POST-MODERN MUSIC THE MIDNIGHT BEAST Members: Andrew, Stefan and Ashley Homage The Midnight Beast were

originally a parody band, taking songs from American artist Ke$ha and reversing the lyrics to mock her style and sound. Although they were not the first parody band they have brought a new sense of fun to e4 on their self-titled show, subverting the original meaning of music. Pastiche Because their first song release mocked Ke$has Tick Tock their staple trick has been to parody other songs; creating their own spin on the Harry Potter franchise with their song Wands, which features both an excerpt of the soundtrack and references to the characters Dumbledore and Hermione. By replacing copying the soundtrack of songs and replacing the lyrics, it seems they are trying to damage the authority the music has over the pop charts. Their merchandise follows the same style as their music, F**K THE HARLEM SHAKE is labelled on one of their t-shirt designs. Bricolage Their music consists of a variety of genres, one song will be pop and the next emo rock yet theyre all meant to be held in jest because of the bizarre and weird for the sake of weird lyrics. Quirky: Emo Rock Begging: Pop All of their songs are made purely for comedy and are defined in the comedy and rap genres on iTunes Intertextual References Ricky Gervais in The Office featured in their Die Young Ke$ha parody video In their Harlem Shake Parody F**K THE HARLEM SHAKE they mix the soundtrack of Gangnam Style, the original Harlem Shake and the N*ggas in Paris tune. In Begging they reference religion and acknowledge the fact they mock it: Thats offensive to religion I want a comforting look when Noah kisses Sally in the notebook Booty Call Fuck the Fonz, hes thinks hes fucking cooler than me Quirky The Hoff, Home Alone 3, The Queen Quirky Eminem Rap God Wrap God parody They wear Vans Tees in their videos Features loads of Boy bands Return of the boy bands Many of their songs feature an electronic beat or tone: influences of Kraftwerk?

Reference to Lord of the Rings, Nasty Fat Hobbit Wands

For example, the video to Quirky can be seen as a Bricolage of many different styles and genres: filmed in a car park, riding bikes, German outfits, robots. Amplification I wear my clothes in the shower so he does; expressing their lyrics in a visually humorous way. Simulacrum Its not clear if The Midnight Beast play themselves in their TV show or exaggerated version of them-selves like in Hollywood films such as This is the End. They seem to be typical lads trying to make it in the music industry and tackle problems with money and girls, however we do not know if this is the real them. Theyre constantly changing their style to whatever they think will be funny within their videos changes occur both throughout one song and in between releases. I cant imagine the miss-matched onesies are the way they really dress. Consumption Everyone is supposed to understand their music shouldnt be taken seriously, and if they ever wanted people to listen to it in a serious way they would struggle to find people who wouldnt think it was just another change in their style. Once youre a parody/comedy band, I dont think you can ever be taken seriously again. Creation If they dont create their music with the idea of weird for the sake of weird in mind; they might as well have done. Theyre signed to the sounds like good label; one which they created in 2012. They produced their own self-titled debut album and write their own songs too. Some could say its not a very impressive thing as their lyrics arent the most inspiring or intellectual, however they do manage to write songs that for some people are highly entertaining. Performance I kicked a shark in the face tour They are set to play more UK dates this year. By watching their live videos, I can see they bring energy to the stage, like in their videos, however because they have taken away the humorous visual stimuli, their songs do not seem as funny, and they seem more like a regular band whose lyrics, and live voices arent very good. They interact with their audience on stage, letting them sing lines back to them, making them seem like a genuine band.

Influence: The original artists whose songs they have parodied have complimented their work; Ke$ha claiming their rendition of Tik Tok was better than my version The group have collaborated on videos with MTV rocks and BBC comedy.

Anything can be considered cool in an I know its bad but its so bad its good way The Midnight Beast tracks are cheesy and many not seem funny to everyone but their relentless quirks and attempts at comedy makes them a success and genuinely well liked, having millions of views on YouTube. Sampling Its related to Rap and HipHop something TMB could be known for, as the lyrics in their songs are mainly rapped or spoken.

Niche: Not everyone finds them funny, listens to their songs or watches their videos Mainstream: They have a show on E4; a channel everyone has heard of