Tame Impala, The Less I Know The Better, Analysis.

Tame Impala, The Less I Know The Better. Textual Analysis.

1- Lyrics. 
2- Music. 
3- Genre. 
4- Camerawork.
5- Editing. 
6- Intertextuality.
7- Narrative and performance. 
8- Representation.

Lyrics.

Lyrically, the song explains a story of jealousy and messy teenage romance. It references rumours 'someone said they live together', frustration 'don't make me wait forever', jealousy 'not the greatest feeling ever, and longing 'I don't suppose you could convince your lover to change it's mind'. Notice also how the 'narrator' refers to the lover as an 'it'- particularly significant when the video features the lover in question to be a literal monkey. Enhancing the motif of jealousy. The simplicity of the lyrics works to an advantage, as they are relatively easy to understand, analyse, and remember. 

Music.

The music is conventional to the band Tame Impala itself, strengthened by a steady bassline, and made unique by a quirky, repetitive beat that switches up at certain intervals. Synthesised vocals as well as other electric instrumentals mixed with the indie rock genre make the song especially unique and different to conventional pieces.  

Genre.

The genre of the song on paper is psychedelic indie rock, and I would personally agree with this. Steady, hypnotic tempo along with quirky instrumentals and entrancing vocal features challenge the conventions of typical rock with something different and inventive.

Camerawork.

The camerawork is especially interesting in this music video, as its movement is timed to correspond with the music itself. Panning from a mirrors reflection to a character as the pitch grows lower, and framing some shots in perfect symmetry in attempt to encapsulate an invincible and undeniable sense of perfection, to portray the girl and her gorilla lover as inseparable.

Editing.

The editing is virtually flawless throughout the extract, especially significant in the opening bars of the song, as a frame of each character is shown edited perfectly in time with each bass chord of the song. Again, when the girl is dancing with a ribbon, rather than rushing to follow her with a circular camera movement, she is represented in a series of sharp cuts, which work so well because they are edited in time with the song, an example of thought beats.

Intertextuality.

There is no blatant reference to other pop culture movements, cinematic or otherwise, but as a member of the audience myself I would argue that I personally receive notions of almost 'Mean Girls' and other chick-flick type pieces. The characters in the video are in a love triangle, the girl thoroughly enjoying the reaction she receives from the male human, by frolicking around with a gorilla. In a way, there is an essence of 'King Kong' being referenced, as a giant gorilla steals the human's lover away. 

Narrative and Performance.

The narrative structure is set in a school, indicating the characters are teenagers. There's no explicit performance from the band or any musician, however movement of the characters is seemingly carefully choreographed at points, with featurettes of ribbon gymnastics and duo routines with the girl and Trevor the gorilla.

Representation.

In terms of representation, this video features a white woman, a man who appears to be of some kind of Asian or South American heritage, although I do not wish to assume, he may just be well tanned, and a gorilla. This seems to be particularly diverse, covering two races and a primate. However, other races, ages, disabilities and sexualities are not mentioned, hindering representation in regards to cultural diversity. The jealousy the homosapien feels towards the man he views as a primate is arguably directly personal to the target audience of the band, somewhat troubled indie teenage boys, struggling with girls and romance.