sannielee's review
2.0
To be clear, I'd actually give this book 2.5 stars as a book that can be used for research, but 3 stars in terms of read-for-fun. But because I used it for research, I'm giving it 2 stars.
I'm writing my master's thesis on music videos and thought this would be a good resource, but honestly, the book reads like a music video encyclopedia, simply listing music videos and describing what happens in them. Instead of reading the book, it'd be easier to just go through the list of "Top 100 Videos List" in the back and go through them in chronological order on YouTube or Vevo or another music video hosting site.
Like another reviewer commented, the book is super subjective and Austerlitz highly praises some videos/artists and criticizes others, sometimes a little bit unfairly. Sometimes what Austerlitz writes doesn't make sense. For example, he writes, "In its embrace of the sexually insalubrious, (Christina Aguilera's) "Dirrty" owes more to other videos attracted to pushing the envelope regarding nudity and sexual content, like Fatboy Slim's "Slash Dot Dash" (2004), Eric Prydz's "Call on Me" (2005), T.I.'s "Let's Get Away" (2005), and Kevin Lyttle's "Turn Me On" (2004)." This statement makes absolutely no sense because "Dirrty" came out before any of these videos back in 2002.
One other thing that really annoyed me was Austerlitz's writing style. It's as if he wants to project some sort of coolness, throwing in words like "wigger" to describe "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" from The Offspring, or saying that Eminem "tore Middle America a new one." Yes, music videos are an accessible genre/medium and yes, the type of person that might read this might know what all this slang means, but his use of slang and informal English came off as forced and trying too hard. I think this was due to the fact that he also seemed to be trying to present music videos in an academic light, when really there was no analysis truly provided (a few things were OK, but mostly, it was just pure description of the music videos).
I think this would be a good book to read if you're interested in music videos in a non-academic fashion. Austerlitz definitely mentions all the classics ("Thriller," "Sledgehammer," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," etc.) and it could be entertaining to read for fun. However, like I already mentioned, you might be better off photocopying his Top 100 Music Videos list from the back and just go watch them online.
I'm writing my master's thesis on music videos and thought this would be a good resource, but honestly, the book reads like a music video encyclopedia, simply listing music videos and describing what happens in them. Instead of reading the book, it'd be easier to just go through the list of "Top 100 Videos List" in the back and go through them in chronological order on YouTube or Vevo or another music video hosting site.
Like another reviewer commented, the book is super subjective and Austerlitz highly praises some videos/artists and criticizes others, sometimes a little bit unfairly. Sometimes what Austerlitz writes doesn't make sense. For example, he writes, "In its embrace of the sexually insalubrious, (Christina Aguilera's) "Dirrty" owes more to other videos attracted to pushing the envelope regarding nudity and sexual content, like Fatboy Slim's "Slash Dot Dash" (2004), Eric Prydz's "Call on Me" (2005), T.I.'s "Let's Get Away" (2005), and Kevin Lyttle's "Turn Me On" (2004)." This statement makes absolutely no sense because "Dirrty" came out before any of these videos back in 2002.
One other thing that really annoyed me was Austerlitz's writing style. It's as if he wants to project some sort of coolness, throwing in words like "wigger" to describe "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" from The Offspring, or saying that Eminem "tore Middle America a new one." Yes, music videos are an accessible genre/medium and yes, the type of person that might read this might know what all this slang means, but his use of slang and informal English came off as forced and trying too hard. I think this was due to the fact that he also seemed to be trying to present music videos in an academic light, when really there was no analysis truly provided (a few things were OK, but mostly, it was just pure description of the music videos).
I think this would be a good book to read if you're interested in music videos in a non-academic fashion. Austerlitz definitely mentions all the classics ("Thriller," "Sledgehammer," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," etc.) and it could be entertaining to read for fun. However, like I already mentioned, you might be better off photocopying his Top 100 Music Videos list from the back and just go watch them online.
thebobsphere's review
5.0
An excellent guide to the history of the music video and techniques modern music video directors use. I know that the music video is not as popular but this book gives some interesting tips and viewpoints.
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