Textual Analysis - Temple by Kings of Leon
Temple – Kings of Leon Music Video Analysis
The general meaning of the song is about their families, their wives and kids. Therefore, they star in the video. The main line in the lyrics is “I’d take one in the temple, I’d take one for you.” This line is essentially saying that they would be shot in the head for their family, they would sacrifice themselves for their wives and children. The word “Temple” goes back to the band’s Christian roots. The band which is made of three brothers and their cousin (the Followill’s), grew up going to church, their Father/Uncle was a pastor. A Temple as well as your body part is also a sacred place of worship, it is an interesting word choice as it links back to sacrifice just like Jesus.
The music to this song is much calmer and more melodic than the ones on the rest of the album, it still however has the typical Kings Of Leon rock vibes. There are smooth tempo changes between the verses and chorus which link them together perfectly. The main instruments being used are the drums and an electric guitar. The genre is alternative with a hint of blues and southern rock.
The overall genre of the band is considered to be rock, although as they began in Nashville some of their songs have country roots. Being a rock band, this music video is mostly unconventional to their genre. However, the two guitarists are wearing leather jackets, these being different bold colours; red and black. The red standing for passion and love and the black being more formal and mysterious. This is the only time they’re really adhering to the conventions is during the performance shots. In one of the shots, Caleb’s daughter Dixie is wearing white, this implies she is innocent and pure. She is also bundled up in a hat and big coat emphasising the idea of protection, she is a person he is thinking about with the lyrics. The lighting throughout is very soft and warm. It has yellow-ish tones with more of a saturation. This with a combination of the old-style video camera makes the non-performance aspect of the video seem like home movies. There are various different shots of the band on their properties in Nashville. They’re seen in their fields and gardens shooting with rifles at clay pigeons. There is also a prominent shot of an American flag as well as it being clear on the drummer’s shirt. This shows their patriotism and is normal for people where they’re from. They’re country folk with their guns and alcohol with thick accents, this shows that even though they’re more family orientated now, they still know their roots and are patriotic. Being from Tennessee/Oklahoma, they’re most likely Republican meaning they probably are implying they want to ‘Make America Great Again’ for their children, they want them to grow up how they did. As mentioned earlier, the Followill brothers/cousins were raised as Christian with a pastor father. So, with the idea of the song being called “Temple” it is only fitting that there are shots of churches throughout. They’re there to reinforce the lyrics and give the song a side meaning showing their faith and religion. There is a clear shot near the beginning of an old amplifier. This matches the old-school idea of the band wanting their family to grow up how they did. They are using nostalgic items to match the entire feel of the video. This followed along with the old camera too. The is a short shot showing them from in the car waiting for the train to go across the tracks, it has a shot of the barriers going up and then moves to them crossing it. The train tracks imply a journey which links into their band, the journey they have come to get where they are today.
There are a number of close ups of the lead singer Caleb. This is very conventional for a music video of this genre. It means we are able to see his expressions and passion as he is singing the words about his loved ones. Half of the shots from the video are performance and the others are more abstract clips of their family life. The more abstract parts have a much more yellow-ish tone to them, they are also grainy which create that home movie style feel. You could argue that the abstract clips show a narrative also, they tell the story of their family life.
There is a clear motivated cut within the first few lines of the song. As the lyric “child-like persuasion” plays, there is a quick cut to a clip of Nathan’s daughter Violet trying to touch the camera. Another motivated cut happens slightly later in the video as Caleb sings ‘I’d take one in the temple’ it cuts to Violet again accidently knocking her Father’s chin, which leads to him biting his tongue. Throughout the video, they use light leaks and overlays of different colours taken from places like Music Row in Nashville. They’re overlaying their music with their home. The light leaks and overlays create a great colour palette which is pleasing on the eye, simplistic yet effective. Nearer the middle of the song during the build-up, waiting for the chorus, it leads to a shot of one of the boys shooting a rifle. The gun is shot in the exact time when the drum beat comes in.
From the beginning of the video you can see the boys filming one another. The style they’re going for has been done by various other artists in different genres of music. One example of a music video which contains home movies is The Best Day by Taylor Swift. The lead singer of the band and his wife are very close with Swift so it could have been an idea they had taken from her video but put their own spin on it.
