Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Florence + The Machine, The Band Perry and the Lady of Shalott in Music Videos

Today I thought I'd share a video from Florence + The Machine. My husband actually made me sit down and watch the video because he noticed all the mythological and Pre-Raphaelite references! We first encountered Florence + The Machine while watching the Colbert Report, and our first reaction (other than noticing that she had a great voice), was that she looked like she'd fallen out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting. Apparently this is no coincidence, and you'll notice that most of her videos contain references to the Pre-Raphaelites, though the video for "Rabbit Heart" is one of the most overt. From the minute you see the water behind her you can tell this is going to end in a send-up of the Lady of Shalott!



For an even heavier dose of the Lady of Shalott, check out The Band Perry's "If I Die Young". My daughter actually discovered this one on Vevo the other day!



Someone from the band is clearly a big fan of the Pre-Raphaelites! Of course Lady of Shalott is the most obvious reference (the video actually closes with a shot of Tennyson's poem), but I thought the scene at :38 (with the mother at the window) was a little evocative of John Everett Millais' Mariana. It's a very well done video, and the song is beautiful as well.

5 comments:

Val S. said...

Ah, well, that was fun! I always enjoy hearing something new, and the videos were beautiful. Thanks for the links!

M said...

Very true! Even having some of the men in 19th century garb can fit with the Pre-Raphaelite era (even if the clothing doesn't align with PRB subject matter).

I really like the music of Florence + the Machine. I also am secretly envious of Florence; her red hair is so pretty!

Margaret said...

@Val S. - Thanks!

@M - Thanks for stopping by! Florence does have fabulous hair, doesn't she? It definitely suits her music!

Thorsprincess said...

Nice. I missed the textures of tapestry, especially the covering for the lady in the boat.

Val S. said...

This is my favorite recent music find-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvXeUqlfxhY

Although the style is very '50s, the singer, Paloma Faith, looks like she could have been a Pre-Raphaelite model. If the PRB were alive now, this is the kind of art they might be creating - lush, retro, theatrical and passionate.