Comparisons between music videos, album panes and posters from the 80s, 90s and 00s.

Amy Antoniou

80s Album
1999 - Prince
This album cover is from the album 1999 by Prince. The genre of it being Funk, pop and soul. The fact the year in which the album was released was October 27th 1982, highlights the idea of the song 1999 being about the future yet to come. In the 80s, it has been known that, in the United States, MTV was introduced. Many Pop artists including Michael Jackson, Madonna and in this case, Prince, were immensely popular. The fact his album is full of colour and each one is vibrant and stands out, allows the album to be eye catching and highlights the artists name and album title. The colours of the album can be seen to stereotypically be associated with females due to the vast amounts of pinks and purples on it. However, the fact the artists name is Prince allows the target audience of this album to acknowledge that it does in fact belong to a male singer juxtaposing with the idea of the album having feminine qualities resulting in it belonging to a female artist.

90s Album Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

This single belonging to the collaboration of the artists, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince The date this single was released, was June 20th 1991 as a CD. The genre of it is Hip Hop and it is 4:30 long. Continuing on from the 70s and 80s, teen pop and dance-pop were seen to be very popular in the 1990s. However in addition to this, hip hop continued to grow and be immensely successful, therefore resulting in this single, Summertime being highly popular throughout the decade with the 90s continuing in being the golden age. There is no doubting that the cover of this single stands out with the florescent looking pinks, greens and yellows overtaking the black background as each colour looks to be painted on in an artistic way. The writing on this album cover, being the names of the artists and song title, are not as eye catching as they could have been for the fact the green of the text blends in with the rest of the colours and therefore can not be seen as well as it possibly should have been.

00s Album Hey Ya - OutKast

The album released by the group OutKast named Hey Ya! was realised on September 9th 2003 on CD and vinyl. The genre for the album is alternative hip hop and funk. The colours of the album cover are bright and contrast with one another along with them both being primary colours. Two members of the bang OutKast are seen to be located on either side of the album cover allowing the target audience for this album to recognise that they are part of the band, perhaps the main vocalists or instrumentalists. The background to each sided of the album is in the colours of yellow and blue with both members of the group placed on either side. The colours contrast with one another as each individual is wearing the opposite colour to the background he is stationed in front of. A clear difference is seen in this album when comparing it to that of the album covers found from the 80s and 90s for the fact this one has photographic images of the artists on the front allowing a clear difference to be seen between each album. The black line pasted along the from of the album with the album/song title written in capital letters with punctuation expressing the name of it, clearly stands out among the rest of the features of the cover.

80s Music Video Billie Jean- Michael Jackson

The song of Michael Jacksons Billie Jean was released on January 2nd 1983 and is based in the genres of dance-pop, R&B and Funk. It was in the 80s that music videos began to have a greater influence on the record industry and production with many songs, including that of Michael Jacksons, this including Billie Jean, was a big part in that. It has been stated that the short film for Billie Jean is considered the video that

brought MTV, a fairly new and unknown music channel, into mainstream attention.

Billie Jean was the first music video to be aired on a regular basis by a particular music channel with the song coming from a black artist. Both the song and video were seen to have a big impact on the audience, especially children with them wanting to dress and dance just like the music sensation Michael Jackson was seen to be. It has been stated that to start, MTV refused to play the video eventually coming around to finally play it, also happening at the time to be playing the 80s sensation, Prince. The video went on to reach a place in the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame in 1992 and was eventually seen to be ranked as fifth in a poll of the Top 20 Best Music Videos Ever. The video itself, can be seen to possibly not be the clearest a video can be, comparing it to that of the modern day, the lack of HD qualities seen within it is clear but understandable due to the era in which it was filmed. The effects within it, especially that of the floors and steps lighting up, can be thought of as a brilliant and skilful use of effect, certainly with the knowledge of when the video was filmed, in mind.

90s Music Video U cant touch this MC Hammer

MC Hammers song, U cant touch this, was released on January 13th 1990 on a CD single, 12# vinyl and a cassette. The genre of it is Hip Hop and this is clearly acknowledgeable through the music video. The song is extremely catchy with the captivating video filled with energy only heightening the upbeat songs popularity. The dancing is extravagant and the clothing seen to be that of the 80s was how many people chose to dress. The short skirts and crop-tops can be relatable to some of the female population today. The groups of people dancing with one another, along with MC Hammer himself, involved in the dance together with the singing, can involve the audience and create a positive mood. There is a lack of background in many, even the majority, of the shots with only a white backdrop visible, allowing all attention to be focused on the dancing and singing taking place. MC Hammer can be known to wear the baggy trousers in his video and is very popular for them as these can be seen as a key aspect in his video, with them being easily relatable to him.

