Week 1

Week 1

Love Songs

Love songs are arguably the most popular type of song as they are very common. If you looked at the lyrics of every popular song right now, most of them would probably have some sort of lyric which could be associated with love. The large popularity of love songs means that they come in a lot of different genres as well, you could have a slow love song with minimal production values, but you could also have a heavier song with a lot of instruments and sounds which can also be considered a love song. Love songs don’t always have to be about a certain person as love can be interpreted in a lot of different ways, for example, a song about family could be considered a love song. Sometimes love songs are a form of expressing the artists feelings and emotions about something or someone but other times they don’t have much thought put into them as love songs are often seen as an easy way to make a lot of money in the music industry. 

There is not really any definitive date or moment which signifies the invention or beginning of love songs since they have been around for a very long time although it can be said that love songs originated from older poems which talk about love.  

David Fincher

David Fincher is a popular American film director but before he directed films, he was mostly known for directing music videos.  

Before he started directing music videos, he worked on some popular 80s films such as Indiana Jones and Star Wars, but he had a minor role and didn’t do anything important. He then went on to direct many TV commercials with one of his most popular being his commercial for the American Cancer Society where he depicted a fetus smoking a cigarette to bring attention to the effects of smoking. 

 In 1984, Fincher started to direct music videos for many popular artists at the time including George Michael and Michael Jackson, but he was most known for his work on Madonna’s music videos. From 1984 to 1993 he was credited with directing 53 music videos. Although he didn’t really like doing these music videos, he has stated that he treated it like “film school” and he used all the skills and experience he gained during his time as a music video director to make his films better.

Fincher then took a break from music videos and focused on directing movies. While the first movie he directed, Alien 3, received mixed reviews, he went on to direct many successful films such as Fight Club, The Social Network and Gone Girl. However, his shift of focus on film did not mean he completely abandoned working on music videos as he did direct a few more during the 2000s. As a director, Fincher is known for being a perfectionist with many actors stating in interviews that he will not stop shooting a scene until he thinks it is perfect which often results in many takes and it can be very hard work for everyone involved. However, Fincher is a critically acclaimed director so it definitely seems like all the hard work payed off.

Universal

Universal Music Group is a global music cooperation that is mainly owned by the French media conglomerate Vivendi. Universal is currently the biggest music company in the world, and it is a part of the “Big 3” record labels along with Sony Music and Warner Music Group.  

It was once a music company which was attached to the film studio Universal Pictures and the origins of the company go all the way back to 1934 with the formation of the American branch of Decca Records. American Decca was then brought by MCA in 1962 and Universal Music Group was never really a thing until 1996 when the MCA Music Entertainment Group was renamed Universal Music Group.

UMG have a worldwide influence as they are based in 77 countries and also manage artists who fall into all different types of genres.