when you find yourself watching Eminem’s Berzerk in 2013. Eminem has always been known for hit or miss content. However, that does not explain why he chose to make a video with such little narrative value. Some disloyal fans pass it off as a desperate attempt to stay relevant and while there is some validity to that, it goes deeper. Consider the possibility that Eminem’s snarky lyrics culminate with the seemingly meaningless visuals and aesthetic to communicate a message that could only be communicated through a music video. A message of the value of meaningless art. Eminem’s berzerk exemplifies the effectiveness of musical videography by creating something more captivating than the most thematically complex songs because rather than lyrical or thematic depth the message relies on all three dimensions of the medium (visual, auditorial, lyrical) to communicate its value through aesthetic.
Music does not need to mean a thing. While MTV’s broadcasting included a wide range of artists of varying integrities, one could not generalize all MTV content as something to scoff at. In fact there were plenty of revolutionary music videos to debut on the network. However, television channels do not choose to broadcast the most meaningful content. Whatever music appeals to the largest masses will suffice. I think we can all speak from experience, that whatever pop hits were playing on the radio twenty four seven were not the murderer in a figurative sense. To have a universal appeal the music can not contain niche messages that only certain audiences can relate to. Or at least that message is hidden in the universal appeal. Consider the Eddy Grant song “Electric avenue” and tell me the uptune reggae beats do not compel you to at least bob your head. A surprisingly little known fact about that song, is that the lyrics speak of a desperate need for social economic reform. With this in mind it becomes blindingly obvious as he starts off with “Now in the streets there is violence, Lots of work to be done”. However I have been dancing to the tune with glee in complete oblivion ever since I first heard it. The song’s mainstream appeal is purposeful as to communicate this message to the furthest reaches of man. Its repetitive nature forms a sound that is catchy and more likely to ingrain in listeners’ heads. Now some critics scoff at this methodology. “Riffs, Repetition, and Theories of Globalization ” a journal article by Ingrid Morson explores and refutes a pessimistic view that repetition in music loses its voice and is connected to facism. Theodore Aldrano, a modernist critical theorist “equates the repetition of music with industrial standardization, loss of individuality, military marching and hence facism”. It may be true that facist armies would march to a repetition of standardized music in 1930’s berlin. In fact repetition in various mediums of propaganda was a key method Hitler utilized to ingrain his ideologies in his people. However that does not mean that commutative interest in particular sounds is all bad. In fact Moresen argues that “riffs, repetitions, and their composite grooves circulate within and between genres and what they can tell us about ‘diasporic intercultures’” (32) Essentially saying that melodies can be unification to a global extent. Revisiting the theme of “sound structure as social structure”. So we’ve established the extent of which catchy melodies can reach. What does this have to do with MTV or Emeinem? Well to understand global standardization of music during this era, it is important to note that mid-80’s to late-90’s were some of the only years that America was not currently involved in any war. The Cold war which had inspired songs like “White Rabbit” and “fortunate son” had just come to an end and war with Iraq and other middle eastern provinces would not arise until the late 90’s-early 2000’s. In other words, this could be considered the least inspired era for music. And although pop and rock legends would arise from this era they may not reflect the same inspiration that the era which spawned David Bowie once did. The journal article “Perspectives in Popular Musicology: Music, Lennox, and Meaning in 1990s Pop” explores the notion that musicology increasingly fails to recognize the legitimacy of 90’s commercial pop. So why does Eminem develop an aesthetic that is basically a love letter to this wave? Because the era allowed for artists to stop caring and simply be cool. It was an era for revolution in musical aesthetics most notably bringing upon the age of grunge. See, eminem does not communicate a niche message through a universal appeal, but rather through a more specific tone. One that can communicate the message or the way the artist feels about it without requiring the listener to actually listen to and interpret the lyrics. In a sense, the song finds meaning in the feign of meaning. A piece of art that only succeeds as a music video.
The antithesis to this is supported by a timeline of his wealth and fame. In 1996, he released an LP cassette tape titled “infinite” which sold about a thousand copies. Later on in 1999, he released “The Slim Shady LP” which sold over five million copies. Say goodbye to your junkie mom and ditch the trailer home, because you’re in the major leagues now Marshall. This success streak continued through 2002 with the release of “The Eminem Show” distributing twenty-seven million copies worldwide. Glossing over his long battle with drug addiction, he goes through relapse and recovery. Both year-long processes that inspired their respective albums “Relapse” and “Recover” which debuted to moderate success. Although it should be noted that it was still a decline from his previous releases. Nonetheless, Eminem knew the end to his days as a glamorous drug abusing rockstar was nigh. Cynics view Eminem at this age to be uninspired and burned out. On the other hand, the dilemma of transitioning to the less exciting stages of his life and the overwhelming nature of such situations serve plenty of inspiration reflected in “Berzerk”.
