Song & MV Analysis
- Evanna Berindei
- Mar 8, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 30, 2022
Further developing our analysis of Death grips, we chose “No Love” as a basis for our music video. The music video for “No Love”, as opposed to “I’ve Seen Footage” is much more straightforward and less chaotic - at least by this band’s standards. It is simply a recording of the band playing the song live, switching from handheld to fixed shots displaying the shenanigans of the trio. Alongside this, a chromatic aberration is overlaid throughout the duration of the video. Lyrics are not visualised at any point.
However, at some points sequential phrases are strewn across the screen; the supposed ‘narrator’ uses explicit language to illustrate his aggressive disinterest throughout successive days. In five instances, a freezeframe with a saturated palette, accompanied by big, bold text “what it says” and a distorted bagpipe-like synth snippet plays. This results in the viewer feeling some discomfort and initial shock, further emphasising the drug fueled shock episodes (alongside the other effects) this song wants to convey.
Death Grips has a history of making songs that please their own creative desire, with little outside influence/restrictions over the themes explored and lyrics sung. This is one of their main appeals, this individuality when compared to the rest of the music industry make them instantly stand out along with garnering a devoted fan base that admire their devotion to staying true to their core values and not “selling out”.
Some speculate that this song has a double meaning, that of a bad acid trip along with MC Ride(vocalist) torturing someone, that being most likely himself. This song takes the listener on a journey throughout a “bad trip” after some form of drug, most likely acid, was consumed. The violent lyricism along with the aggressive delivery, further emphasised by the glitchy editing and abrupt stops with piercing audio design serve to solidify the message of this song. This raw product proved to be a fan favourite due to its uniqueness and aggression.
Commentaires