00s Music Video MIA Paper Planes

The song Paper Planes was released on the 11th February 2008 on CD and digital download and the video was first made available to view on MTVs website on December 15th 2007. The genre of it being R&B, indie dance, hip hop, alternative dance and world beat. The music video was shot in Brooklyn, New York. The fact it is easy to view online, shows a huge jump in technological development for the fact when the videos released in the 80s and 90s were first produced, they were not accessible online which differs from that of the 00s with MIAs Paper Planes an example of this. The video various in colours with an effect of black and white along with colour, being observed in various scenes. This video can be seen to vary from that of the eighties and nineties for the fact Billie Jean, as I have previously analysed, does not provide as many surroundings and colours on the street Michael Jackson walks down, as that of this Paper Planes video. The quality of the filming has changed immensely in a positive way even varying from that of the 90s video. Some of the clothing within this video can be witnessed as that of MIAs own clothing range. The fact the artist for this song is MIA, a female singer who also raps, shows a huge difference from that of the 80s and 90s videos. When comparing her to artists from the late 80s/early 90s, she could possibly be seen to be relatable to that of the group Salt n Pepa. This for the fact this act rapped and sung in their songs along with wearing bright, vibrant and colourful clothing.

80s Poster Bad - Michael Jackson

This poster from 1987, is that of the world wide phenomenon Michael Jackson. Having him centred in the middle of the poster looking straight to the camera in dark clothes contrasting with the white background, instantly allows the poster to stand out. As he was already hugely popular at the time of this album and poster release, having him being one of the largest aspects of the poster, is highly beneficial to it as all his fans and the target audience it is trying to reach, will have their attention caught. There is a distinct colour theme on this poster with the majority of it revolving around black, white and red. These colours are bold and all deep in tone which allows every aspect of the poster to stand out. With the bold black typography of the artists name pasted down the right side of the poster is eye-catching due to the fact it is reasonably the same size as the image of Michael Jackson which can then be seen to be attention grabbing due to the jet black of his clothes and the writing which both stand out immensely. The date is present in the bottom left corner of the poster along with the artists name once again as whenever this poster is then seen, the date and artist will be known. The famous Pepsi sign can be seen at the bottom of the poster and could be though of as product placement but also have relevance to the poster and artist due to Michael Jackson's well-known influence in the Pepsi commercial. The typography of BAD has been written as though it is in a graffiti style text, then influencing the songs name BAD and the outcome of it.

90s Poster Usher My Way

This poster from 1997, is that is that of the immensely popular artist, Usher. Even in the modern day, he is still known to be extremely famous and has been for many years. With this poster, is varies from that of the 80s due to the bright background colour and slightly less vibrant yet visible colours of the clothes worn on the smaller pictures within the poster. With a red and yellow theme as the background, these two colours are known to be complementary to one another and so therefore allow the poster to stand out further. With bold capital typography in a shade of red naming the artist, it is easily recognisable as to who he is. The largest image of the poster happens to be Usher which then lets the target audience of this artist to instantly acknowledge who the poster belongs to and read on. Impact Date June 8th has been written at the bottom of the poster which then tells the audience when the song My Way is due for release yet the word impact suggests it have a big influence on the audience and it is almost as if the audience need to prepare for this song and just how good it will be. The clothes in which Usher is wearing on this poster, differ a lot from that of the 80s poster of Michael Jackson. Although only a limited amount of him is seen, Usher happens to be less covered up by his clothes than the clothing of the 80s poster. A vest top and gold chain are seen to be worn and have been known as some of the fashion back in the date that this poster was released and the music industry was beginning new crazes song and style wise.

00s Poster Kanye West Late Registration

From the 00s, this poster is from the very well known artist Kanye West. It has a sense of continuity from the album itself as the character, setting and typography are all the same. Much like the posters of the 80s and 90s, the character within the picture, has been centred in the middle and is the largest aspect of the poster itself. This instantly attracts attention and will catch the eye of the target audience of this specific genre and artist. However, differing from the posters of the earlier years, the character is not the artist himself, so therefore Kanye West has been written at the top of the poster. However, with a capital Y in the middle of his first name, this allows it to stand out further. College dropout is one of Kanye Wests previous albums and features the same character yet in earlier years. For fans of Kanye West who have previously seen the album artwork, continuity of the bear and his journey have been present from album to album. This one involves him on his journey to university. IN STORES NOW has been scribbled at the bottom of the poster in bright red which stands out among the other writing and has been listed underneath a list of songs included in the album. This can be seen so once each song has been read and the audience know what is included, they then know when they are able to buy it.