Goodwin's Theory: Tori Amos 'Winter'

1.                  Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).

Tori Amos is also an ‘indie’ artist, and her video is very simple, with only one real location – that being a large white room with just a piano in it. Many ‘indie’ artists show themselves playing instruments in their videos, Tori Amos is no different. In nearly all of her music videos, the audience see her playing a piano –if not two or three at the same time. Finding a Tori Amos song which does not feature the piano in it would be extremely hard, as it is her trademark instrument. Most ‘indie’ artists show themselves playing instruments in their videos to add authenticity to their music – some bands or artists merely sing the songs, actually playing the music is a whole different thing. Audiences appreciate the amount of work the artist has put in to the song, especially when they see them actually playing their instruments.

2.                  There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

 The song itself is about winter, and throughout it Tori sings about ‘white horses’, ‘some snowman’, ‘crystal palce’, ‘ice’ –all things white or pure. The imagery portrayed reinforces the ideas of winter. For example, the white background with the piano:

And Tori’s white suit:

When Tori sings ‘the fires are burning’, her makeup changes from being natural and nude, with wide, innocent eyes, to striking makeup, her eyes mere slits – her now red lips symbolize the ‘burning’ fires. Her makeup changes from:

To:

Tori also sings ‘I wanted you to be proud of me’ – here we’re shown a photo of a trophy which connotes the recipient has done something worthy of it, something to be immensely proud of:

3.                  There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

The music (for the most part) is quite slow, and very little happens in the video, making a slow music video. However, they compliment eachother. If the music was fast with a slow music video, the audience would get bored. If the music was slow, with a fast paced music video, the audience would probably get confused and stop paying attention. The video for ‘Winter’ is perfect in the sense that not very much happens so you don’t need to pay constant attention – but watching it in itself is very enjoyable, as you also get to watch the artists brilliant piano skills.

4.                  The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

 Tori Amos’ video contains many close ups of her, but not only her face, her hands playing the piano too. This is good as it makes the audience aware that she isn’t merely a pretty face, but a skilled musician. Tori is a very emotional singer, and writes many of her own songs. You can tell merely from her facial expressions how passionate she is, and the use of close ups just prove thus to the audience. Being the only character to play a huge role in the video, we do need to see close ups of her face too.

5.                  There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

At one point in the video, Tori appears to go through a small box in a wall and appear in another similar room, but in a completely different outfit. This is almost like they are acknowledging that this is a music video, as this does not happen in reality.

Self referentiality is again used when Tori pulls down a ‘screen’ which switches us from one shot to another:

6.                  There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).

There are really no examples of intertexual references in this music video, it is very simple and sticks to the conventions of a typical ‘indie’ music video – featuring very little else except the artist and her instrument.

LYRICS

Snow can wait
I forgot my mittens
Wipe my nose
Get my new boots on
I get a little warm in my heart
When I think of winter
I put my hand in my father's glove
I run off
Where the drifts get deeper
Sleeping beauty trips me with a frown
I hear a voice
"Your must learn to stand up for yourself
Cause I can't always be around"
He says
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change my dear

Boys get discovered as winter melts
Flowers competing for the sun
Years go by and I'm here still waiting Withering where some snowman was
Mirror mirror where's the crystal palace
But I only can see the myself
Skating around the truth who I am
But I know dad the ice is getting thin

When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change my dear

Hair is grey
And the fires are burning
So many dreams 
On the shelf
You say I wanted you to be proud of me
I always wanted that myself

He says
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses have gone ahead
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change
My dear