The type of video is mostly performance with aspects of both abstract and narrative. The performance is the secondary to the other clips. As mentioned before, the home movie clips could be considered abstract as well as narrative. It shows how the men are at home with their children and wives. They could also be telling the story of their childhood, shooting guns in the fields, going to church, running up and down Music Row. The performance side of the video is typical for that genre of song, the video is very conventional at these points.
The video starts at the performance set, they’re gearing up to work the camera and teaching one another to use it, there is no song at this point, you can just hear them and their families talking in the background. There is also a shot of Caleb’s young daughter Dixie stood shaking a maraca this setting the tone for the video from the very beginning. How it is family orientated. In the background of their performance, there is a light up sign reading ‘Mechanical Bull’, this being the name of their album. It is self-promotion within their video, subtly telling us the title without us knowing. The sign matches the feel of the video, it uses red lights just like the ones which are overlaid throughout the video. It returns to this set many times in the music video, cutting back and forth in-between the home movie clips of them in Nashville.
Within this video not only can you see the band, you also see their families. You see Caleb’s (the lead singer) wife, Lily and his daughter Dixie. Nathan’s daughter Violet and Matthew’s (lead guitar) son Knoxx. The boy’s mother/aunt Betty-Ann is also featured. They are remaking their old image of drug addicts and alcoholics and trying to show that they’re
family men and they have settled now. This is also reinforced with the close-up shots of their wedding rings on their fingers. They are committed to people, they have children to look after and they’re not how they used to be a few years ago when there were rumours of Caleb going to rehab and the band splitting. The video is the idea that a ‘bad boy’ could also be a good one. In a previous interview, they have mentioned how they’re very close, and their children all go to the same school. They also added that you can tell them apart from the other parents as they are ‘the ones smoking weed underneath the bleachers’. It could be said that their parenting style fits in with their ‘bad boy’ persona.
The band are not really adhering to any type of male or female gaze however they’re making themselves seem like the ‘ideal’ type of man. They’re rock and roll idols however they have their perfect families with their beautiful Victoria Secret model wives, living in the countryside with their white picket fences. The idea that some of this video is done in point-of-view shots matches Freud’s idea of voyeurism, we are watching them and following them in their lives through the narrative parts of this video.
The music to this song is much calmer and more melodic than the ones on the rest of the album, it still however has the typical Kings Of Leon rock vibes. There are smooth tempo changes between the verses and chorus which link them together perfectly. The main instruments being used are the drums and an electric guitar. The genre is alternative with a hint of blues and southern rock.
The overall genre of the band is considered to be rock, although as they began in Nashville some of their songs have country roots. Being a rock band, this music video is mostly unconventional to their genre. However, the two guitarists are wearing leather jackets, these being different bold colours; red and black. The red standing for passion and love and the black being more formal and mysterious. This is the only time they’re really adhering to the conventions is during the performance shots. In one of the shots, Caleb’s daughter Dixie is wearing white, this implies she is innocent and pure. She is also bundled up in a hat and big coat emphasising the idea of protection, she is a person he is thinking about with the lyrics. The lighting throughout is very soft and warm. It has yellow-ish tones with more of a saturation. This with a combination of the old-style video camera makes the non-performance aspect of the video seem like home movies. There are various different shots of the band on their properties in Nashville. They’re seen in their fields and gardens shooting with rifles at clay pigeons. There is also a prominent shot of an American flag as well as it being clear on the drummer’s shirt. This shows their patriotism and is normal for people where they’re from. They’re country folk with their guns and alcohol with thick accents, this shows that even though they’re more family orientated now, they still know their roots and are patriotic. Being from Tennessee/Oklahoma, they’re most likely Republican meaning they probably are implying they want to ‘Make America Great Again’ for their children, they want them to grow up how they did. As mentioned earlier, the Followill brothers/cousins were raised as Christian with a pastor father. So, with the idea of the song being called “Temple” it is only fitting that there are shots of churches throughout. They’re there to reinforce the lyrics and give the song a side meaning showing their faith and religion. There is a clear shot near the beginning of an old amplifier. This matches the old-school idea of the band wanting their family to grow up how they did. They are using nostalgic items to match the entire feel of the video. This followed along with the old camera too. The is a short shot showing them from in the car waiting for the train to go across the tracks, it has a shot of the barriers going up and then moves to them crossing it. The train tracks imply a journey which links into their band, the journey they have come to get where they are today.
