Many songs produced during the era of the space race (especially
songs about the space race) were known to their cheerfulness and uplifting
spirit (after all, All You Need is Love, right?). Space Oddity is an exception
to this trend. The first verse and opening bars come across as incredibly solemn,
and through a slightly more cheerful turn at the start of the chorus, the song
quickly returns to its solemn, blue tone.
A timely style that the song follows is the extended use of metaphors
and analogies. The lyric “planet earth is blue, and there’s nothing I can do”
particularly stands out. This line appeals to more than the literal sense. The
color blue is a symbol of sadness and depression (There’s even an entire
musical movement called the “blues”!), thus the line “planet earth is blue”
refers to all the problems of the world. When Major Tom admits there’s “nothing
[he] can do”, a literal perspective attributes this inability to his lack of
presence on earth, while the figurative perspective reveals that Major Tom has
realized he, as a single person, is too small to fix the world.
There are many that would make the argument that Major Tom’s
words about his zero gravity weightlessness is actually and innuendo to a drug
trip. I would not comply with this argument, but this kind of innuendo would
fit the style of many other songs of the era.
I find it difficult to perform an adequate analysis of the
visual style of the music video, primarily because of how much filming
techniques have evolved since the 60’s. I would find myself being overly
critical of the cinematography, which can also be blamed on my lack of understanding
of 60’s video culture.
~Greg Fiola
~Greg Fiola
I appreciated how honest you were about potential biases that would've arose if you analyzed the cinematography. In addition, I think the connection between blue and sadness is accurate. Perhaps a link directing me to some background information about the blues would have helped those who do not have a solid knowledge about the blues brush up on their history. And I end this post with a question for thought: How does the drug related songs of the 1960s compare with this song?
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out that this song was a lot different from what else was being put out during this time. It drew on a more solemn tone rather than the prevalent cheerfulness of other songs. By pointing out his extensive use of metaphor, you also acknowledged that this song had a much deeper meaning that what it superficially appeared as. However, the part I liked mot about your post was the fact that you admitted that you weren't sure on how to approach the analysis of the music video in fear that you would be too critical. I love honesty!!!!! It really is the best policy :)
ReplyDelete-Ashley McNeill
I never really thought about how this song is different from other songs of this era. That's really good point, showing how this song stood out from others because it's different. If the song was more upbeat and happy, do you think it would still carry the same type of message? I feel as though it would change the meaning entirely. I also agree with it being hard to analyze the music video since it's so different than everything we're used to.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that you mentioned there are some who would equate Major Tom's "zero gravity" to a drug trip. Taken out of context, I honestly wouldn't be very surprised if this were the case, especially, as you also brought up, considering how many songs of the 60s had this element. However, due to it's context in the song, I have to agree with you that I don't think it is. To me, this has more to do with his realization that he, as one person, is insignificant. Overall, you analyzed the song really well!
ReplyDelete-Natalia de Gravelles