Music Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5olLPmjVV24

I've got to say, I had a pretty hard time finding a good video for this. Maybe it's just because I don't watch too many music videos, but I had a hard time getting what the groups were trying to carry across with their videos. A lot of them I think are just trying to be creative or funny, or even just weird.

But alright, I'll get to it. I finally settled on a music video by Jimmy Eat World. I admit that part of the reason I chose it was because its message was pretty clear. But I also really like the music.

The song is called "work". I had to go through it a couple times to actually get what the message was, even though I already thought I understood it going in. To be honest, going into it I didn't realize that the main theme was largely about sex.

The video starts with some interviews of school kids, all around the age of 17, which is typical of kids who are graduating High School. They're all asked about their plans for the future and college is one of the main topics they bring up. One of the most important comments that I think is made is by the girl who says that parents shouldn't be so controlling because kids need to learn by experience because that's the same way the parents learned when they were young. Then we get to the music. As far as I can tell the lyrics are about a guy persuading his girlfriend to just go with the flow that night and not worry about what might happen. His argument is similar to that of the girl in the interview, that you can't predict the consequences so you should just let things happen and live with it.

To me, the main message throughout the first half of the video and song is that you shouldn't let your worries about what's going to happen stop you from living life. Towards the end it kind of shifts to a more serious message, with the lines that "work and play they're never OK, to mix the way we do". I think that this part is meant to carry across the message that if you have big dreams like going to a good college and getting the job you want then you have to work for it and not let yourself get distracted. The interviews at the end seem to follow this, with kids saying how excited they are to be the best they can.