Upon watching the video, it is not difficult to understand where those cynics were coming from, but viewers may also find themselves compelled by the retro fish-eye lens perspective. Blurred by VHS color processing distortion, where the red, blue, and green bleed into the edges of everything. And the energetic quick-cut editing that sews images of baggy clothed dancers bobbing their head to big speakers or boomboxes with the sound of producer Rick Rubin scratching turntables. Consequently creating a sense of inertia within the images instills this sense that the image itself is dancing to the beat. You may be wondering, “how does any of this reflect Mathers’s personal dilemma?” Well, pretty much every visual element in the video is reminiscent of the old MTV era when music videos were dominated by artists like Beastie Boys trying to act cool in front of an old eight millimeter camera that they rented for a day with little production value as that was all they could afford. An aesthetic that is a product of low budgetary conditions but one that resonated with Eminem. Most likely because he grew up during the 80’s and 90’s. A.K.A the prime juvenile MTV-brained generation, so he rightly felt nostalgic about the retro style. Mirrored by the lyrics Let’s take it back to straight hip hop and start it from scratch”. Not to mention the song samplesStroke” by Billy Esquire, a popular dance song in the 80’s. Every characteristic screams “The 90’s was awesome” which parallels the idea that the age of meaningless music was also the golden age.
Another question arises. Why must this be a music video? If the lyrics explain more than the visuals do then there’s no reason for it to exist as anything more than a song. It is true that without sound, this video would simply not succeed as a compelling piece of entertainment. However, neither would most music videos. From different artist’s standpoints, if a music video can tell a story without the music then it might as well be a movie and is thus a pointless music video. Eminem created something that will not necessarily tell a story but will visually relay his message in a way that will make a greater impression on audiences. If you ignore the lyrics, the aesthetic can still effectively communicate its themes, a technique that is far from new. Cambridge University published “Vague Music” an article by Roy Sorensen from as part of a journal titled “Philosophy”. It explores the art of abstract music. According to these studies “Formalists contend that (purely instrumental) music is meaningless…most theorists concede that this theory is close to the truth”. A point that may seem heavily debatable and outdated. But it is true in the sense that instrumental music is inherently vague. A theory that is furthered by the author’s argument that music is a language when he characterizes Claude Debussy’s ‘Clouds’ as a “nocturne with vagueness akin to to clouds” (231). Describing the vagueness as an illustration of the light chords, slow tempo, and irregular meter. From this study, the author concludes that “If music were a language, then musical vagueness is just another species of linguistic vagueness”. So while the vague language of Berzerk (both lyrical and visual) may shroud the bigger picture. The fast tempo, thick glam-metal power chords, and attitude of the lyrics fabricate a more interesting language to convey a unique feeling that only those who grew up on MTV could name. To dissect it more intrequately, “say fuck it” could personify rebellious teen behavior while the absence of narrative could be an act of rebellion against industry norms or pressure from parents to insert positive or educational messages. All during a time when flipping off your parents and listening to the Devil’s rock and roll were about the raddest activities to partake in. To put it plainly, whether Berzerk’s ambiguity was intentional or not, it serves as the primary vehicle for its meaning to resonate with the audience.
Eminem attempts something neither too traditional nor ambitious, something that has been done before but is not typically considered to be “good”. As he constructs a love letter to the era of pop culture which he was infatuated with by avoiding a reliance on narrative in favor of a compelling aesthetic that resonates through repetition and ambiguity. He communicates a message through his lyrics that is better translated through the visual style that is equally if not more reminiscent of the atmospheric era than the lyrics itself. That message essentially tells the audience to dance, party, and stop caring. While the song does not lack lyrical complexity, it does not strive to immerse you in a story as much as it strives to immerse you in a particular atmosphere. In other words, it is a showcase of how art does not need an intended purpose to have meaning. It is a showcase of just how powerful aesthetics can be.
Work cited
-Monson, Ingrid. “Riffs, repetition, and theories of globalization”. University of Illinois
Press.
-Hawkins, Stan. “Perspectives in Popular Musicology: Music, Lennox, and Meaning in
1990s Pop”. Cambridge university press.
-Goodwin, Andrew. “Dancing in the Distraction Factory: Music Television and Popular
Culture”. University of Minnesota.