Bittersweet Symphony// The Verve Applied To Goodwin’s Theory
Track Title: Bittersweet Symphony
Album: Urban Hymns (1997)
Genre: Brtipop, Alternative Rock
Release Date: 16 June 1997
The Verve were an English Alternative Rock band of the 1990’s, made famous mostly by their iconic singer/songwriter Richard Ashcroft and were an inspiration to many of the great bands to follow in the decade and were sited as such by iconic 90’s songwriters such as Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn and Thom Yorke. The band were formed in 1990 in Wigan and are yet another great band to be produced by the north of England and were greatly inspired by the troubles the north faced in previous decades mainly the 70’s and 80’s. They are often associated with such bands as The Stone Roses, The Smiths and The Happy Mondays, all cult legends of the Great British music industry and all, like the Verve, northerners. The band originally began with a psychedelic sound in the early 90’s inspired by such acts as Jimi Hendrix and a great example of their psychedelic sound is the track “She’s a Superstar” and the music video accompanies the original psychedelic sound appropriately; making it look like a video straight out of 1969. However Urban Hymns (1997) is where the group from Wigan achieved great commercial success; with the album becoming one of the best selling albums in UK chart history, and the single “Bittersweet Symphony” becoming a worldwide hit and is still commonly used today; most notably as the soundtrack for the opening title sequence for ITV’s coverage of the England international football games; which, I feel, demonstrates the nations affection to the song and symbolises it’s cult following as an unofficial national anthem similar to “Don’t Look Back In Anger”-Oasis or “We Are The Champions”-Queen. Soon after finding commercial success the group split in the April of ‘99 culminating a 6 year rollercoaster of; law-suits, fall outs and drug abuse. However the 6 years will forever be looked back upon as a magic 6 years of musical genius all created as the brain-child of Richard Ashcroft who will no doubt go down as a British Rock and Roll legend.
Album: Urban Hymns (1997)
Genre: Brtipop, Alternative Rock
Release Date: 16 June 1997
The Verve were an English Alternative Rock band of the 1990’s, made famous mostly by their iconic singer/songwriter Richard Ashcroft and were an inspiration to many of the great bands to follow in the decade and were sited as such by iconic 90’s songwriters such as Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn and Thom Yorke. The band were formed in 1990 in Wigan and are yet another great band to be produced by the north of England and were greatly inspired by the troubles the north faced in previous decades mainly the 70’s and 80’s. They are often associated with such bands as The Stone Roses, The Smiths and The Happy Mondays, all cult legends of the Great British music industry and all, like the Verve, northerners. The band originally began with a psychedelic sound in the early 90’s inspired by such acts as Jimi Hendrix and a great example of their psychedelic sound is the track “She’s a Superstar” and the music video accompanies the original psychedelic sound appropriately; making it look like a video straight out of 1969. However Urban Hymns (1997) is where the group from Wigan achieved great commercial success; with the album becoming one of the best selling albums in UK chart history, and the single “Bittersweet Symphony” becoming a worldwide hit and is still commonly used today; most notably as the soundtrack for the opening title sequence for ITV’s coverage of the England international football games; which, I feel, demonstrates the nations affection to the song and symbolises it’s cult following as an unofficial national anthem similar to “Don’t Look Back In Anger”-Oasis or “We Are The Champions”-Queen. Soon after finding commercial success the group split in the April of ‘99 culminating a 6 year rollercoaster of; law-suits, fall outs and drug abuse. However the 6 years will forever be looked back upon as a magic 6 years of musical genius all created as the brain-child of Richard Ashcroft who will no doubt go down as a British Rock and Roll legend.
However the journey didn’t end
there as the band reformed in the new millennium touring, although they haven’t
yet released a new studio album.
"Bittersweet Symphony" Official Video
ITV England International Football Title Sequence (2009)
The music video depicts lead singer Richard Ashcroft walking through a busy street in an unspecified English city. Ashcroft is the main focus of the camera throghout the video and he remains along a one way path.
A key point to highlight is the fact that Ashcroft is going at a much slower pace from the other people along the path way. From the songs lyrics one can connote that the track is about the long road of life; this can be seen from the lyric "I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down" the road expressed here is the road of life and is a methaphor used in the song and video respectively. The pavement Ashcroft is walking on is a metaphor for his path in life and is used to express his individuality, the people he crosses paths with are people he encounters in his life, some pass peacefully and others collide with him as seen from the people he brushes shoulders with and the people he barely acknowledges, the main connotation of this idea is that no matter who comes and goes within life, you always end up alone again and noone stays for long, this is the bittersweet nature of life which is where the song and video nicely intertwine with the title.
I like the way that you have discussed the importance this iconic track "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (The Verve) has had onf British identity. The Angel of the North is a symbol of the band's northern roots.
ReplyDeleteAn well informed introduction but this has not been linked to Goodwin's Theory!!! I strongly advise you to link aspects of mise-en-scene to Goodwin's Theory if your blog is to reflect understanding of the theory.