There are a number of close ups of the lead singer Caleb. This is very conventional for a music video of this genre. It means we are able to see his expressions and passion as he is singing the words about his loved ones. Half of the shots from the video are performance and the others are more abstract clips of their family life. The more abstract parts have a much more yellow-ish tone to them, they are also grainy which create that home movie style feel. You could argue that the abstract clips show a narrative also, they tell the story of their family life.
There is a clear motivated cut within the first few lines of the song. As the lyric “child-like persuasion” plays, there is a quick cut to a clip of Nathan’s daughter Violet trying to touch the camera. Another motivated cut happens slightly later in the video as Caleb sings ‘I’d take one in the temple’ it cuts to Violet again accidently knocking her Father’s chin, which leads to him biting his tongue. Throughout the video, they use light leaks and overlays of different colours taken from places like Music Row in Nashville. They’re overlaying their music with their home. The light leaks and overlays create a great colour palette which is pleasing on the eye, simplistic yet effective. Nearer the middle of the song during the build-up, waiting for the chorus, it leads to a shot of one of the boys shooting a rifle. The gun is shot in the exact time when the drum beat comes in.
From the beginning of the video you can see the boys filming one another. The style they’re going for has been done by various other artists in different genres of music. One example of a music video which contains home movies is The Best Day by Taylor Swift. The lead singer of the band and his wife are very close with Swift so it could have been an idea they had taken from her video but put their own spin on it.
The type of video is mostly performance with aspects of both abstract and narrative. The performance is the secondary to the other clips. As mentioned before, the home movie clips could be considered abstract as well as narrative. It shows how the men are at home with their children and wives. They could also be telling the story of their childhood, shooting guns in the fields, going to church, running up and down Music Row. The performance side of the video is typical for that genre of song, the video is very conventional at these points.
The video starts at the performance set, they’re gearing up to work the camera and teaching one another to use it, there is no song at this point, you can just hear them and their families talking in the background. There is also a shot of Caleb’s young daughter Dixie stood shaking a maraca this setting the tone for the video from the very beginning. How it is family orientated. In the background of their performance, there is a light up sign reading ‘Mechanical Bull’, this being the name of their album. It is self-promotion within their video, subtly telling us the title without us knowing. The sign matches the feel of the video, it uses red lights just like the ones which are overlaid throughout the video. It returns to this set many times in the music video, cutting back and forth in-between the home movie clips of them in Nashville.
Within this video not only can you see the band, you also see their families. You see Caleb’s (the lead singer) wife, Lily and his daughter Dixie. Nathan’s daughter Violet and Matthew’s (lead guitar) son Knoxx. The boy’s mother/aunt Betty-Ann is also featured. They are remaking their old image of drug addicts and alcoholics and trying to show that they’re
family men and they have settled now. This is also reinforced with the close-up shots of their wedding rings on their fingers. They are committed to people, they have children to look after and they’re not how they used to be a few years ago when there were rumours of Caleb going to rehab and the band splitting. The video is the idea that a ‘bad boy’ could also be a good one. In a previous interview, they have mentioned how they’re very close, and their children all go to the same school. They also added that you can tell them apart from the other parents as they are ‘the ones smoking weed underneath the bleachers’. It could be said that their parenting style fits in with their ‘bad boy’ persona.
The band are not really adhering to any type of male or female gaze however they’re making themselves seem like the ‘ideal’ type of man. They’re rock and roll idols however they have their perfect families with their beautiful Victoria Secret model wives, living in the countryside with their white picket fences. The idea that some of this video is done in point-of-view shots matches Freud’s idea of voyeurism, we are watching them and following them in their lives through the narrative parts of this video.
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